5 ms·

Teach kids programming – A collection of resources

78 points by skybison 13y ago

Brajeshwar 13y ago
This is an awesome list. I have a daughter turning 5 this december. I've been planning and making a list of to-do to introduce her to computers by next year. Like most other kids of her generation, she is comfortable with touch devices (phones, tablets) since her 2nd birthday (I saved and gifted her an iPad-1). Now, she navigates Youtube with ease on the Mac's Trackpad and can type her name on the Keyboard. It's time to get on to real computers, and eventually programming. I'm excited.
ktr100 13y ago
Thank you for the list. I've found the Arduino to be a great platform for learning. Less abstraction … A little code gets a lot of real world wow.
fooshypants 13y ago
Probably needs robot turtles: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danshapiro/robot-turtles-the-board-game-for-little-programmer http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danshapiro/robot-turtles...
300bps 13y ago
Microsoft Small BASIC: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=22961 http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=2296...
elisee 13y ago
You might also want to check out my 3D game-making platform http://craftstud.io/ http://craftstud.io/ which has drag'n'drop scripting, easy-to-use tools for making your own animated models & maps plus real-time cooperation over the Internet. I've taken a slightly different approach to most of the tools in the list in that my aim is to provide a platform that can actually be used for real game production. It's used to make all kinds of games by anyone ranging from 8-years-old to adults. Some games made with it: http://play.craftstud.io/games/ http://play.craftstud.io/games/
edtechdev 13y ago
The age recommendations on this are way off This article recommends Scratch for 12 and up. Scratch is good for kindergartners and up. The Snap fork is more appropriate for older students: http://byob.berkeley.edu/ http://byob.berkeley.edu/ This article recommends Lego Mindstorms for ages 9-12 (and python and ruby). The average age of people who used to buy Lego Mindstorms was 28. The box recommends it for kids over 10. Lego has a robotics kit for younger kids called WeDo. I would not introduce python or ruby to a 9 year old, unless you want them to hate programming. Teaching programming for its own sake is a recipe for disaster. And again it's missing so much. For coding robots to do things see sites like http://fightcodegame.com/ http://fightcodegame.com/ http://robocode.sourceforge.net/ http://robocode.sourceforge.net/ http://www.nessbots.com/ http://www.nessbots.com/ For making games, I'd start with Scratch for < 13 kids, but for older kids see sites like http://www.playmycode.com/ http://www.playmycode.com/ http://pixieengine.com/ http://pixieengine.com/ https://www.scirra.com/construct2 https://www.scirra.com/construct2
- aethertap 13y ago
  Wow, thank you for that list. My daughter is going to love this...
- wslh 13y ago
  The author didn't do his homework. Alice http://www.alice.org/ http://www.alice.org/ is missing from the list. Also Logo is not explicitly there. The most important issue with this kind of lists is taking programming literally. I think "pre-programming" approaches like http://mydoodlegame.com/ http://mydoodlegame.com/ can be very useful before jumping to code.
- C1D 13y ago
  I started Python when I was 13 years old, so that age recommendation is alright.
Steuard 13y ago
I continue to be excited about the current Kickstarter for "Robot Turtles", a board game targeting 3-8 year olds that's based on programming concepts. It sounds like a lot of fun. There are about two weeks left to get a copy. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danshapiro/robot-turtles-the-board-game-for-little-programmer http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danshapiro/robot-turtles...
vezzy-fnord 13y ago
Kudos on recommending Petzold's CODE.
greaterweb 13y ago
At the bottom of the list is CodeHS[1]. I've not had much experience with many of the others but speaking from experience my son who is 8 has enjoyed the courses on there. [1] http://codehs.com/ http://codehs.com/
gghh 13y ago
http://csunplugged.org/ http://csunplugged.org/ "Computer Science Unplugged is a collection of free learning activities that teach Computer Science through engaging games and puzzles that use cards, string, crayons and lots of running around." Definitely worth a mention.
klrr 13y ago
I recommend HTDPv2[0] together with the beginner-friendly IDE Dr. Racket. It let you get started quickly and give you a good foundation to learn your next language. The choice of Scheme is also excellent from a beginners perspective since there's no syntax to learn really. 0. http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/matthias/HtDP2e/ http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/matthias/HtDP2e/
ladelfa 13y ago
Surprised not to see KidsRuby on the list. It's Ruby, packaged up with a kid-friendly interface and turtle graphics support. http://www.kidsruby.com/ http://www.kidsruby.com/
vu3rdd 13y ago
The list misses one of the most important projects designed from ground up for pedagogy -- DrRacket environment[1]. It also missed the book built around Racket for first time programmers - Realm of Racket[2]. [1]: http://racket-lang.org http://racket-lang.org [2]: http://nostarch.com/realmofracket http://nostarch.com/realmofracket
adambratt 13y ago
CODE is an amazing book and I rarely see people mention it. I've yet to come across a resource that is so good at joining electrical engineering and computer science. It starts with an abacus and 400 pages later of flip-flops, memory gates, and microprocessors it leaves you with a fully built modern computer. That said, I would not put it in a beginner category. I read it after 4 years of ASM programming and building electrical gadgets and I still had to stop and reread chapters quite a few times until I got all the concepts out of it. If you're at all interested in how all the parts in your computer interact and work together at the lowest level, READ THIS BOOK.
nicolethenerd 13y ago
One more addition for the list - the Khan Academy programming tutorials - https://www.khanacademy.org/cs https://www.khanacademy.org/cs Very hands-on, kid-friendly (but good for adults too) - I'd recommend them for middle school and up. Also, there's Berkeley's Snap!, which is a browser-based version of MIT's Scratch, with some advanced additions like first class procedures. (http://snap.berkeley.edu/ http://snap.berkeley.edu/)
mathattack 13y ago
Thank you for sharing! I want to (and will) upvote the OP and all the comments. Great discussion!
aroberge 13y ago
http://code.google.com/p/rur-ple/ http://code.google.com/p/rur-ple/, a Karel-the-robot adaptation, has been used to teach Python to young kids (age 8+) in school all the way to first-year university students (some examples of these can be found on youtube) in a number of human language. Its successor http://reeborg.ca http://reeborg.ca teaches Javascript (and will eventually teach Python) on the web; free with no login required.
SurfScore 13y ago
For kindergarten-2nd grade (5-8) I'd also recommend Kodable if you have an iPad. It simplifies programming concepts into a fun and interactive world where you have to guide a little fuzz ball through colored mazes. It teaches sequence, conditions, loops, functions, and even makes debugging fun! http://www.surfscore.com http://www.surfscore.com
sea6ear 13y ago
I've always liked Robot Odyssey (or modern clone http://www.droidquest.com/ http://www.droidquest.com/) as an early introduction to concepts of programming and digital logic
10098 13y ago
Programmable toys are also a nice way to introduce kids to programming. I wrote my first programs (without even knowing it) on this bad boy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Trak http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Trak (well, not exactly this one, but it's Soviet counterpart called "Elektronika IM 11" or "Lunokhod")

78 points by skybison 13y ago

This is an awesome list. I have a daughter turning 5 this december. I've been planning and making a list of to-do to introduce her to computers by next year. Like most other kids of her generation, she is comfortable with touch devices (phones, tablets) since her 2nd birthday (I saved and gifted her an iPad-1). Now, she navigates Youtube with ease on the Mac's Trackpad and can type her name on the Keyboard. It's time to get on to real computers, and eventually programming. I'm excited.

ktr100 13y ago

Thank you for the list. I've found the Arduino to be a great platform for learning. Less abstraction … A little code gets a lot of real world wow.

fooshypants 13y ago

Probably needs robot turtles: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danshapiro/robot-turtles-the-board-game-for-little-programmer http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danshapiro/robot-turtles...

300bps 13y ago

Microsoft Small BASIC: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=22961 http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=2296...

elisee 13y ago

You might also want to check out my 3D game-making platform http://craftstud.io/ http://craftstud.io/ which has drag'n'drop scripting, easy-to-use tools for making your own animated models & maps plus real-time cooperation over the Internet. I've taken a slightly different approach to most of the tools in the list in that my aim is to provide a platform that can actually be used for real game production. It's used to make all kinds of games by anyone ranging from 8-years-old to adults. Some games made with it: http://play.craftstud.io/games/ http://play.craftstud.io/games/

edtechdev 13y ago

The age recommendations on this are way off This article recommends Scratch for 12 and up. Scratch is good for kindergartners and up. The Snap fork is more appropriate for older students: http://byob.berkeley.edu/ http://byob.berkeley.edu/ This article recommends Lego Mindstorms for ages 9-12 (and python and ruby). The average age of people who used to buy Lego Mindstorms was 28. The box recommends it for kids over 10. Lego has a robotics kit for younger kids called WeDo. I would not introduce python or ruby to a 9 year old, unless you want them to hate programming. Teaching programming for its own sake is a recipe for disaster. And again it's missing so much. For coding robots to do things see sites like http://fightcodegame.com/ http://fightcodegame.com/ http://robocode.sourceforge.net/ http://robocode.sourceforge.net/ http://www.nessbots.com/ http://www.nessbots.com/ For making games, I'd start with Scratch for < 13 kids, but for older kids see sites like http://www.playmycode.com/ http://www.playmycode.com/ http://pixieengine.com/ http://pixieengine.com/ https://www.scirra.com/construct2 https://www.scirra.com/construct2

aethertap 13y ago
Wow, thank you for that list. My daughter is going to love this...
wslh 13y ago
The author didn't do his homework. Alice http://www.alice.org/ http://www.alice.org/ is missing from the list. Also Logo is not explicitly there. The most important issue with this kind of lists is taking programming literally. I think "pre-programming" approaches like http://mydoodlegame.com/ http://mydoodlegame.com/ can be very useful before jumping to code.
C1D 13y ago
I started Python when I was 13 years old, so that age recommendation is alright.

Steuard 13y ago

I continue to be excited about the current Kickstarter for "Robot Turtles", a board game targeting 3-8 year olds that's based on programming concepts. It sounds like a lot of fun. There are about two weeks left to get a copy. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danshapiro/robot-turtles-the-board-game-for-little-programmer http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danshapiro/robot-turtles...

vezzy-fnord 13y ago

Kudos on recommending Petzold's CODE.

greaterweb 13y ago

At the bottom of the list is CodeHS[1]. I've not had much experience with many of the others but speaking from experience my son who is 8 has enjoyed the courses on there. [1] http://codehs.com/ http://codehs.com/

gghh 13y ago

http://csunplugged.org/ http://csunplugged.org/ "Computer Science Unplugged is a collection of free learning activities that teach Computer Science through engaging games and puzzles that use cards, string, crayons and lots of running around." Definitely worth a mention.

klrr 13y ago

I recommend HTDPv2[0] together with the beginner-friendly IDE Dr. Racket. It let you get started quickly and give you a good foundation to learn your next language. The choice of Scheme is also excellent from a beginners perspective since there's no syntax to learn really. 0. http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/matthias/HtDP2e/ http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/matthias/HtDP2e/

ladelfa 13y ago

Surprised not to see KidsRuby on the list. It's Ruby, packaged up with a kid-friendly interface and turtle graphics support. http://www.kidsruby.com/ http://www.kidsruby.com/

vu3rdd 13y ago

The list misses one of the most important projects designed from ground up for pedagogy -- DrRacket environment[1]. It also missed the book built around Racket for first time programmers - Realm of Racket[2]. [1]: http://racket-lang.org http://racket-lang.org [2]: http://nostarch.com/realmofracket http://nostarch.com/realmofracket

adambratt 13y ago

CODE is an amazing book and I rarely see people mention it. I've yet to come across a resource that is so good at joining electrical engineering and computer science. It starts with an abacus and 400 pages later of flip-flops, memory gates, and microprocessors it leaves you with a fully built modern computer. That said, I would not put it in a beginner category. I read it after 4 years of ASM programming and building electrical gadgets and I still had to stop and reread chapters quite a few times until I got all the concepts out of it. If you're at all interested in how all the parts in your computer interact and work together at the lowest level, READ THIS BOOK.

nicolethenerd 13y ago

One more addition for the list - the Khan Academy programming tutorials - https://www.khanacademy.org/cs https://www.khanacademy.org/cs Very hands-on, kid-friendly (but good for adults too) - I'd recommend them for middle school and up. Also, there's Berkeley's Snap!, which is a browser-based version of MIT's Scratch, with some advanced additions like first class procedures. (http://snap.berkeley.edu/ http://snap.berkeley.edu/)

mathattack 13y ago

Thank you for sharing! I want to (and will) upvote the OP and all the comments. Great discussion!

aroberge 13y ago

http://code.google.com/p/rur-ple/ http://code.google.com/p/rur-ple/, a Karel-the-robot adaptation, has been used to teach Python to young kids (age 8+) in school all the way to first-year university students (some examples of these can be found on youtube) in a number of human language. Its successor http://reeborg.ca http://reeborg.ca teaches Javascript (and will eventually teach Python) on the web; free with no login required.

SurfScore 13y ago

For kindergarten-2nd grade (5-8) I'd also recommend Kodable if you have an iPad. It simplifies programming concepts into a fun and interactive world where you have to guide a little fuzz ball through colored mazes. It teaches sequence, conditions, loops, functions, and even makes debugging fun! http://www.surfscore.com http://www.surfscore.com

sea6ear 13y ago

I've always liked Robot Odyssey (or modern clone http://www.droidquest.com/ http://www.droidquest.com/) as an early introduction to concepts of programming and digital logic

10098 13y ago

Programmable toys are also a nice way to introduce kids to programming. I wrote my first programs (without even knowing it) on this bad boy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Trak http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Trak (well, not exactly this one, but it's Soviet counterpart called "Elektronika IM 11" or "Lunokhod")