By Jack Freiburghouse
Staff Writer
Many recent studies show that as time goes on we are becoming more and more reliant upon technology, but what many of us do not realize is that programmers are the brains behind these masterful gadgets.
Ucode is a school that strives to give their students greater insight into the vast world of programming. Programming relies heavily upon “languages” such as JavaScript, Ruby and C++, each of which Ucode teaches how to properly use. These languages are used to create the millions of web pages that do exist.
“Ucode is a school that teaches you how to program with which you can create websites, iPhone apps and video games,” Ucode employee Alexander Yurchenko said.
Ucode has an environment that is composed mostly of young kids, however, they do offer their services to students ages 7-18. Mira Costa students like sophmores Jackson Snyder and John Parducci have already put the skills they have learned at Ucode to use by making games and websites. Several of the students are currently making a salary creating web pages and apps for the iPhone.
“I started UCode to give kids a way to truly exercise their minds,” Ucode founder Scott Mueller said. ”Programming has the power to change the way our kids think. By frequently breaking problems down into algorithms, analyzing patterns and calculating results, problem solving skills become a part of our vocabulary.”
Ucode first opened in the beginning of 2012 and has one location near Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach. However, they are growing rapidly gaining new students daily. Ucode is planning on opening a new school towards the end of summer that is fairly local.
“The reason I began to learn how to program was because I realized that computers will play a huge role in our future so I wanted to take the advantage while I’m still in my youth.” Mira Costa freshman, Corey Chang said.
A perk to being signed up in Ucode is their point system which is when each time you sign in at the Ucode office for a lesson or when recruiting someone, a set amount of points is awarded to you. When you have accumulated enough points you can exchange them for many goods such as iPhones and Apple computers.
“I have always wanted to create a game on my own and Ucode teaches me how to do that,” Snyder said.
Ucode provides a large portion of their instruction through means of video lessons that go over a certain topic. The teachers are constantly walking around to make sure that every student is at the pace that they feel comfortable with.
“As a bonus, children and teenagers get this immensely valuable skill,” Mueller said “A skill they can use for fun, to express themselves and to make money. There’s a direct path from UCode to software engineer, but even if that’s not the desired route, these skills are so valuable in any vocation in life.”
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