PD produces a video game at Khan Academy
I told my 13-year-old son, PD, that if he was going to spend so much time playing video games, then he would have to learn how to program his own games. Because if there is one thing I have learned over two years of writing about the subject, Media Literacy requires that you are able to produce your own media, not just analyze it.
He got started with the tutorials at Khan Academy, and now he is very excited about the games he is creating, while learning about a practical and fun use for math. He spends time when he is away from the computer thinking about solutions to problems he has set up. And now when he plays games, he is thinking about how the programming behind the scenes.
I found some other resources via Dr. Jennifer Shewmaker here and via ProPublica here.
Other ways to learn are through summer camps at local colleges. There is one at MIT.
Also, I told PD to try to find a teacher at school who can lead an afterschool club in coding. He’s working on it.
Please let me know how it goes! And if you know of more resources, please let us all know via the comments section. When I get some free time, I plan to learn a bit of coding myself.
Marketing, Media and Childhood 
Looks like I am featuring a Redbull ad here on my site since I haven’t paid for the no-ad upgrade. Wow if they only knew how inappropriate that ad was here! This particular ad with the “no limits” theme could stand some deconstruction. Hey kids, drinking a chemical laden drink won’t help you sky dive or be cool. It will primarily help make the manufacturer a profit. 🙂