I’m going to be honest. I know absolutely nothing about the world of code. I’m not trying to be a pick me. . . but seriously. I want to be a teacher, not a coder or web developer person. However, I must also admit that I found Kevin Brock’s Toward the Rhetorical Study of Code to be quite fascinating. Here, he argued that code is a form of rhetoric since it offers a way for people to communicate perspectives and ideas. At first, I was seriously like, “Literally what!?” but then it clicked. Code developers are kinda like teachers- both create something that is meant to be experienced and interpreted.
Code = Instructions for Computer
In super simple terms, code converts human input into a language that computers can understand to complete tasks. These can be anything from playing a song to opening a website. So, a code developer intentionally writes the code, and each decision alters the code’s overall function.
What Brock discussed in his chapter is that code is more than just mechanics; it’s also expressive. Coders write incredibly specific functions, and during this, they make choices- how something should happen, why it should happen that way, and who will be engaging with it. This is what reminded me of teaching (you knew I was going to bring it there)!
The Teacher Version of Coding
When teachers design lessons, they take a specific subject and topic and decide how to present that information, how to make it meaningful, and how they want the students to engage with it. Code developers do the exact same thing, just in digital spaces.
Now, I will not be writing actual code as a teacher, but understanding it as a form of communication can help me see how digital tools are built every day. And maybe even help me to use them more intentionally in my future classroom!
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