Posts Every month or so, a few questions niggle me:
- Should I learn more about how to code (write and modify computer programs) ?
- Should I be teaching my kids more about coding ?
- Should I add a little more coding to the course I am teaching?
The answers are, I think:
- Definitely
- Yes
- Probably
On the weekend, an article appeared on the “Click” section of the BBCTV site suggesting that the British education system is not creating the programmers needed by the large video game production sector. The analogy was that by teaching kids how to use (but not to create) programs, the education system is doing the equivalent to teaching them how to read without knowing how to write. This was seen as a problem for any “business that has computer technology at its core”.
Hudson, A. (2011, June 4). Are children becoming ‘digitally illiterate’? BBC. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/programmes/click_online/9503255.stm
I would love to see sessions in libraries aimed at teaching kids how to code – especially girls. One can dream.
So – if you want to teach your kids to code, what are some options?
1. Logo – This is both a philosophy of teaching coding plus the language to do it. It was developed by Samuel Papert and Wally Feurzig in the late 1960s. At its simplest, it involves writing commands to move a cursor (often in the shape of a turtle) around the screen. It comes pre-installed on the One Laptop Per Child laptops. More information on the Logo Foundation Site . For a really simple example, check out this little game at the Math Playground that allows you to see how various commands move the Turtle around the screen.
2. Scratch – Developed at MIT and aimed at 6 – 16 year olds. One can drag and drop elements on to a panel to quickly combine them. Many of the variables can be altered in each box. More information at the Scratch site. Check out the “Featured projects” page to see what students have made.
3. Kodu . This is available at not cost from from Microsoft and can be used on an Xbox 360 or downloaded to a PC. It lets kids create complete gaming worlds, with many of the hard bits pre-made. My little guys have tried this out – creating a game where one had to catch apples from a tree. I seem to remember the apples then following you and exploding – but I could be making that bit up… You can see more at the Kodu site .
4. Raspberry Pi . Coming at the end of 2011, this is a complete computing system on a USB stick. It is aimed at providing a setup that any kid can use to learn basic programming. It should cost around 15 British Pounds. More information at the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
Post number 14 for #blogjune 2011
Thank you so much for this article – I had been brainstorming ways to jumpstart my 10yr old in computer coding this summer and I wasn’t sure where to start. This article hits the mark.
I cringe everytime the public school assigns a project using MS Powerpoint vs teaching real technology literacy. At least they have keyboarding drills.
Great article, thank you! Another wonderful resource for teaching kids about programming is http://www.alice.org/
Consider JavaScript. It does not require any additional software to be installed (though Firefox has a few nice plugins…), and has a rather large number of resources on the web explaining it. Also, is cross platform (unlike Kodu).
Or, consider Python, another cross-platform language with a very large number amount of resources available. It’s the second language I was introduced to in school (the first was Logo). (I had taught myself BASIC and had illegally downloaded QuickBASIC long before then. And I will argue that I’m not brain damaged at all! Despite that I subsequently couldn’t learn C… ) The third language I was taught in school was Java, which is now FLOSS, so should also be considered (at least for older students with some prior experience, and/or in a proper sit down programming class).