With every aspect of life—from following news to finding love—now governed by algorithms, learning the fundamentals of coding is essential to developing true digital literacy.
In an effort to prepare its students to navigate this landscape, the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development’s Department of Media, Culture, and Communication recently embarked on an initiative with Codecademy, a New York-based startup that offers online programming classes, to teach NYU students how to code.
“This pilot will give our students an excellent introduction to the intricate information systems underlying so much of today’s networked culture,” says department chair Marita Sturken. “It is increasingly clear that a basic understanding of computer programming has now become essential knowledge that all college graduates should have.”
The 10-week pilot program features weekly workshops with an interactive online component covering programming languages such as HTML, Javascript, and Python, allowing each student to proceed at his or her own pace. Participating students will be invited to a series of intimate monthly talks with leading tech scholars and industry innovators, who will speak on everything from the history of video games to the future of the Internet.
Sessions run through Dec. 7 and are co-taught by NYU visiting assistant professor Liel Leibovitz and coding instructor David Hu. The partnership with Codecademy is a project spearheaded by the NYU Steinhardt Initiative for Internet and Network Culture, which aims to generate new knowledge about the ways in which the Internet and networked media are reshaping social life, culture, and commerce.