In February 2016, the Florida Senate approved a proposal that would allow high school students to count computer coding as a foreign language course. Senator Jeremy Ring’s bill was passed by a 35-5 vote and if signed into law will take effect in the 2018-2019 school year.
Critics of the proposed bill worry about damaging the cultural education of students and placing a burden on public schools that are already lacking when it comes to technology resources. Others can see the broad effects of the bill helping students with mental disabilities or dyslexia, which can make it difficult to learn a foreign language.
If this bill is passed, it will not require public schools to offer computer coding, but the students of schools that cannot or do not offer computer coding will have access to it in other ways through Florida Virtual School or through other means.
While many believe that the knowledge of computer coding is a growing necessity in today’s technology careers, the debate about whether or not it is a foreign language will continue on until the bill is either passed or denied.
Computer Programming in the Healthcare Industry
A number of jobs within healthcare and software development industries are currently in high demand due to explosive growth, which is expected to continue.
Over time, the role of computers in the healthcare industry has increased and improved immensely. Today they serve as a sophisticated tool used by medical professionals to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of patient care.
Things like “Web-based information portals” have been created so that patients and doctors can log in from anywhere to see lab or radiology results, work out a treatment plan or even schedule an appointment. The use of mobile and wearable devices to track dosage schedules and monitor patient’s vital information such as their heart rate or blood pressure has also increased.
Computer programming jobs within the healthcare industry fall within two major categories, which are research and software engineering.
The daily activities of a computer science researcher varies depending on where they work. Some research is more theoretical and involves the development and analyzation of new techniques and algorithms, while some is more applied involving the design, implementation and testing of new technology. In all cases, research is a kind of intellectual exploration that seeks to advance a particular field of study.
Software engineers are helping with the implementation of computers within the medical field. The purpose behind this is to help simplify the interaction between doctors and patients and make the job of doctors and nurses more efficient. Within this field, computer programmers are needed to create the software for medical equipment and for hospital administration.
According to Research and Markets’ North American Healthcare IT Market Report for 2013-2017, the Health IT market is expected to grow at a compound rate of 7.4% over the next year reaching $31.3 billion by 2017.