Troy Consumer Technology students learn code, create websites

Students in Debra Benson’s consumer technology class recently designed and coded their own one-page website, using HTML and CSS coding programs to achieve the goal. Coding with HTML creates the structure of websites, she explained, and CSS gives it colors, text boxes, images and more.

Benson said the programs students used to create their websites are the very same type of coding that front-end developers use in technology and other industries.

“This is not just ‘drag and drop,’” Benson said.

Her Troy Middle School 7th graders used the coding languages to create websites on such subjects as panda bears, why people need dogs, volleyball and football facts, the Maine coon cat, benefits of growing plants, mental disorders, a recipe for cannoli, how to care for pets, all about owning a cockatiel, and “Tom Brady vs Aaron Rodgers.”

Students Lila Abbott, Hunter Biederman and Vanessa Estrada named their website, “Mexican Food.” It displays pictures of several types of Mexican foods, such as green enchiladas, refried beans, and tamales, along with tips on how best to pair them with other foods. The site also included links to recipes.

Lila said their first step was to get together and brainstorm ideas for the site. Vanessa said it was her first time coding and that she thought it was fun, even though it was complicated at times. Hunter said she also found coding to be fun.

“Coding also teaches them critical thinking skills,” Benson added, “and builds their team collaborating skills.”

“We are in an increasingly digitalized world,” Troy’s Educational Technology Coordinator Sarah Wells said. “Computer coding is super important for kids for the future, and it’s like learning a new language. They should start doing it early. It’s training their brains for things that are important - for things that were never imaginable when we were kids.”

Jobs related to computer science and the tech workforce continue to be among the fastest growing and highest paying in the nation, with front-end developers in Chicago beginning with average salaries of $104,000, according to builtinchicago.org.

Students in Benson’s class are also participating in, “Code Break,” in December, an interactive virtual coding classroom where her students are coding with poetry and song lyrics.

Troy Middle School is a Troy Community School District 30-C school.