USAID and ¡Supérate! launch project “Digital Talent”

Why should everyone know how to program?

11 March, 2019

The importance of programing in the academic and professional development of ¡Supérate! Students.

By David Rajo, Computer Science Teacher at ¡Supérate! Fundación Poma.

Article translated by Diana Medrano and Gloria Rivas English Teachers at ¡Supérate! Fundación Poma.

We live in a technological world. Nowadays technology surrounds us to make different areas in our lives better. Doesn´t matter where you are, what you dedicate yourself to or your profession, technology is present to make your life easier. This is thanks to people who found the opportunity to use technology and apply it to everyday and frequent tasks. With this achieved we can work with major efficiency, as many times necessary and at the required moment.

Many of the most popular applications of our time have been created by people that don’t necessarily dedicate themselves to the technological area. For instance social media, maps, operating systems and others have been created by men and women with innovative ideas, which would make our lives easier. Their creators were people that saw a specific need and had the courage to make them a reality. Beginning with a lot of creativity and applying basic programing knowledge, that most of them acquired on their own, their initial idea was finally materialized with the aid of a team of developers. For this reason knowing how to code and understanding programing should be a subject that everyone must be exposed to in this era.

Many of the most popular applications of our time have been created by people that don’t necessarily dedicate themselves to the technological area. For instance social media, maps, operating systems and others have been created by men and women with innovative ideas, which would make our lives easier. Their creators were people that saw a specific need and had the courage to make them a reality. Beginning with a lot of creativity and applying basic programing knowledge, that most of them acquired on their own, their initial idea was finally materialized with the aid of a team of developers. For this reason knowing how to code and understanding programing should be a subject that everyone must be exposed to in this era.

There are many studies and publications that have been warning of the lack of professionals in software development that exist around the world, especially in more developed countries. For this reason they seek professionals in this area no matter where they reside. Information and communication technology (ICT) facilitates communication with businesses and people that dedicate themselves to software development and it doesn’t matter where they are in the world. This gives them the opportunity to opt for a position related to the development of applications or IT solutions by simply having a computer and stable internet connection.

In our country there are many businesses that have grown thanks to this opportunity. They have managed to develop their businesses, which gives them an overall advantage. For this reason they require a team composed of developers that are trained in the different platforms. There is a high demand in this industry, but very few people are qualified for these types of opportunities, mainly due to lack of specialization.

However the information is found at a click of a button, the learning tools are at hand to all those who have internet access. But the most important thing is that they have the courage, discipline, dedication, and desire to overcome the obstacles that are within. We create limits in our minds by thinking that something is difficult, complicated, or that it’s unreachable due to lack of the necessary knowledge, but we can overcome them if we have the conviction and determination to achieve it. Taking into account the infinite possibilities of technology and development of applications that exist in the world, it doesn’t matter what career path you choose or have chosen to study; there is always a possibility of changing how something is normally done and making our everyday tasks easier becomes doable when you have the basic principles of programing.