One of the most significant developments of mankind has been the art of writing. The earliest type of writing was in the form of graffiti and paintings on rocks and walls of caves. The first people who engaged in writing are reported to have been Sumerians and the Egyptians around 3500-3200 BC.[i] Early writing of this type was in the form of cuneiform and hieroglyphics. After that, writing emerged in different styles and form per the different societies and differences in expression.

Words are magical. They have preserved records of civilizations. They express desires and dreams and thoughts. But why write at all? What was or is the motive for writing? People write for different reasons. Some write because they have something to say; something to share with others, to inform. Others write to share their feelings.

George Orwell claimed there are four main reasons why people write as depicted below:

·         Sheer Egoism: According to this concept, people write because they want to be talked about; they want to reveal their cleverness. People who are motivated by sheer egoism desire to be counted among the top crust of humanity such as scientists, artists, politicians, lawyers and successful businessmen who are always putting their thoughts in print.

 Unlike traditional online courses that charge a fee, limit enrollment and provide credit or certification, Moocs (massive open online courses) are usually free or low cost and can host hundreds of  thousands global participants.  Although MOOC have been around for years in the form of collective techie learning gatherings, participation in 2012 has ballooned at a rapid pace likened to FaceBook in its heyday.  According to The Year of the MOOCarticle in the New YorkTimes, edX, a nonprofit start-up backed by Harvard and MIT, had 370,000 registrants in the fall of its first official courses. This paled in comparison to the amount of students that Courseraattained in its first year of online learning opportunities, 1.7 million!

Will MOOCs Replace education as we know it?

Like any new trend, massive participation in online classes has its challenges. Lynda Weinman has ample experience when pointing out that they are by no means a replacement for formal education.  As a former digital animator, special effects designer and classroom college teacher, Linda paved the path for an earlier version of MOOC education in the mid 90’s when she founded Lynda.comas an aide to her own students. Over four million students and 2,200 courses later she’s confident when clarifying that many of the collegespartnered with Lynda.com use the tutorials as added features to their existing courses.  When asked in an interview with ReadWriteBuilders, if high technical companies look at online programs in terms of advancement as a supplement to traditional education or as a way for people to further their careers, Lynda feels that “it’sjust one example of something that you can do to enhance your attractiveness to potential employers. But [it’s also important to have] a portfolio and body of work, references that actually work out, showing that you had success in the past.”

MOOC Benefits:

Applications are becoming more and more sophisticated as languages such as Python open the doors to the world of programming for people who have the creative vision but always felt actually writing code was beyond their grasp.

A large part of any programs success is based on how well it can react to the events which it has been programmed to understand and listen for.

A good example of an event would be when the user clicks a button on the applications window. What happens when that button is clicked?

Well, the first thing that happens is the operating system sends out a message to let any listening software know that the button was clicked. Next, your application needs to do something in response to that event.

Although the index is an important itemized guide of what people are searching for on the internet, it’s arguable that certain languages getting recognition is a direct result of early adopters posting tutorials and filling up discussion boards on current trends. Additionally, popular tech blogs pick up on technological shifts and broadcast related versions of the same themes.

When does the popularity of a software language matter?

1. If you want marketable skills, knowing what employers are looking for is beneficial. As an example, languages such as Java and Objective C are highly coveted in the smart-phone apps businesses.
2. A consistently shrinking language in usage is an indicator not only that employers are apt to pass on those skills but fall in danger of being obsolete.
3. Focusing on languages that are compatible with other developers increases your chances to participate on projects that companies are working on.