'Spitting Bars!' Hip Hop is redefining the way we attract young people into coding and technology.

There is a stigma behind the type of person who studies coding but what if we found a way to redefine that? The latest craze coming out of America shows how educators are finding new ways to tap into young minds; music is redefining the way we attract young people into coding. There has been so much in the news of late about the lack of young people being inspired by STEM subjects, could Hip Hop be a way that we engage with today's millennials?nbsp; Hip hop is currently a genre of music that is inspiring students to code in the US.

It is a new phenomenon where hackathons and workshops are popping up all over the states and are being sponsored by some huge tech giants who are realising that innovation comes in many forms. Organisations such as Free your Mind and Hip Hop Hacktivist use Hip Hop..... to change a negative perception of a programmer, and introduce opportunities in tech that can change people’s circumstances tremendously Quoted Christopher Emdin Artists such Nas with his Queensbridge Ventures partners firm, Will.i.am with his work over at intel, and Chamillionaire with his activity in the tech space, are all Hip Hop artists that have demonstrated the vision and opportunities that exist in tech. Students are being inspired by these artists and understand how they too can be better prepared to engage with the world around them if they study coding or STEM-related subjects. Christopher Emdin, first brought this concept to the mainstream in 2013, his article in the New York Times outlined how Hip Hop could help young students feel inspired by a different way of learning In Teaching STEM use Hip Hop as a bridge. His theory is centred around one finding, that Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths should not be taught any less different from art-related subjects. He believes that Students need a transition, a bridge, a motivator which makes science more accessible, interesting and relevant to them and their lives.

Bringing coding and hip-hop together has shown students how they can benefit from studying something so close to their hearts. How do we tap into this phenomenon? With a widening skills gap in the UK and our lack of growing talent in this area, it is obvious how bad we are at tapping into our pipeline of students who want to be creative and innovative but haven't been exposed to the right teaching methods. We all know that coding skills are the foundation for a successful career in technology, which could help young millennials gain their dream roles in many high-flying tech companies. However, unless we make it compulsory in our schools, start pumping money into initiatives schemes and workshops and start making it fun to learn, then we are probably not attracting the most creative innovators.

Read John Battelle recent Pulse post Coding may soon be a part of our school's core curriculum, thanks to code.org and find out how Code.org has become a new administration directive, to fund STEM education to the tune of $200 million a year in the US. We should take the lead from America. Introducing Music with Coding An introduction to music with coding, (and whether that genre is Hip Hop?) could be one way that help engage young students who would never normally be attracted to this type of subject. We all know how much studying is involved in being a computer scientist, a coder or engineer, but ultimately what we are looking for is creativity and passion and that is not something you learn in a textbook. Stepping away from traditional teaching methods could open the subject to a whole new person, and their level of intellect should not determine whether they take the subject or not. Intellectual rigour to handle the intricacies of computer architecture, differential equations, a programming language or abstract thinking comes much later, we just need young kids to feel inspired enough to see what tech and coding can do for them; making maths and science relevant to students lives is so important right now and we need to make it fun. Hip Hop is just a catalyst for something bigger. James Mims another educator in the US has also brought to light how important these tactics are to help young students get inspired by our ‘smart’ world. He uses “interactive Hip Hop classrooms where music becomes an entry point into discussions about politics, race, class and gender”. He has tried to relate to today’s young students who are stimulated by mobile phones, music and popular culture; by using phones and augmented reality apps in his lessons “Students who are disengaged and turned off by the pen and paper tests feel reinvigorated” his teaching styles have been widely adapted and has led to a rise in successful hip hop hackathons and summer camps that promote coding for the young. Hackathons and Summer camps are receiving recognition by tech companies These annual Hackathons allow students to take part in workshops learning about HTML, CSS and DJ production.

The concept is fascinating and is receiving widespread recognition by companies such as Spotify, who now run workshops called “Hustling 101: How to turn your code into cash”, as well as sessions on building apps, trademarks and patents. “ It’s amazing when you understand what HTML can do for you, you kind of want to learn more”. The Economist brought to light the success of these hackathons in a recent post about how hip-hop is introducing children to coding and technology. A brilliant article that reveals the success that Hip Hop is having in promoting STEM. Huge tech giants such as Tumblr, Uber, Facebook, Google and the New York Times are taking young students under their wing and getting them to work with their engineers to create apps using open-data APIs. With more programs and initiatives planned for 2018 in 7 states across the US, we need to start bringing this concept to the UK. The socio-economic potential of this kind of event is huge and today the opportunities in tech are a real game changer. The Reality of innovation is borne through a creative mind There is one thing to bear in mind when talking about new teaching practices as it is often incredibly easy to be critical.... Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction.

Albert Einstein Anyone can tell you that STEM courses are a ton of hard work, but I think what many of these tech companies are fast realising is that innovation comes in many forms and we must move beyond mere hard work and bring into play our creativity and our genius. At least that is what we must do if our goal is to engage and help students, rather than merely make ourselves look good as academics by carping about how tough the STEM fields are.

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