Amazon Wants to Teach Kids to Code

 

Amazon wants to get more young people to consider becoming computer engineers.

The American technology company this week launched¹ a program that aims to teach more than 10 million students a year how to code².

Amazon says it will pay for summer camps and other costs for young people from low-income families. It also will offer teacher training at low-income schools.

The program is called Amazon Future Engineer.

Amazon hopes the programs will help bring more African-American, Hispanic and female³ students to the field of computer science.

Other technology companies, including Microsoft and Facebook, also have programs that bring coding⁴ to schools. There is a shortage⁵ of computer engineers. Teaching⁶ more students how to code will help strengthen the industry.

Jeff Wilke is Amazon’s head of Worldwide Consumer. He said he hopes some of the students in the Amazon Future Engineer program will one day work for the company, especially in the development of voice assistant and drone technology.

Wilke said, “We’re pretty confident that knowing how to code will be as important as knowing how to read for the jobs of the future.”

Amazon Future Engineer will provide summer camps and after-school programs for students from kindergarten through 8th grade. The programs will take place in Amazon offices around the country. Volunteer workers will lead the programs. Online classes, lessons and games will be offered by Code.org and Coding with Kids.

Amazon says it also plans to pay for online training in computer science for teachers at 2,000 low-income high schools. In addition, it will offer scholarships and internships for college students.

Amazon said some schools have already been testing the program, including Monsignor Scanlan High School in New York City. Jennifer Tulipano, a science teacher at the school, began taking online coding classes in September.

Last month, she started teaching two computer science classes on how to create games and how to make animated⁷ characters. It is the first time that the school has offered computer science classes.

“So much is now online,” Tulipano said. “It’s a skill set they (students) need moving forward if they want to go into these fields.”

I'm Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

code - v. to write a set of instructions for a computer program

confident - adj. having a feeling or belief that someone can do something well or succeed at something

1 launched   

v.发射( launch的过去式和过去分词 )；[计算机]开始（应用程序）；发动；开展（活动、计划等）

参考例句：

• He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation. 他对年轻一代发起了猛烈的抨击。
• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. 这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。

2 code   

n.代码，代号，密码；法典，法规，规划

参考例句：

• What's the code for Tianjin?天津的代号是多少？
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

3 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

4 coding   

n.译码

参考例句：

• He devised a way of coding every statement uniquely. 他设计了一种把每句话进行独特编码的方法。 来自辞典例句
• Point data appearing on the coding forms can be categorized as follows. 编码显示的点数据，可以归纳如下。 来自辞典例句

5 shortage   

n.缺少，缺乏，不足

参考例句：

• The city is suffering a desperate shortage of water.这个城市严重缺水。
• The heart of the problem is a shortage of funds.问题的关键是缺乏经费。

6 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

7 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。