Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates want you to learn code.
Non-profit group Code.org released a video featuring some of the world's best known figures who have used code, in an effort to encourage education in computer science. Code.org was launched in January by brothers Ali and Hadi Partovi, two successful entrepreneurs.
The video features Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey, Drew Houston, Tony Hsieh and NBA player Chris Bosh. Running nine minutes and directed by Lesley Chilcott, who produced "Waiting for Superman" and "An Inconvenient Truth," the film takes a light and engaging tone as part of Code.org's mission to appeal to a mass audience, especially young people.
"Enrollment rates in programming classes are low," Hadi Partovi says, "but what is worse is that schools aren't even teaching it, even though this is the fastest growing segment of jobs in the country." Currently only nine out of ten schools in the U.S. offer computer programming classes. There are currently about one million more computer programming jobs in the U.S. than there are graduates to fill them.
"It's a big issue for our country," Partovi continues. "We're trying to use immigration reform to help solve the problem, and that's important, but the long-term fix really is that we should teach more people to use these skills."
In addition to releasing the video, the Partovi brothers are encouraging people to take action in several ways. One is to share the video with as many people as possible. Another is for teachers to go to Code.org and sign a petition to broaden their schools' curriculum by adding computer programming classes. Simple coding lessons are also available on Code.org's website.
The video is titled "What Most Schools Don't Teach" and will be available for viewing in schools and movie theaters. It can also be found on YouTube.
