This Delhi teenager’s book on coding aims to bridge the digital divide
The pandemic drove many youngsters into worrying about what the future holds for them. But some rose above it, to not just keep themselves engaged, but also help their peers. And 17-year-old Delhiite Paarth Arya is one of the latter!
“Last year, I felt some of our text books could be made much simpler. I had done some online courses, like CS50 from Harvard University, where they explained everything in a manner that was easy to understand,” says Arya, currently in class 12, adding, “The pandemic made me notice that while I was getting quality education online, underprivileged students of my age were deprived of these opportunities. I felt I should do something to resolve this, and that’s why I wrote the book!”
To spread his knowledge and love for coding, Arya penned The Python Champions of Coding, for those who are 10-12 years old. Besides including lots of activities in the book, Arya has made sure to explain the concepts in an uncomplicated manner.
“I tried to make it as easy as possible so that the readers don’t need a teacher and can understand it all on their own,” he says, recalling how his love for coding goes back to when he was in the sixth grade. “I did some hackathons in school, and got the confidence to explore my abilities... Last year we had so much time because of online education, and I did many online courses in artificial intelligence, machine learning and so on.”
On the process of putting together the book, he shares, “I spent around five months writing the book, going through the drafts to include as many activities as possible, and showing the book to my parents and friends to make sure that I present the information in a simple way. I even asked my teachers for advice. And when I approached my principal, she was so proud of me!”
The young gun believes in the need to use technology for the good of youngsters. “Technology has the power to be inclusive, and we should harness it so that everyone can have access to its advantages. This would also bridge the digital divide that affects a large part of our population... That is why my book’s content is available as a physical book, an e-book, and even as videos on YouTube,” says Arya, who has decided to donate the earnings from the sale of his book to enable education for the underprivileged. He tells us, “It will be donated to an NGO called Bring a Smile Foundation in
Hyderabad, which works in health and education.”
The pandemic made me notice that while I was getting quality education online, many underprivileged students lacked opportunities... So, I wrote this book and kept it easy to understand. PAARTH ARYA,