Welcome to our programming tutorials on Khan Academy.
Are you completely new to computer programming?
Well, don't worry--that means that you're like 99.5% of the world.
And we're here to help.
I bet you're wondering what programming actually is.
When we write a program, we're giving a computer
a series of commands,
that kind of look like a weird form of English.
You could just think of a computer as a really obedient dog,
listening to your commands, and doing whatever you tell it to do.
Thankfully, programming isn't this obscure skill
that only special people can do--
It's something that we can all learn.
Kids, teens, adults from all over the world
are learning programming today.
What's so "cool" about programming?
Why are all those people learning it?
Well, it really depends on what you think is "cool,"
because, as it turns out,
you can use programming
for almost everything.
Today people write programs to do everything
from helping doctors and patients cure diseases;
helping save endangered species all over the world;
making self-driving cars, so that you never have to worry
about learning to drive when you get older;
creating algorithmic jewelry;
designing robots that can take care of patients,
or robots that can roam around Mars and look for water on the surface;
making really fun games,
like Doodle Jump, Draw Something, Angry Birds,
any game that you've played;
making movies like all those awesome 3-D movies from Pixar, like Avatar,
or making computer graphics to go inside live-action movies
like Gollum, in Lord of the Rings;
making the websites and apps that you use everyday, all the time,
like Facebook, and Google Maps, and Wikipedia,
and YouTube, and Pinterest;
and, of course, educating the world
on websites like Khan Academy, where you are now.
So, right now, on Khan Academy,
you can learn to make your own art and games
which will give you a great start
towards creating whatever you can imagine.
It might be hard to see how a drawing program relates
to making websites, programming phones, or curing diseases,
but believe it or not, the same basic concepts
are used by pretty much every programmer,
in almost every program.
That means that once you learn to code on Khan Academy,
you'll be able to learn other sorts of coding way more easily.
You've taken the important first step by coming here and watching this video.
So let's get started with your very first program.
See you there!