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Peter Byrne/PA Wire

The best time for a child to learn how to code? Wait until they're nine

Also, more than half of adults believe coding should be taught in primary and secondary schools.

CODING CONTINUES TO grow in popularity and for most adults, it’s believed that children as young as six should start learning it in schools.

In a survey carried out by Amárach Research which surveyed 1,000 adults on behalf of UPC, 70% believe that coding should be introduced to children at some stage between ages 6 to 12.

Of that group, the majority believed that the best ages for a child to start learning to code was when they are nine or ten years old.

When asked if coding should be introduced to schools, 54% said it should be incorporated in both primary and secondary level curriculums.

Understanding

While most are in favour of children learning how to code, their understanding wasn’t as great. Less than half of those surveyed said they had a good or very good understanding of what programming is, with the younger age groups – those aged between 25 and 34 – showing the most awareness.

Of those who were in the 55+ demographic, roughly 70% said they had a poor or uncertain understanding of coding.

More than four out of five people recognised Java as a computer language, followed by Javascript while almost a quarter recognised computer programming languages like C++ or SQL.

However, the majority were less familiar with languages like C, Python, PHP, C#, Ruby and Objective-C while one in ten didn’t recognise the name of any programming language.

Anna-Maria Barry, a UPC staff volunteer who helps run CoderDojo clubs and is Corporate Communications General Manager for UPC Ireland said the findings showed that there is a “significant appetite” for computer coding in schools.

An earlier survey from the same organisation found that one-third of people believed learning coding was more important than Irish while two-thirds felt that it was as important as learning mainstream subjects like Geography, History, Maths and English.

The research was carried out to mark Tech Week 2015 where the finals of the National Scratch Coding Competition are taking place today in Dublin Castle.

Read: The app that wants to help reduce your phone bill has arrived on iPhone >

Read: Apple could be forced to pay 10 years of back taxes to Ireland >

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34 Comments
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    Mute Tony Daly
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 9:00 PM

    FG is ideologically opposed to public funding of social housing.

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    Mute Charlie Melia
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 9:28 PM

    @Tony Daly: Wicklow County Council has announced close to a billion euro in funding for social housing over the last 3 years…. In that time it hasn’t even turned a sod on a single solitary social housing unit….. Not one house…….

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    Mute FifiJamming
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 10:06 PM

    Isn’t Wicklow co co dominated by sf?

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    Mute Kilburtech
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 10:25 PM

    @Tony Daly: Social Housing worked excellently in council housing areas! No social repercussion at all, nope, none.

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    Mute Chris Doherty
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 10:50 PM

    @FifiJamming: Sf have 19% of seats (28% including former members) while FF+FG collectively have 47% .
    So SF doesn’t dominate the council .

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    Mute Chris Doherty
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 11:00 PM

    Messed up a bit.
    SF actually have 9% and formally 19%

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    Mute Kieran W
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    Feb 23rd 2017, 1:38 AM

    @FifiJamming
    God help Wicklow if that’s the case. Although does that mean anyone can now buy or build a house in Wicklow if they haven’t lived there for at least 15 years or more. Not an SF’er by the way!

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    Mute Claire Gallagher
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    Feb 23rd 2017, 3:10 AM

    @FifiJamming: 6 SF councillors out of 32 elected in 2014.
    Currently down to 3.
    Do your own math.

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    Mute Patrick Doyle
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 9:40 PM

    In a capitalist meritocracy low and middle income workers should be rewarded first with scheme of “affordable housing” possibly in a public private partnership. The grey cotton tracksuit brigade should not be prioritised over those who are paying into the system.

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    Mute Paul
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 8:33 PM

    Biggest scam in the country is social housing.

    67
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    Mute Gulliver Foyle
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 9:58 PM

    The mini riot in Sweden reminded me of the million project they executed in the late 60s to fulfill the housing demands. It had a remit to build 1m housing units (a mix between 3 bed units and 1 bed units for students) over 10 years. At the end of the 10th year, there were 1,000,600 new units built, and public transit, schools, shops and community centres to all of them by the 3rd year. It has become an issue now as some areas have become ghettoed with immigrant numbers, but the idea was perfect in oversupplying the market, and subsidising it with 30% paid by the renters over the next 10 years. And we struggle to get a politician to actually plan over 100 houses. Something like this across the country would eliminate any social housing problems in areas where you can work.

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    Mute Willy Malone
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 8:41 PM

    Hard to believe Richie is lying ☺

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    Mute Fandango Morgan
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 9:47 PM

    You’re a coward Willy

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    Mute Catherine Hayward
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 9:52 PM

    Everyone knows no social houses are getting built anyone on the housing list has rented houses pushed upon them and landlords don’t want them it’s a horrible situation fine gael has put upon families

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    Mute Emmet O'Keeffe
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 9:11 PM

    The party of lies and spin.
    The Irish Tories.

    53
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    Mute Dan Henry
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 8:59 PM

    Fat check go Enda go

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    Mute Fandango Morgan
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 10:05 PM

    Coming from dirty Dan here la

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    Mute Adrian
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 9:13 PM

    It could be any number now as theres an election on the horizon. False promises and all that!

    39
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    Mute Trevor Beale
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 9:32 PM

    Fine Gael and lies seem to go hand in hand, and you’ll still get morons to justify their position and vote for them.

    39
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    Mute ciaran
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 8:58 PM

    fact checking a political promise? especially from fg? that the best you can do? you do know they fg are the first to tell you it means nothing!
    if you ever need a sounding board on what to fact check let me know and I will tell you if its an exercise in futility

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    Mute Paul Mc
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 9:21 PM

    Planning to build and actually building! Fake News was invented by FineGael and Labour and probably or possibly by Fianna Fail!

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    Mute jinn
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 11:03 PM

    Why am i paying a mortgage and people are getting same house for nothing? Is it because i am working since im 15? Surely i should be rewarded for my contribution and good behaviour. Whilst people who contribute nothing get rewarded for bad behaviour. Raising my kids i never reward them for bad behaviour. A welfare bubble is developing..it is a sinkhole for tax payers money.

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    Mute Benny McHale
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 10:16 PM

    Yep. Richard has been known to deliver an occasional porkie.

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    Mute Science of beer
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 9:26 PM

    Simple answer none cos they will be gone before a brick is layed

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    Mute Alan Tyrrell
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 8:59 PM

    in fairness to him he built a load of housing in Collinswood and told no one about this we’re not against social housing but not 100 % its already a problem so be careful what you want

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    Mute Gerard Heery
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 11:52 PM

    It’s much much cheaper for council to build they’re own houses than buy in ptivate estates, firstly they own the land ,and 50 % of a private house is taxes and fees therefore they should be able to build two houses for everyone private, also we who work are wonder why bother buy your house when the council can give you one for less than half a morgage, leaving you more pjamas time and an audi and a foreign holiday as I can see from my sitting room window ,wondering why bother working hard went your taxes are being used to fund some strangers leisure lifestyle .

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    Mute John Smith
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 8:42 PM

    Wow talk about splitting hairs!

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    Mute Barry C Mc Govern
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 8:58 PM

    John, “splitting hairs” or “alternative facts”?

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    Mute Dave cullen
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 9:01 PM

    ,Brutons record with the truth isn’t the best,fact check on pill hogans expense account in Brussels compared to Hayes,excluding secretarial stuff as hogan is finding it hard to replace his other Secetary.

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    Mute Tony Daly
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 9:02 PM

    @John Smith: talk about accuracy.

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    Mute Dave Murray
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    Feb 22nd 2017, 10:02 PM

    @John Smith: It’s not splitting hairs, it’s either not knowing the correct information or just bare faced lying by Bruton…I’d go with the latter though.

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    Mute John Reid
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    Feb 23rd 2017, 12:02 AM

    While new houses, “social” or otherwise, are desperately needed, the housing problem will never be solved by convincing the Government itself to build a small token number of new housing units. What truly needs to happen is for the Government to unleash the private building market, so that the private sector can quickly and efficiently build the huge number of new houses that the Irish nation needs.

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    Mute Seán Domhnall O'Sullivan
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    Feb 23rd 2017, 5:47 PM

    Fg and ff are couring the masses on social housing just as ff have over Irish water even though it’s like playing total con artists on the big screen. Parties should be heavily fined for carrying on a pretence of intention like this.

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