Scratch – Designed by MIT students and aimed at children ages 8 to 16, this easy-to-use programming language lets kids build almost anything they can dream up. No crazy lines of code here. Instead you arrange and snap together Scratch blocks as if they were virtual Legos. It seems simple but it can get very complicated and you can do a lot more with it then you might think.
Stencyl – Inspired by Scratch's snapping blocks system, this software lets users create simple games for iOS, Android, Flash, Windows, Linux and Mac. Users have to down load their development environment software. If you or your child is serious about coding / programming, there are paid pro plans that come with advanced lessons.
Khan Academy – Known for its extensive and challenging math games, Khan Academy also has basic programming tutorials.
Code Academy – This interactive website is very user-friendly and teaches all users how to code through fun and simple exercises that feel like games. I will say from personal experience that it is very picky on the code, you can write some lines of code that do exactly what they are asking but if it isn't exactly like the website expects it will tell you that you didn't do it correctly.
Hackety Hack – After a quick download to your computer, kids can learn Ruby, an open-source programming language that's easy and intuitive.
Code Monster – Particularly good for kids, Code Monster features two adjacent boxes. One displays code, the other shows what the code does. As you play around with the code with some help from a prompt, you learn what each command does.
Apps to Learn to Code and/or program:
Daisy the
Dinosaur (Free. iPad only) This app is good for children 7 and up. It is really
teaches more beginning logic and sequencing, not really programming or
even coding, but it is a good start.
Cato's Hike: A Programming and Logic Odyssey (4.99 iOS
only) Cute story based adventures takes users on a journey collecting hearts
and stars. The lessons are basic logic and sequencing but not really writing
any code or assembling snippets of code. A nice game to prepare children 8 and
up for Scratch.
Hopscotch (Free. iPad only) Target ages 10
and above it teaches sequence and logic but not a lot of
"code". It has great colors, a great interface, and can
become challenging (even for adults).
Cargobot (Free. iPad only) For ages 8 and up it teaches logic, sequencing, and some basic ideas of how to create commands but not actual "code". It is fun and tough, I wish it better explained what it is trying to teach because although it is teaching through gameplay it could be clearer and straight forward in "this is the best way to do this because..." type stuff.
Kodable (Free - 6.99 iPad only) The company that created Kodable has a full curriculum for parents and educators to teach elementary school children programming concepts. Receiving high marks from reviewers it has activities and teachable moments that reinforce lessons from the app offline (real world). The first lesson is free but additional lessons are 6.99. Pricing for curriculum depends on the number of students and educators.
Lightbot Jr. (1.99 iOS, Android, and Amazon) Ages 4 to 8 Teaches writing code snippets and put them in an order to execute basic commands, they refer to them as coding puzzles.
Lightbot (1.99 iOS, Mac, Android, Amazon, and Windows) For ages 9 and up this game app teaches programming through puzzles that help users understand concepts required for creating a program.
Move the Turtle (3.99 iOS only) Teaches ages 9 and up programming concepts: loops, procedures, variables and conditional functions. Allows users to learn creating and manipulating graphics, spatial orientation, and programming sound. Provides additional inspirational examples they can try to duplicate or edit.
L2Code CSS (2.99 iOS, Android, Amazon) Aimed at adults teaches users HTML and CSS basics through short easy to follow lessons. Examples help you see what you should do or what you are doing wrong.
Codea (9.99 iOS only) Used as a mobile environment for writing X code used to create Mac and iOS apps. It doesn't teach programming but allows users to write code on their mobile device, transfer to other devices, or share with others.
Tynker (Free. iPad only) Use problem solving skills to play a game that uses drag and drop blocks of code. The website has a platform for schools and educators, along with resources for children www.tynker.com
Bee-bot (Free. iOS only) The app is based on a floor robot by the same name and it uses the robot’s keypad functionality. The app enables children to improve their skills in directional language and sequencing.
ScratchKids Lite (Free. iOS only) The app has a series of videos arranged by type of coding activity the user is trying to accomplish in Scratch. It gives nice step by step instructions.
Free Web
resources for learning how to code:
A new website created by Facebook that has a lot of resources to learn programming:
https://techprep.fb.com
A new website created by Facebook that has a lot of resources to learn programming:
https://techprep.fb.com
Very basic to intermediate: http://code.org/learn
C# and .Net languages (beginner to advanced) http://asciiwarriors.com/resources
College level classes: https://www.coursera.org/courses
and http://www.oeconsortium.org/courses/category/2717/
An assortment of languages (beginner to advanced): http://www.tutorialspoint.com/computer_programming_tutorials.htm
Learning HTML, CSS, and Java Script: http://www.w3schools.com/
To practice / work on projects: www.programmr.com
Learn to program for Android: http://www.vogella.com/tutorials/Android/article.html
Online Java Compiler:
https://ideone.com/
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