From a chemistry researcher to a programmer in 4 hours

Divann Robertson, 35, makes his first digital move with Code School Finland

🖥 A life-long passion for technology

Divann Robertson is a polymer chemist from Abbotsdale, South Africa. He is the Principal Research Scientist at Contextualize, Code School Finland’s partner in South Africa. Before coming across our work advancing digital skills education, Divann had no prior experience of programming. He has always been fascinated by technology and digital animation but did not know how to approach it, despite his strong scientific background.

It is, in fact, a common misconception that programming is the preserve of a select few. Growing up, Divann did not have the same access to technological environments as his younger family members, ‘My two nieces grew up with tablets in their hands, I had no such luxury, it is simply fascinating how easy it has become to access programming environments these days’.

The best way to get started with programming is to do just that – get started. With an open mind and without prerequisites.

📚 Strong start with Code School Finland

Divann came to hear about Code School Finland via his colleague and associate Marcus Duveskog, the Technical Director of Contextualize Learning Solutions, Code School Finland’s official partner in South Africa. Back in May 2023, Code School Finland ran Teach Your First Coding Lesson – a digital training event for teachers and in South Africa. The webinar attracted not only teachers but also school leaders and educational officials from every corner of the country.

This training was Divann’s first step of the way. Even though Code School Finland’s mission is to empower schools and educators to teach digital skills, everyone can have a general introduction to the practicalities of digital environments such as Scratch by planning and accomplishing simple visual projects in them.

“The introduction was very straightforward, I think everyone will find it much easier to grasp the idea of programming that way. For me, it is a good stepping stone. When you watch TV commercials, you do think how difficult it must be to make them. But there you are, there is a way for everyone to just start doing it.”

🖌 Inspiration came from the best source

Teach an Animated Art Project In Upper Primary was the second training Divann took. The course is implemented in Scratch giving participating teachers a strong introduction to visual programming and inspiration for future classroom work.

Despite lack of experience, Divann would not settle for mediocre learning objectives. His goal was not to learn digital programming just for himself but to involve his two young nieces too. For his visual project, he took and replicated their pencil drawings in Scratch and programmed them to come alive. Even though Divann is not a teacher, this approach was brilliant from the viewpoint of pedagogy.

“They are clearly interested in Scratch themselves now.”

For Divann, pursuing further programming education and passing on his knowledge on to his two young students is the current plan.  

🖱 You can also start right away