4 (More) Tools for Teaching Kids to Code

Audrey Watters — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 19:30:53 -0800

This week is National Computer Education Week, aimed at recognizing the crucial role of computing in today's world and at supporting efforts to boost computer science education at all levels. The event purposefully coincides with Grace Hopper's birthday tomorrow. But it also happens to come the same week that the Program for International Student Assessment has released its data about student performance and finds that, compared to others worldwide, U.S. students get a C for math and science.

]]> According to ACM and CSTA, two organizations that address computer science education, very few states recognize computer science as a core graduation requirement, and states' curriculum standards focus on computing skills rather than computing concepts. (You can see an interactive map of how the different states compare).

We wrote a story earlier this fall with 4 suggestions for some of our favorite programming tools aimed at kids. And that list is worth repeating: the graphical programming language Scratch, the programmable robotics of Lego Mindstorms, the 3D programming environment Alice, and the Android App Inventor.

But in the spirit of National Computer Education Week and the hopes that we can encourage more kids not just to use technology but to build technology, here's a list of 4 more:

Kodu

A product of Microsoft FUSE Labs, Kodu is a visual programming language made especially for creating games. Kodu's language is entirely icon-based and is fairly easy to learn. By getting children to think about "if/then" statements, Kudo helps teach important programming concepts of actions and conditions. Kodu works on PC and XBox 360.

Small Basic

Another Microsoft project, Small Basic is a beginning programming language - a variant of BASIC, but based on the .NET platform. Small Basic is designed for students between the ages of 10 and 16 and consists of the language, the programming environment, and libraries. There are a number of resources available for working with Small Basic at TeachingKidsProgramming.org.

Arduino

Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform with both a hardware and software component. Arduino's hardware is programmed with a language similar to C++, and although it may not be the easiest of entry points for learning programming, there's something about building things that actually move that can be pretty compelling. Projects that use Arduino to introduce children to programming include a modification of Scratch to support simple programming on the Arduino hardware.

Squeak

Squeak is an implementation of Smalltalk, an object-oriented programming language. The latter was designed in the 1970s in part as an educational tool for teaching programming. Squeak may be best known as part of the Children's Machine, part of the One Laptop Per Children initiative. Squeak is closely related with Objective-C, and Smalltalk and Squeak have both been influential on the development of other languages.

What other languages or platforms would you recommend for budding computer programmers? Python anyone? Let us know your experiences teaching kids to code in the comments.

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Small Basic Teaches Kids How to Program

Lidija Davis — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 11:54:05 -0800

After a year in the making, and with very little fanfare, Microsoft last month launched Small Basic, a free programming language aimed at kids. Unlike Scratch and Alice, tools designed for kids to learn programming in a 'codeless' environment, Small Basic is essentially a small version of the BASIC language.

]]> Drawing inspiration from the original BASIC language, but based on the newer .Net Framework, Small Basic consists of three distinct pieces:

The Language

Consists of just 14 keywords, Small Basic is pure imperative code that runs on the .Net Framework.

The Environment

Small Basic's development environment is simple but provides features that professional developers have come to expect from an IDE including Intellisense

Libraries

Small Basic comes with a set of libraries, and allows you to create new libraries or modify existing ones. It also allows third-party libraries to be plugged in.

A comprehensive and easy to read [we tested it on a nine year old], 62 page introduction (PDF) to the language and to programming in general, is available to anyone interested in giving Small Basic a go.

BASIC has undergone many changes since its inception 40 years ago and while its growth has made it more powerful and capable, it has also become almost overwhelming for a beginner. Even though Small Basic is primarily aimed at children, it just may be the ideal way for anyone interested in programming to dip their feet in the water.