HOUR OF CODE FOR KIDS CODE
Through and Computer Science Education Week's (CSEdWeek) Hour of Code initiative, companies have put together bite-sized modules, tutorials, and games that let students explore programming basics as well as language-specific skills, including JavaScript, HTML, and Python.
HOUR OF CODE FOR KIDS FREE
The good news for time-crunched teachers (or parents at home) is that introducing programming to students may be as simple as hooking them up with a free "hour of code" activity. Getting kids excited about programming may sound like a good idea, but teachers may worry about fitting computer science into already crowded lesson plans. Gamification may be a back-door approach, but with games and challenges in which players pick up and practice core coding skills in order to win or move forward, educators, developers, corporate leaders, and organizations like hope to galvanize students by showing them that computer science is both fun and doable. With people like MIT's Mitch Resnick, developer of Scratch, advocating the need for all students to be familiar with fundamentals of computer programming-the need for kids to transition from passive app users to active creators-developers have latched onto game play as a way to get more kids excited about code. Using the same "make it a game" approach, developers have readily jumped on the gamification bandwagon in hopes of getting more students interested in computer science. Games like Math Ninja mask or temper the rigors of practicing and refreshing core subject matter, a Mary Poppins spoonful of sugar with the medicine approach that puts learning into a fun and exciting gamified format and storyline, an approach that some kids will more readily swallow than sitting with a stack of traditional flash cards or a workbook. As a player, solving the math facts, and doing so quickly, is the mechanism that gets you farther along in the game. You have to solve the problems that appear during the interludes between attacks in order to gain necessary resources, which you can then spend on upgrades in preparation for the next wave of attacks.Ī balance of the game involves solving equations as you move through the chapters of the story-driven game, the evil tomato getting more and more creative about trying to destroy the treehouse.
HOUR OF CODE FOR KIDS UPGRADE
The attacking forces (led by an angry, oversized tomato) increase in strength, skill, specialty, and number, so the only way to survive is to amass enough money to buy better powers and to upgrade defenses. To protect the tree house in Math Ninja, players have to successfully solve more and more equations to earn the money necessary to better equip (and level up) their defenses. Math Ninja, for example, is one of scads of math-focused apps for elementary school kids. Many parents stock up on educational apps as a way to salvage wait time and turn typical game playing into a potentially brain boosting activity. Check a parent's mobile device, and you may find an assortment of educational apps for students in a wide range of subjects. The appeal of video games is strong for many kids, a fact that has drawn educators and developers to the gaming and gamification market. Can this level of engagement be used as a platform for education? Is playing a game as fun when it is educational? Can routine "practice" and skills introduction be embedded in game play in a way that can grab and hold student attention and interest? Update!For our updated collection of lessons and activities to teach computer programming, see 15+ Coding Activities for Beginners and Beyond.ĭo your kids lose all track of time when it comes to video games? In what feels like a blink, minutes may morph into hours, hours of intense concentration and engagement. For kids just getting started with computer programming concepts, a gamified approach may make all the difference in showing them that programming is both fun and something they can do. With a smorgasbord of fun, engaging, playful, and puzzling modules available as part of the Hour of Code initiative, kids can experiment with programming basics and sample Javascript, Python, Ruby, and more.
With more and more kids playing video games and using apps, the secret to introducing kids to computer programming may be in making a game of it.
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