INDUSTRY | ADVICE
Coding apps for kids
01. Hopscotch Developed to encourage more children
into computer science, Hopscotch is possibly my favourite app out of this whole wonderful list. Complete with loveable and unique characters, this app manages to look beautiful, be ridiculously fun and simultaneously teach children the key fundamentals of programming. The drag and drop interface makes it easy to understand and easy for the children to pick up with minimal instruction and input, which is useful for a less confi dent teacher. The children in my class absolutely adore this app and oſt en beg me to have a longer coding session so that they can spend longer on it and learn more, and I understand why! Daisy the Dino is another app by the same creators for younger children and is equally engaging.
02. Lightbot Lightbot is another fun way to teach
complex programming concepts. This app uses a problem-solving puzzle format where the objective is to lead the robot around various squares, lighting up set tiles. The diffi culty gets progressively harder, teaching concepts step-by-step starting from the basics of giving directions and leading to loops, conditioning and more. Because Lightbot is so clear in its instructions, and works on a trial and error basis, children are able to run through it without much support needed. It is also useful for adults to use to gain knowledge of key coding principles in an easy-to-understand format. There are two versions of Lightbot, one for children 4–8 and the other for 9+.
03. Cargo-Bot At fi rst it feels like you are just
playing a
fun game, but Cargo-Bot is another powerful tool for teaching coding and problem- solving logical skills. The
mission in this app is to control a robotic arm to move crates to the desired location in as few moves as possible. The tutorials are useful for
teaching children the basic tools they need to complete the levels, although it would be useful for teachers to familiarise
01
Primary school teacher and blogger Gemma Sharland chooses her top fi ve coding apps for children in the classroom
B E L O W : Gemma Sh arland
themselves with these tools by having a play around with the game before introducing it. There are varying levels of diffi culty available which is a great way to challenge the more able and support those who need it. In my experience, children love the level of challenge and the sense of achievement when completing a level using an eff ective code. Cargo-Bot was built using Codea, a paid-for app which can be used with older children to create their own games.
04. Codecademy This is one for older children
and those who want to extend their knowledge of code to a more advanced level. Whilst this is the only app in the list that is not in a game format and therefore may seem less engaging, it is a valuable asset to computing teaching as it helps explain complicated jargon
such as ‘variable’
and ‘Boolean’ and gives children experience with real code. Codecademy looks quite complicated, but it breaks tasks down into small bite-sized chunks for children to learn. It also has the added incentive of being able to create a personalised webpage to share on the internet aſt er learning basic HTML. Codecademy is equally challenging for adults learning how to code.
05. Kodable This is a great one for younger children to
be introduced to coding. In this game, you programme your colourful fuzz-ball to move around a maze, collecting coins. One of the best features of this app is the teacher section where concepts are explained and control is given to the teacher to manage student accounts and monitor their progress. There is also optional paid content including fun games to learn programming vocabulary. The step-by-step sequencing is clear to understand and new concepts are introduced at a steady pace to keep engagement levels high. ET
@Educ_Technology |
www.edtechnology.co.uk | 63
03 04
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74