China: 8-year-old child teaches computer code on the internet

An eight-year-old Chinese boy launched his online tutorial to learn computer programming for young people.

Black-rimmed glasses and red jersey, an eight-year-old Chinese computer connects to his computer for an online computer programming course . Small detail: he is the teacher.

Vita, its European name, launched in August its own channel of programming tutorials on the Chinese site Bilibili online videos . No less than 60,000 users follow it and the channel has more than a million views. “Programming is not easy, but it’s not rocket science either , “ the child philosophizes. “At least, it’s not as complicated as you might think …”

This little Shanghainese is part of a growing number of very young Chinese who are learning computer coding even before entering primary school. Their parents are convinced that this string will be crucial for the future of their children, given Beijing’s focus on technology.

Online, the “students” of Vita are mostly older children than him. His class even has some young adults. The boy patiently explains the secrets of a programming app designed by Apple, called Swift Playgrounds.

The child sometimes makes a mistake to point out the most common pitfalls. “When I teach, I also learn new things at the same time,” he observes.

textbook

With its massive investments in computing, China launched in 2017 an artificial intelligence (AI) development plan, which plans to introduce programming courses at the primary and secondary levels. The first IA textbook was released last year.

In the case of Vita, it was her father, Zhou Ziheng, who trained her at home. He is also the one who puts together his videos and manages the channel. Zhou Ziheng, who translates scientific and technological books, began teaching programming to his son when he was only five years old. “I myself learned coding in my youth, so I always found it normal that Vita learns too,” he says.

But for parents who do not have this baggage, programming schools have sprung up all over China, ready to welcome the future Bill Gates. The market for children’s programming training has been estimated at almost one billion euros in 2017, a figure that is expected to increase fivefold by 2020, according to Analysys, an expert research firm. Internet.

In progress from 3 years

“In China, teaching of programming starts very late at public school. Our evening classes fill this gap, “ says Pan Gongbo, general manager of Tongcheng Tongmei, a coding school in Beijing. Age of the youngest pupil: 3 years old. For children under six years of age, the school organizes Lego type construction games using coding techniques.

According to Pan Gonbo, six- and seven-year-olds are perfectly in control of programming. “Do not underestimate the speed of learning for children. In some of our classes, they sometimes go faster than adults, “he says.

Among them, Ji Yingzhe, 10, who has been learning Python computer language for six months. Previously, the boy had spent a semester learning robotics, but the matter seemed too simple. “The computer codes were already written, all you had to do was put them in order,” he sighs.

His father enrolled him in a programming school because he thought Yingzhe was spending too much time on video games. New rule in effect at home: the child only plays games that he has created himself. As for the future of Vita, it is not written, according to his father, who intends to keep his feet on the ground. “I tell him he did nothing extraordinary,” Zhou Ziheng said.