Code Zone 2022 ends with an ovation from Parents and Participants

September 14, 2022 in Business, Gallery, technology, Training, Upskilling

Code Zone 2022, the annual summer coding program for teens and pre-teens, with this being the fourth edition successfully came to an end on August 31, 2022 and it was amidst a standing ovation from parents and participants of the program.

Before the commencement of the program this year we had significant support from the media Business Day, The Nation Independent, Business Traffic, Trust Africa News, Business Watch

The one month long program that started on August 1^st 2022 had participants register for HTML, CSS & JavaScript classes. Most of the participants had no knowledge of what coding entails neither had they used a code editor before, however within the space of one month they were able to showcase their learnings by presenting website designs in their areas of interest. This year the areas of interest for our participants cut across, Games, Sports, Food, Books, Fashion, Skincare, Movies.

L-R Bolu Babatunde Instructor, Olufunke Akinloye Founder Code Zone for Teens & Pre Teens, Michael Umoren Lead Instructor, Anthony Achoba Instructor at the closing presentation of Code Zone 2022

Olufunke Akinloye, initiator Code Zone, said ‘Every year we feel privileged to have the opportunity to make impact and sow seeds of greatness in the lives of the young ones. Some of our previous participants have become professionals in programming because they upskilled further after the program, this gives us so much joy’.

Code Zone 2022 Final Presentation Day

She also went on to say ‘One of the reasons we have been consistent with quality output showcased through participants’ presentations year on year is the commitment of our instructors led by Michael Umoren and for this we are so grateful’

Emmanuel Olley, 14 a participant of Code Zone 2022 said he enjoyed participating in the program, as he has learnt a lot about HTML & CSS, he has been able to bring his area of interest to life through his project called Diamond wears.

Code Zone 2022 Virtual and In-Person Participants

L-R Bolu Babatunde Instructor, Olufunke Akinloye Founder Code Zone for Teens & Pre Teens, Michael Umoren Lead Instructor, Anthony Achoba Instructor at the closing presentation of Code Zone 2022

Feranmi Ojo, 18, another participant in the JavaScript class, interested in Skin Care expressed gratitude to her parents for registering her for the coding program. She said she has learnt so much building on the limited HTML knowledge she had before joining the program. Now within one month she has mastered HTML, CSS & fast becoming pro in JavaScript.

Accolades from parents were numerous during the closing presentation as they expressed how impressed they are. Mr Fadero a parent of one of the participants said he is amazed how much his son had learnt within the one month of enrolling in the program and he intends to support his child by encouraging him to continue to practice even though the program has ended.

Mrs Gbadebo, another parent with two kids enrolled in the program said ‘One of the things I really appreciate about the program is how intentional the instructors are about supporting the children to acquire the skill, only one of my son was in the program last year, but with what the sister saw him do she insisted she will join the program this year, I cannot say thank you enough to the organizers’.

Code Zone 2022 Participant Presentation

Participants Presentation

Code Zone 2022 had 3 classes hold simultaneously for the one month and just like previous editions they associate each class with programming veterans. The HTML & Cascading Style Sheet in-person class was called Team Wium Lie named after Hakon Wium Lie, a Norwagian web pioneer best known for developing Cascading Style Sheet. The HTML & CSS Virtual class was called Team Berners Lee named after Tim Berners Lee, an English computer scientist best known as an inventor of World Wide Web. The JavaScript Virtual class was called Team Gosling named after James Gosling, best known as the founder and lead designer of Java programming Language.

Class in session

Raising Stars through coding

Emerald Zone has always been proud to power Code Zone annually, as a business advisory organization involved in supporting businesses in areas such as Human Resources, Sales, and Marketing etc. and fully involved in training professionals in various fields, we have taken this as our Social project to upskill the young generation in readiness for the future they are growing into’ said Dapo Akinloye Chief Executive, Emerald Zone. ‘We are indeed proud of what all the children have been able to accomplish and we encourage them to build on what they have learnt with an intention to be the best in what they choose to do.

Teenagers should learn to Code

November 18, 2021 in Business, technology, Training, Upskilling

Why Teenagers should learn to code

There are a number of reasons why teenagers should learn to code some of which can start paying off immediately, while others hold their value for the long term.

To fill a gap

School is required. School is valuable. But most schools also haven’t come around to offering computer science courses. Unfortunately, though, coding is no longer a “nice to have” reserved as a selective skill for only the extremely dedicated to chase and learn on their own. It’s now something that is arguably more crucial to a well-rounded education, since ideally, “education” exists to prepare students for success in the real world.

So, teens should seek out coding classes and learn to code because the opportunity to do so is not going to come to them in the traditional school setting.

To get a leg up

If teens go out and seek to do something not available to most of their peers, they are going to stand out when compared to others. And one of the most important times that comparison happens is when it comes to college applications.

I mean, any extracurricular is typically going to bolster a college application, as it shows a student is taking initiative to take on more, and to develop alternative skills. But even beyond that, students who possess coding skills in particular can be reasoned to be logic-based problem solvers, or persistent and resilient challenge-tacklers who aren’t easily pushed off course by bugs or hurdles.

The benefits only snowball from there—those who seek to solve problems are often forced to communicate and work with others, and then are able to lead and teach once tasks are mastered, and so on.

To secure a lucrative career

First comes the opportunity, then comes college, and then of course, the ultimate goal, a career that pays well, is enjoyable, and has a noticeable impact on the general public.

Coding can very much be that career! While it’s up to the coder to decide whether or not coding is actually enjoyable and something they like doing, there isn’t any denying that a career rooted in coding is a lucrative one (the computer science major is one of the highest paying college majors available), and is something that is required and utilized throughout each and every day across the world.

In fact, there are a number of different coding languages that are used in order to make all of these things a reality.

Teens can code

Coding languages for teens to consider

JavaScript

Teens who are interested in web development and want to create front-end applications should consider JavaScript. It’s popular, and native to most web browsers, making it a very relevant and in-demand language when it comes to creating interactive web apps.

Quick fact: Netflix, PayPal, and a number of other recognizable web products lean on JavaScript (and the Node.js runtime environment, specifically).

Start now: JavaScript Coding powered by MIT Open Learning | Teen Tech

Read more: Web Design for Kids

Python

A great beginner’s language, teens can use Python to get their ideas up and running relatively quickly, given that Python requires fewer lines of code than other languages! Python is used by Google, Disney, other big brands, and can be utilized to develop video games, numeric computing projects, and web frameworks. Python is also flexible enough for use in cybersecurity and AI!

Beginners can expect to get started creating something like a text-based game, two-dimensional game, cybersecurity program, or console application.

Resources: Online python tutoring available now

C++

This is a versatile programming language that if mastered, will open the door to complex problem solving and a true understanding of how programs work. Teens might be most familiar with C++ as the language that is used to create computer applications. Thus, C++ is a time-intensive and complex language, but necessary for those interested in game programming.

Teens ready to get started can learn more about C++ tutoring.

Java

While Java might be easily confused with JavaScript, each language offers vastly different approaches, and they are used to accomplish a variety of different tasks. Teens who are familiar with and want to create Android apps will need to learn Java, and the language is also great for those interested in creating game engines and large backend environments, as well as those wanting to get into Minecraft modding.

Teens Coding

C#

If augmented reality is of interest, teens should consider diving into C#. By combining C# coding and Unity (the industry-standard game development engine), teens learn to use next-level sending and imaging tech to create their own mobile games!

Quick fact: Augmented reality is an interactive experience where digital objects are placed in a real-world environment in real-time.

Hands-on coding tools for teens

With something new and seemingly complex like coding, it might be useful for teens to get familiar with the tools and “toys” at their disposal, in order to make coding – and coding creations – more tangible.

micro:bit

The micro:bit is a small programmable computer more formally known as a microcontroller development board. It allows users to create awesome inventions. In addition to creating basic programs, teens can also use the device to develop games and solve real-world problems.

Sphero RVR

The Sphero RVR allows teens the opportunity to jump into autonomous robotics (which refers to robots that can be programmed to perform tasks on their own). The Sphero RVR is highly customizable and has many built-in sensors, a professional-level control system, and a powerful motor paired with all-terrain treads.

ProtoType HARP

Prototype HARP is an escape room style hardware game you have to “hack” to solve using cryptography and critical thinking skills. (HARP stands for hardware alternate reality puzzle.)

Arduino

An Arduino is a microcontroller, perfect for prototyping, and popular among teens who want to create new electronic devices and integrate sensors for something like an autonomous robot that understands and navigates its environment.

VEX

VEX is a popular, exciting, robotics platform designed for teens to build a wide variety of robots. Features includes sensors, which gather information for the robot, and motors, which allow users to create moving parts, like wheels and claw arms.

PyCharm

PyCharm is an Integrated Development Environment or IDE. You can think of it as a notepad in which to write programs.

TensorFlow

TensorFlow is a Google-developed library that makes it easier to create and train machine learning models and neural networks.

Quick fact: Machine learning allows computers to learn and improve at a given time with practice over time. Learn more about machine learning for kids.

IntelliJ

To start writing and running code in Java, teens can use IntelliJ, which is also an integrated development environment.

Visual Studio

Speaking of IDEs, Visual Studio is Microsoft’s integrated development environment. Teens can use Visual Studio for computer program development, allowing them to create websites as well as web and mobile apps.

MicroPython

As spelled out on micropython.org, “MicroPython is a lean and efficient implementation of the Python 3 programming language that includes a small subset of the Python standard library and is optimized to run on microcontrollers and in constrained environments.”

For instance, out at our robotics summer camps, MicroPython is used with Arduino to control the camera of an autonomous and self-driving robot, and sends information based on the camera readings to initiate commands in the Arduino programming language.

Coding by Teens

Coding project examples

When starting something new, a common piece of advice you’ll often receive is to go “step by step” or “one step at a time,” “walk before you run,” etc.

It’s all true, and great advice. But it doesn’t mean you can’t look ahead or around you at the same time. A perfect time to do so is when figuring out an end goal. Why coding? What does your teen want to do with it? What can they do with it?

So, here are a few example projects that combine a lot of what has already been explained above with languages and tools.

For instance, combining micro:bit and Javascript, teens can learn how to program games and then play them on their own or with friends—something like a falling fruit catcher as shown here!

Speaking of games, any game player is familiar with the famous side-scroller, made popular by titles like Super Mario Bros., Double Dragon, and others. And how about the endless runner? Sonic Dash and Super Mario Run are newer examples, made popular as mobile apps. With Java, 2D jump physics, and more, teens can make their own side-scrolling endless runner!

Switching gears to Augmented reality, AR is an interactive experience where digital objects are placed in a real-world environment in real-time. Recently, Augmented Reality technology has boomed due to applications and games that have made it more accessible to everyone.

Teens interested in creating their own AR games with C# can look to the massively-popular Pokémon Go for inspiration. Other AR app examples include Snapchat’s filters, and visualization experiences like IKEA’s Place app, which allows shoppers to virtually place furniture they’re considering in their homes (or, within/on top of photos of their homes) to see how it looks!

And then how about a game built with machine learning? Experiments with Google is a rabbit hole of fun, and one of the things you might come across is this drawing game where a neural network guesses what you’re drawing. It’s pretty amazing how accurate the guesses are, even when you’re terrible at drawing like me!

Last, for a hands-on, competitive endeavor, how about a little battle bot action? With VEX Coding Studio and VEX C++ (the robotics coding language), teens can customize and wire a robot base, and then put it through user-piloted obstacle course challenges and mazes, or stacking and object-moving activities, and more.

The time to code is now for TEENS

Something can’t be called cliche if it’s accurate, that’s my rule. So, seriously, if teens want to be able to get all they can out of learning to code, the time is now. Jumping in today will allow them to reap maximum benefits from all that coding has to offer.

And there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that opportunities to learn to code aren’t just going to fall into anyone’s lap. Teens who get up and go to school, then to baseball practice, and then home every single day may not ever be exposed to a coding opportunity.

The good news, though, is that opportunities are plentiful, but they need to actively searched for. Perhaps it’s an online coding course over the weekend, or a weeklong coding camp during the summer. You can even get the ball rolling by downloading a coding app, or watching a YouTube tutorial.

Either way, best of luck! Here are a few additional resources to help your teen get started.

Online coding resources

In-person coding courses and programs

Online learning

Coding Blogs & Organizations

Coding Tools & Toys

Co-working Space and its many Benefits

October 5, 2021 in Business, Co-Working Space, Professionalism, Training, Upskilling, Workspace

Co Working Spaces

Co-working space simply explained, is a commercial work environment where diverse groups of independent, hardworking & dedicated professionals such as techies, writers, freelancers and remote workers, work together in a shared communal setting for effective and productive use of their time.

It’s been proven over and over that the use of co working space is very beneficial to the users despite the fact that strangers have alongside each other in the workspace environment.

Emerald Zone as a co-working space provider for some years now following customer testimonials and tangible evidence alongside local and international has compiled the benefits of using co working space to customers.

Here are a quick summary of the benefits of using the co-working space

Since users of co working space work for different organizations and have varied interest, there is little or no competition nor internal politics. It strengthens the confidence and identity of the worker as they feel distinct and unique.
Co working spaces are focused on entrenching and strengthening values such as collaboration, learning and sustainability. It is supposed to be a norm that workers help each other as they all have different skill set and can support each other in the work space community.
Workspace provide amenities that may not be available in some office settings nor in many homes for those that Work from Home, neither do freelancers have easy access to such things as Conference Room, Meeting Room, Work out space etc
The opportunity to network with other professionals is one of the great benefits of co working space. Being surrounded with goal oriented and high achieving professionals and ensuring one is truly present among them by engaging and interacting surely has its way of strengthening the individual’s network.
Co working can increase productivity as it takes away the Work from Home distraction and because it’s facility that is paid for, users take their whole self to work so that they can get value for their money alongside the motivation they get from seeing other professionals operating at the top of their game. This also gives a sense of belonging as opposed to the feeling of loneliness that customers experience from Working From Home.
Happiness they say is a choice, the vibe a co working space gives often enhance happy feeling among users. The positivity of thinking about the possibility of connecting to the next great opportunity or the next big thing. The feeling of being among those that make things happen in diverse ways. The feeling of catching a snack with a stranger that can turn out to be a homie in a few more connect does bring forth the feeling of happiness and this impacts on work done from co working space.
Using a co-working space tend to give the user an opportunity to learn something new. It could be a new skill, a fashion style, personal space facelift, healthy lifestyle habits, gaming platform etc Many at times users may have come across the information but may never have used it until they are in close proximity with another user hence they get positively influenced to try out new things.

Emerald Zone is has been providing workspace that meets the needs of users from Personal space to private offices that can take from 3 to 10 people as well as training & conference room suitable for up to 70 people. Emerald Zone has workspace facilities located in different areas within Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria all strategically within serene environments that enhance concentration and productivity. The rates are friendly and the amenities are amazing so to make more enquiries you can visit on ezonelagos on Instagram or Facebook, you can also call 08038095408 or email info@emeraldzone.com.ng

Code Zone 2021 ends successfully

September 19, 2021 in Professionalism, technology, Training, Uncategorized, Upskilling

Code Zone 2021 started on Monday August 2, 2021 and it was clearly on a higher level from previous editions which held in 2019 and 2020, this holiday summer coding Program for Teens and Preteens rounded up on August 31, 2021 after 22 days of intense training of participants between the ages of 10 to 16years.

This year’s edition was quite exciting and intense for us as organizers as we had to manage both In-person and Virtual classes at the same time. We had 3 classes hold simultaneously and for ease of administration and identification of the students we named each class after Programmers:

In- person Class for HTML & CSS we named Team Babbage
Virtual Class for HTML & CSS we named Team Malvat
Virtual Class for JavaScript we named Team Eich

Code Zone Team Malvat

In line with our practice each participant had to apply their learning in their area of interest which we have come to appreciate that it makes assimilation easier for all participants. The areas of interest showcased through the presentations of these young ones were Soccer, Fashion, Books, Music, Games, Aviation, Movies, Travel, ecommerce and Lifestyle. The amazing display of creativity by the children through their choice of images, page layout and colour combination among other things made the guests go wow!

Participants project

One of the many things that continues to give us joy on the project are those moments when these children write their code and it works, the joy that exudes from within them cannot be bought, here are some moments in pictures, most of our of the participants had no clue on what coding was like before they got on the program, in all there were 22 participants

The Program was concluded on with presentations from members of each team, the beauty of the presentation for us is that beyond the coding that the kids have learnt and want to showcase, its an opportunity for them to develop the confidence to face an audience, they also get to take questions and most importantly get feedback on their work so they can improve on it if they choose to go further.

Code Zone 2021 Presentation Day

‘The success for this year can first be attributed to God and the amazing efforts of the volunteer instructors namely Ifeanyi Chiemeke, Michael Umoren and Biose Isichei. It’s also a good opportunity to say thank you to parents that registered their children as well as individuals who sponsored the registrations of a number of children and overall the Emerald Zone team that ensure all the behind the scenes activities move successfully; Said Mrs Akinloye Olufunke

Feedback from parents have been positively overwhelming and captured for future reference, we also got a couple of mentions in the papers

Code Zone 2021 Testimonial

Code Zone 2021 The Nation

Code Zone 2021 Vanguard

Code Zone 2021 Telegraph

Code Zone 2021 Guardian

Code Zone is an annual program powered by Emerald Zone with the mission of helping the young ones acquire coding skills at little or no cost in order to prepare them as they grow into the world where technology takes the lead.

CODE ZONE FOR TEENS 2020

October 17, 2020 in Training

Code Zone for Teens 2020 is a Success, Thank you to all participants!

The second edition of Code Zone for Teens which held on September 1 – 30,2020 has successfully been concluded. The amazing thing about this edition is that it is virtual.

Before it was organized, several considerations were put into consideration; Age range (11- 17) to assess the concentration on virtual training, uninterrupted, and most probably unsupervised access to the internet, 3 hours of daily classes – VIRTUAL, etc. It just felt like a recipe for what cannot work. However, the team decided that if it is for ONE reason that the session is worth it, then we must hold it.

This year we had 7 participants and they further gave us a reason to continue the classes. Almost all the participants did not know jack about programming as when they joined and amazingly as on the last day when they had to present even their parents were in awe. Their areas of interest which determined the website they developed were e-commerce, public health, games & music.

What this edition has re-enacted for us;

– Do not underestimate the tenacity of children especially when they are interested. These Children were by their computers at 8 am daily for classes, some even had to do 7 am for specific reasons

– Collateral Learning: while they set out to learn a programming language, they also became ZOOM meeting experts, Internet strength experts (they had to try several networks to stay connected), Presentation skills: they had to present their project to a large audience so they had to compose their thoughts.

– Value can be spotted: Though many parents/guardians do not completely understand what the kids have been taught, they are excited that the time was not wasted. Even if it’s for the discipline of waking up early, trying to complete a task, positive use of the internet. They are glad they got value.

Thanks to all that participated and to parents that allowed us to add value to their children. We look forward to the 2021 edition we know it will be Bigger & Better. We are confident that these kids will play on the world stage someday really soon.

LASU Graduates Signs up for Graduate Development Program.

October 15, 2020 in Graduate Development Programme, Professionalism, Training

LASU Graduates Signs up for Emerald Zone Graduate Development Program.

Personal Development is an individual decision. However, It is clear that we have to take steady steps to adjust to life in the new normal. It is therefore on this note that we applaud the Final Year Students & recent Graduates of Lagos State University for signing up for the Graduate Development Program organized by Emerald Zone.

Emerald Zone designed this monthly training program to empower the youths and prepare them for the workplace. The organization identified the gap in the expectation of the employer in a Talent and the level of preparedness of the fresh job seeker.

Dr. Igot Ofem, LASU Career Development Centre Coordinator said ‘Emerald Zone has been consistent in its efforts to contribute to the development of the Youths, their track record speaks for itself. Therefore, we are very comfortable to partner with them so that they can upskill our soon to be graduates & their immediate predecessors’.

The Graduate Development Program provides soft skill training that is very essential to fit in the workplace. Modules such as Personal Effectiveness, Business Eco-Systems, Ethics, etc are just a few among the areas covered.

The COO of Emerald Zone, Mr. Oladapo Akinloye is excited to have the LASU students on board ‘this is a confirmation of the value we consistently deliver, our resolve to consciously expand the base of employable youths is coming to fruition’.He further stated that the 4 weeks training program has expert practitioners as faculty that give relatable examples hence helping the participants learn clearly and understand faster.It is a platform we have developed for organizations to reach out and seek well-groomed talents that can be hired for their aptitude and attitude.

At the moment the Graduate Development Programs is Virtual and runs once a week for four weeks. Classes are intensive as it encompasses a lot of assignments and discussions. Individuals or groups are invited to reach out to @ezonelagos on Facebook & Instagram to register for the next cohort which is in November 2020 if not they can register for other months.

Training