Coding and creativity. Reflections and design proposals

The aim of the chapter is to reflect on and guide the design of coding from the perspective of creativity and the development of critical thinking. The assumption is that coding is seen from a functionalist perspective: it is used to know and practice languages that allow and force a culture of market-driven schooling. Starting from presenting and discussing four different paradigms for viewing code, we will show why emancipatory and interpretive paradigms could introduce coding to develop creativity and give students the capacity to be true democratic citizens of the world. We will describe design elements of these two paradigms and the connections with a media educative point of view. Therefore, this research examines coding from an emancipatory perspective and uses critical thinking to reduce the risk of being controlled by the informational society.