JACKSON TWP — The Seneca Valley School District in the past two years has placed an emphasis on coding and computer programming for students, a new curriculum that already has fourth graders creating their own video games.

Linda Orr, technology facilitator for Connoquenessing Valley Elementary School, teaches coding to students in grades K-4 and said it's never too early to immerse students in the subject.

It's Orr who is teaching her fourth graders to create their own video games, while she's also teaching her third graders to create their own interactive greeting cards.

It's a win-win situation for students and teachers alike, Orr said, because students are learning an ever-valuable skill through things like video games, websites and e-mail.

“They consider this a fun way to learn and I see it as a way of teaching problem solving,” Orr said. “I let them fail (with coding) and then we go back and make it correct.”

It only takes one small blip in code to ruin an entire project, Orr said, which means there is a lot of trial and error in her classroom.

Ronelle Rowe, technology facilitator at Haine Middle School who teaches students in the fifth and sixth grades, said her students also immerse themselves in coding, but step up the game from their younger counterparts.

Her students have created games complete with music, in-depth storylines and graphics that allow users to fly objects through a virtual world.

But don't tell Rowe that her students are wasting their time messing around with video games and computer programming. Computer coding is quickly becoming a “basic literacy” for students in the 21st century, she said.

“I firmly believe that all students should learn programming as it will impact their life no matter what occupation they decide to pursue,” Rowe said. “Every device that our students use has some type of code that makes them run. I do formally believe that code is the language of the 21st century.”

Jack Veverka is one of the students benefiting from Seneca Valley's emphasis on coding and computer programming. Rowe is his teacher for the curriculum.

The 12-year-old sixth grader from Cranberry Township has built his own video game, a mix between Donkey Kong and Pac Man that Jack likes to call “Pac Man Stars.”

He estimated it took more than 50 hours of coding and programming to complete the game.

What's more is that he's placed QR codes, or bar codes that can be scanned by smart phones, all across Haine Middle School. Any student who wishes can scan the QR code, download Jack's game and play it whenever they like.

Jack is fascinated by coding and said he already knows he wants to pursue it as a career.

“There are no limitations on what you can do,” said Jack, admitting that he often teaches himself new coding techniques outside of the classroom. “It's something you can change the world with.”

Fellow sixth-grader Jordan Henne took another view on coding. The Cranberry Township student doesn't want to pursue it for a career, but that doesn't mean she isn't getting all sorts of benefits from the curriculum.

“Technology is such a big part of our world now,” she said. “Coding teaches you math, science, reading, problem solving. It teaches you different ways to look at things.”

The coding studies are taken up another notch at the intermediate and senior high schools.

Linda Martin, technology facilitator for the intermediate high school, has the unique role of training all of the other teachers in coding.

She spoke with enthusiasm about coding at the high school level and mentioned that Seneca Valley students are creating their own phone applications, video games and robotics programs using coding.

“It's amazing what they come up with,” Martin said.

Those students also are studying more advanced coding techniques like Java in an effort to immerse themselves in the subject.

According to Martin, the coding classes could pay off in a big way for students down the road.

“There are so many jobs available in coding, so many fields that are requiring coding experience and expertise,” she said. “And there are not enough people to fill those jobs.”

Superintendent Tracy Vitale understands the importance of coding too, which is why she made it an initiative to introduce more classes in the district.

Coding “is essentially like learning a second language,” Vitale said, and companies and colleges are always looking for students who are bilingual.

“We already know what the research has indicated about teaching children to be multilingual and the many positive effects on other subjects and learning in general,” Vitale said. “Teaching children to code or program is yet another way to develop critical thinking, problem-solving and computation skills — all 21st century skills that are needed in today's workplace.”

Vitale said her administrative team began thinking about introducing coding classes to Seneca Valley after visiting the Google offices and the Tech Shop, both in Pittsburgh.