A Coding Book for Children from BAU

Prepared for publication in collaboration between the Bahçeşehir University STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Center and Pusula Publishing, the book "Coding for Children" introduces all children aged 4 and over to the world of coding, software and programming.

The book introduces, in clear language, graphics and platforms designed so that children can easily learn the basic concepts of algorithms and programming under the guidance of their teachers and parents. The book also includes details on the use of Google's library for visual program development,Google Blockly; the web-based platform developed by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) to teach children programming and help them love it,Scratch; andcode.org, supported by IT companies such as Microsoft.With the guidance of the "Coding for Children"book and these freely accessible resources, you can open the doors of the world of coding and programming to children aged 4 and over, and bring the examples to life by following the web-based applications step by step.

Under the Guidance of Teachers and Parents

Prepared by Zafer Demirkol, who has been a programmer for 30 years, with the help of his seven-year-old son, the book guides teachers and parents on how to explain the basic concepts of programming in a way children can understand. Noting that children can start programming from the age of 4–5, Zafer Demirkol says: "Children can be introduced to programming and coding using visual tools even before they can read and write. Since the applications and examples consist of graphics that children will enjoy, you do not need to make any extra effort to make them love programming. Teaching children programming with this book will also be a fun experience for parents. In fact, if you have not been familiar with programming, algorithms or coding until now, you too can take your first step into the world of software with this book."

Bahçeşehir University Chairman of the Board of Trustees Enver Yücel states that coding education, used as one of the new teaching models, is at the top of the subjects that will prepare students in terms of 21st-century skills. Yücel says: "With both students and teachers incorporating developing technologies into their educational lives, and with technology increasingly surrounding our daily lives, the importance of the concept of 'coding' has grown. Therefore, it is inevitable that coding, and teaching and learning coding, will enter our country's education system. As Bahçeşehir Uğur Educational Institutions, we will continue, as we do today, to conduct scientific studies in the fields of STEM and Coding, which we see as important areas not only of today but also of the future, and to share them through publications."

A website has also been developed for the book, which will be available in all bookstores and online bookshops starting today: www.cocuklaricinkodlama.com

The website created by author Zafer Demirkol has two main purposes: first, to publish any updates, corrections, link changes and announcements related to the book; and second, to announce the latest developments in coding technologies for children and share newly developed tools and applications. The sample applications in the book can also be easily accessed from this website.

About the author:

Zafer Demirkol

He started programming in 1985 at the age of 16. He wrote his first "hello world" program on a Sinclair computer connected to a television. At 18, he attended Quick Basic courses at Boğaziçi University. He was admitted to Electrical Engineering at Yıldız Technical University and kept writing code throughout his studies. While at university, he developed applications such as a program performing arithmetic operations with complex numbers, animations and proposal preparation tools.

In 1999, he studied "English for Business Communication" at the University of New South Wales in Australia. In Australia, he expanded his knowledge of web software in university study groups and was introduced to ASP (Active Server Pages). When he returned to Türkiye, he published his first ASP book. To date, he has published a total of 10 books. He has been selected as a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) three times. At Maltepe and Yeditepe Universities, he has taught and continues to teach courses such as "Object-Oriented Programming," "Web Programming," "Advanced Web Design," "Database Programming" and "Mobile Programming" in the "Computer Engineering," "Information Technologies," "Computer Teaching" and "Management Information Systems" departments at various times.

He shares his 30 years of software experience through his books and articles, and passes it on to young developers through professional training. He has organized dozens of training sessions on various software technologies for private sector, public and government institutions.