Nov 19, 2025

Inspiring Young People (and Their Parents) to Become Programmers - Cassandra Chin

How can conductive Play-Doh and programmable Legos teach kids core programming logic, without them memorizing a single line of syntax?

#1about 1 minute

Inspiring the next generation with "Raising Young Coders"

The book "Raising Young Coders" is a project-based guide for parents to introduce their children to the logic of programming through inspiring outcomes.

#2about 3 minutes

A personal journey from coding workshops to teaching

Early exposure to programming through local workshops on Minecraft modding and Raspberry Pi led to a passion for teaching others.

#3about 2 minutes

Introducing AI-first programming with modern tools

The upcoming book "AI First Programming" teaches development fundamentals from the start by integrating AI assistants like GitHub Copilot into the learning process.

#4about 4 minutes

Using physical projects to make coding tangible

Hands-on projects like paper circuits with copper tape and coin batteries help beginners connect physical actions with software concepts for more immediate results.

#5about 9 minutes

Why coding fundamentals are essential in the AI era

Relying solely on AI to generate code is risky without understanding the fundamentals, as it makes debugging and improving applications nearly impossible for a beginner.

#6about 6 minutes

A live demo of an interactive AI book for kids

"Phippy's AI Friend" uses a custom version of Scratch and a webcam to teach machine learning concepts through live image recognition training.

#7about 3 minutes

Empowering parents to continue the learning at home

Reaching parents through books and conference keynotes is crucial for creating a supportive home environment that continues a child's tech education.

#8about 2 minutes

The importance of encouraging more girls in technology

Addressing the gender gap in computer science is vital because diverse engineering teams with different perspectives build more inclusive and effective products.

#9about 2 minutes

Final advice on publishing and starting kids early

While publishing a book is a challenging process, it is a rewarding way to share knowledge, and it's never too early to start kids with simple tech projects like conductive Play-Doh.