計算機編程成爲美國中小學熱門課

MILL VALLEY, Calif. — Seven-year-old Jordan Lisle, a second grader, joined his family at a packed after-hours school event last month aimed at inspiring a new interest: computer programming.

加州米爾谷——上個月，7歲的小學二年級學生喬丹·萊爾(Jordan Lisle)和家人蔘加了一場人滿爲患的課外活動，活動旨在爲學生培養一個新愛好：計算機編程。

“I’m a little afraid he’s falling behind,” his mother, Wendy Lisle, said, explaining why they had signed up for the class at Strawberry Point Elementary School.

“我有點擔心他會落在別人後面，”他的母親溫迪·萊爾(Wendy Lisle)說，這是他們報名參加斯特羅伯裏波因特小學(Strawberry Point Elementary School)這個輔導班的原因。

The event was part of a national educational movement in computer coding instruction that is growing at Internet speeds. Since December, 20,000 teachers from kindergarten through 12th grade have introduced coding lessons, according to , a group backed by the tech industry that offers free curriculums. In addition, some 30 school districts have agreed to add coding classes in the fall, mainly in high schools but in lower grades, too. And policy makers in nine states have begun awarding the same credits for computer science classes that they do for basic math and science courses, rather than treating them as electives.

一場全國性計算機編程教育運動正在不斷擴大，此次活動就是其中的一部分。根據網站，自去年12月以來，從幼兒園到12年級，共有2萬名老師開設了編程課。是一家由科技行業支持的組織，提供免費的課程。除此之外，大約30個校區已經同意在秋季增設編程課，主要是高中，但也包括低年級。九個州的決策者已經開始給計算機科學課設定與數學和理科等基礎課程相同的學分，不再將其作爲選修課來對待。

There are after-school events, too, like the one in Mill Valley, where 70 parents and 90 children, from kindergartners to fifth graders, huddled over computers solving animated puzzles to learn the basics of computer logic.

相關的課外活動也在開展，比如在米爾谷的這次活動。活動中，從幼兒園到五年級的90個學生和70名家長圍在計算機旁，通過動畫智力遊戲來學習計算機邏輯的基本知識。

It is a stark change for computer science, which for decades was treated like a stepchild, equated with trade classes like wood shop. But smartphones and apps are ubiquitous now, and engineering careers are hot. To many parents — particularly ones here in the heart of the technology corridor — coding looks less like an extracurricular activity and more like a basic life skill, one that might someday lead to a great job or even instant riches.

這是計算機科學教育的一個顯著改變，幾十年來，計算機科學一直受到冷遇，地位與木工課等職業技能課程相差無幾。但如今，智能手機和應用程序無處不在，軟件工程方面的就業機會炙手可熱。對於許多家長來說——尤其是居住在科技走廊核心地帶的家長——編程不像是一種課外活動，更像是一種基本的生存技能，說不定哪天可能讓你得到一份不錯的工作，甚至一夕暴富。

The spread of coding instruction, while still nascent, is “unprecedented — there’s never been a move this fast in education,” said Elliot Soloway, a professor of education and computer science at the University of Michigan. He sees it as very positive, potentially inspiring students to develop a new passion, perhaps the way that teaching frog dissection may inspire future surgeons and biologists.

編程教學的普及雖然剛剛開始，卻呈現出“前所未有之勢——教育領域從未有過如此迅速的行動”，密歇根大學(University of Michigan)教育和計算機科學教授埃利奧特·索洛韋(Elliot Soloway)說。他認爲這是一個非常積極的現象，可能會激發學生們培養新的愛好，或許就像學習青蛙解剖可能會讓更多孩子立志成爲外科醫生和生物學家那樣。

But the momentum for early coding comes with caveats, too. It is not clear that teaching basic computer science in grade school will beget future jobs or foster broader creativity and logical thinking, as some champions of the movement are projecting. And particularly for younger children, Dr. Soloway said, the activity is more like a video game — better than simulated gunplay, but not likely to impart actual programming skills.

不過，一些人也對讓兒童過早接觸編程的做法發出警告。目前還不清楚，在小學講授計算機科學的基本知識是否會對未來的工作有幫助，也不清楚這能否培養學生總體上的創造力和邏輯思維。索洛韋說，尤其是對年幼的兒童來說，這種活動更像是視頻遊戲——比模擬槍戰高級一些，但不太可能學會真正的編程技能。

Some educators worry about the industry’s heavy role: Major tech companies and their founders, including Bill Gates and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, have put up about $10 million for . The organization pays to train high school teachers to offer more advanced curriculums, and, for younger students, it has developed a coding curriculum that marries basic instruction with video games involving Angry Birds and hungry zombies.

一些教育專家對這個行業的大舉投入表示擔憂：一些大型科技公司及其創始人，包括比爾·蓋茨(Bill Gates)和Facebook的馬克·扎克伯格(Mark Zuckberg)，已經爲投資了大約1000萬美元（約合6255萬人民幣）。提供資金培訓高中老師，讓他們能夠講授更高級的課程，此外，對於年齡更小的學生，該組織還開發了一套專門的編程課程，把基本的教學內容融入到了《憤怒的小鳥》和《植物大戰殭屍》等視頻遊戲中。

The lessons do not involve traditional computer language. Rather, they use simple word commands — like “move forward” or “turn right” — that children can click on and move around to, say, direct an Angry Bird to capture a pig.

這些課程不講授傳統的計算機語言，而是使用簡單的文字指令——比如“前進”或“向右轉”——孩子們可以通過點擊和移動的操作，讓一隻小鳥抓住一隻豬。

The movement comes with no shortage of “we’re changing the world” marketing fervor from Silicon Valley. “This is strategically significant for the economy of the United States,” said John Pearce, a technology entrepreneur. He and another entrepreneur, Jeff Leane, have started a nonprofit, MV Gate, to bring youth and family coding courses developed by to Mill Valley, an affluent suburb across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.

這項活動並不缺少硅谷的那種“我們正在改變世界”的營銷狂熱。科技創業者約翰·皮爾斯(John Pearce)說，這對美國的經濟具有戰略意義。他和另外一名創業者傑夫·利恩(Jeff Leane)創辦了非盈利組織MV Gate，把開發的適用於小學生和家庭的編程課程帶給米爾谷。米爾谷是一個富裕的郊區，與舊金山之間隔着金門大橋。

Parents love the idea of giving children something to do with computers that they see as productive, Mr. Pearce said. “We have any number of parents who say, ‘I can’t take my kid playing one more hour of video games,’ ” he said. But if the children are exploring coding, the parents tell him, “ ‘I can live with that all night long.’ ”

皮爾斯說，家長們樂於看到孩子們在電腦上做他們認爲有意義的事。“無數家長對我們說，‘我不能讓我家孩子再玩電腦遊戲了’，”他說。但如果孩子們在研究編程，家長們告訴他，“‘編一晚上我也沒意見。’”

The concept has caught on with James Meezan, a second grader. He attended one of the first “Hour of Code” events sponsored by MV Gate in December with his mother, Karen Meezan, the local PTA president and a former tech-industry executive who now runs a real estate company. She is among the enthusiastic supporters of the coding courses, along with several local principals.

這個想法吸引了二年級學生詹姆斯·米贊(James Meezan)。他和媽媽參加了12月份由MV Gate支持的“代碼時刻”(Hour of Code)活動。他的媽媽凱倫·米贊是當地家長教師聯誼會(PTA)主席、前科技行業高管，目前經營着一家房地產公司。她和幾名當地校長都非常支持編程課程。

Her son, she said, does well in school but had not quite found his special interest and was “not the fastest runner on the playground.” But he loves programming and spends at least an hour a week at CodeKids, after-school programs organized by MV Gate and held at three of Mill Valley’s five elementary schools.

她說，她的兒子在學校表現很好，但是沒有找到自己特別的興趣，也“不是操場上跑的最快的那個”。但他喜歡編程，每週至少花一小時參加MV Gate組織的課後項目CodeKids。該項目已經在米爾谷的五所小學開展。

James, 8, explained that programming is “getting the computer to do something by itself.” It is fun, he said, and, besides, if he gets good, he might be able to do stuff like get a computer to turn on when it has suddenly died. His mother said he had found his niche; when it comes to programming, “he is the fastest runner.”

八歲的詹姆斯解釋說，編程就是“讓計算機自己做事”。他說這很有趣，此外，如果他做的好，說不定能夠讓計算機突然死機的時候自動重啓。他的媽媽說，他發現了自己的興趣點；在編程上，“他是跑的最快的那一個”。

Well into the session, the youngsters were digging in, moving basic command blocks to get the Angry Bird to its prey, and then playing with slightly more complex commands like “repeat” and learning about “if-then” statements, an elemental coding concept.

活動過程中，現場的孩子都全情投入，移動着基本的指令模塊，讓憤怒的小鳥抵達目標，然後使用稍微複雜一些的命令，比如“重複”，並學習“if-then”語句——一個基本的編程概念。

The use of these word-command blocks to simplify coding logic stems largely from the work of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, which introduced a visual programming language called Scratch in 2007. It claims a following of millions of users, but mostly outside the schools.

使用這些文字命令塊來簡化編程的邏輯，這很大程度上源於麻省理工學院媒體實驗室(Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab)的研究成果。這個實驗室2007年引入了視覺編程語言Scratch。該機構聲稱，這種編程語言已經有數百萬用戶，但大多數都是學校以外的用戶。

Then, in 2013, came , which borrowed basic Scratch ideas and aimed to spread the concept among schools and policy makers. Computer programming should be taught in every school, said Hadi Partovi, the founder of and a former executive at Microsoft. He called it as essential as “learning about gravity or molecules, electricity or photosynthesis.”

後來，2013年出現了，它借鑑了Scratch的基本想法，旨在向學校和決策者傳播這個概念。創始人、前微軟高管哈迪·帕爾托維(Hadi Partovi)說，每個學校都應該教授編程。他說編程非常必要，就像“學習重力或分子，電學和光合作用”一樣。

Among the 20,000 teachers who says have signed on is Alana Aaron, a fifth-grade math and science teacher in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. She heard about the idea late last year at a professional development meeting and, with her principal’s permission, swapped a two-month earth sciences lesson she was going to teach on land masses for the curriculum.

稱，已有2萬名老師註冊該項目。曼哈頓華盛頓高地社區五年級的數學和自然科學老師阿蘭娜·亞倫(Alana Aaron)是其中之一。她去年在一個職業發展會議上聽說了這個項目，在獲得了校長同意之後，她放棄了原本打算教授的長達兩個月的關於陸地的地球科學課程，將其換成了的課程。

“Computer science is big right now — in our country, the world,” she said. “If my kids aren’t exposed to things like that, they could miss out on potential opportunities and careers.”

“計算機科學現在很重要——在美國和全世界都是如此，”她說。“如果我的學生們沒有接觸到這樣的東西，他們可能會錯過潛在的機遇和工作機會。”