There is perhaps no finer art form than storytelling when it comes to creative expression. The exhilarating feeling of creating a world entirely out of one’s imagination and putting it out into the world is unparalleled.
The art of storytelling, like any other art form, is heavily reliant on passion and creativity.1 Most of you are probably wondering how coding and storytelling could be related. Storytelling and coding actually go hand in hand. Programming is a language, and when you learn a language, you use it for creative self-expression. So, children who learn computer coding develop the ability to not only consume but also innovate and produce digital media and technology.
There are many digital storytelling projects that children can learn to create once they learn to code. By doing so, children acquire the required skills that will help them improve their writing and creativity in an enjoyable manner.
Now, let’s take a look at how coding can improve your child’s storytelling abilities:
Coding as a Medium of Creative Self-Expression2
The prerequisite for telling a story would be words and sentences. In addition to words and sentences, children who know how to code have access to a much broader range of media, including music, pictures, animation, and games. Children can use coding to tell stories in a variety of ways. It could be a script in a story-based game, an animated version of the story, or a pictorial representation of their imagination.
When children come up with ideas for how to implement their codes, they are forced to think through the specifics and consequences of their characters’ actions in the story. This, as a result, will sharpen their ideas and provide a practice platform for developing the important skill of storytelling.
Coding Reduces Writers’ Block3
Some children struggle with creative writing. Even most adults experience writers’ block at times. Coding can help children acquire the skills to overcome these roadblocks. Creating a story-based game, animation, or app necessitates a captivating story line, narrative spacing, engaging dialogues, and so on.
While the “blank page syndrome” may invoke panic in children when they stare at a blank sheet of paper, coding, on the other hand, provides various starting points with a wide range of possibilities.
When children write code to create a story-based game or app, they start from their point of interest and work their way up through experimentation, re-evaluation, trial and error, and iteration.
With coding, children will understand that there are no blocks, but only discrete problems that can be solved in multiple ways through experimentation and continuous effort.
Coding Fosters Creativity, Planning, and Organizing Skills4
Coding requires creative thinking and an experimental mindset. This creative expression does not always have to be directly related to computer science. Coding encourages children to think creatively, which they can apply to any discipline of study.
Children must also know how to organize their ideas and thoughts in order to write a story or start a coding project. These organizing and planning skills come through coding, as they have to plan out different functions and figure out how these functions will fit together for their code to work.
Storytelling Using Blocks5
Children may find it difficult to express their thoughts and ideas solely through text and words. Coding, on the other hand, provides a platform for telling a story by building a script with blocks.
These blocks are color-coded and are sequenced together in a specific manner to control how certain characters look and move within the story. This could be utilized as a unique way to foster children’s creativity while also developing their coding and storytelling skills.
Coding Builds Concision3
One of the most important aspects of good storytelling is being concise. Most people may find it taxing to condense their text or content when required. Through coding, children learn this essential art of condensing and concising.
When children begin to learn how to code, it may take them about six to seven lines of code to program a character or object to move across the screen. However, as they progress and become more aware of their programming concepts, like loops and conditional statements, they can skillfully master the art of condensing their programs to just about two lines.
Children learn that the purpose of coding—or writing—is to make the best use of the tools available to them in order to express their ideas clearly.
Children learn this innovative storytelling style when they demonstrate their knowledge of coding. Coding can serve as their new storytelling medium, facilitating their learning and enhancing their creativity and self-discovery.
Interesting, isn’t it? To read about more such interesting topics on coding, visit https://www.byjusfutureschool.com/blog/
References:
- The Art of Storytelling: 5 Secrets to Help You Get Started on Social Media – Nas Academy Blog. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2022, from https://nasacademy.com/blog/article/the-art-of-storytelling-get-started-on-social-media
- Coding is creative self-expression • Code School Finland. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2022, from https://www.codeschool.fi/2020/06/coding-is-creative-self-expression/
- How Coding Can Improve Your Child’s Writing Abilities | Tynker Blog. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2022, from https://www.tynker.com/blog/articles/ideas-and-tips/programming-storytelling/
- How Coding Develops 21st Century Skills | Tynker. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2022, from https://www.tynker.com/content/how-coding-develops-21st-century-skills
- Storytelling and Coding for Beginners – TechnoKids Blog. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2022, from https://www.technokids.com/blog/technology-integration/storytelling-and-coding-for-beginners/
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