20 Sites/Apps for Learning how to Program or Code
9/12/2013 12:00:00 AM
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There is no denying the popularity of computers and technology in schools. More and more students are integrating technology into their everyday lives and learning new skills at a younger age. Programs such as Project Lead the Way, Gen-Y, and now mobile devices help facilitate these skills with innovative technology tools. Computer Programming is another one of these topics that is being covered more and more in school and a great way to integrate technology into the classroom. This list is in alphabetical order.
- ClassTools - A wonderful site for educators with lots of different resources. A user can use a template or game generator to create customized educational games and then embed into their site/blog.
- CodeSpells - A innovative app that teaches students how to code in Java by casting spells in a 3D virtual world.
- Daisy the Dinosaur - A fun iPad app that teaches kids how to program and animate by dragging blocks together and watching Daisy preform the action.
- GamePress - One of my son's favorite iPad apps that allows users to create games. This app is ideal for learning the basics of programming by providing graphics, commands, logic and more.
- Gamestar Mechanic - A nice site for teachers wanting to teach their students how to program games. This is done by reinforcing skills such as problem solving, writing, storytelling, and more.
- Google Blockly - A visual programmer editor that reminds me of Scratch in which a user has to drag-n-drop blocks together to create an action.
- Hopscotch - A wonderful iOS app that teaches kids how to program and create animations by dragging-n-dropping blocks together.
- Kodable - A fun iPad app designed for younger kids that has them controlling fuzzballs to complete each level. Each level deals with a simple concept of programming and gets more advanced as they get higher.
- MIT App Inventor - A wonderful site filled with lots of educational resources for teaching students how to program mobile apps.
- Programmr - A nice way to learn programming by solving coding exercises.
- Quest - An innovative site/app for creating text based games that will show/hide the programming language while it is being worked on.
- Scratch - Probably the most popular site on the list as 1000's of students have created online games through their very easy to use web interface.
- Stencyl - A wonderful site for creating iOS or Flash based games by putting blocks together (i.e. Scratch).
- Storytelling Alice - One of my favorite apps (Windows) on the list for learning how to program. While this free app is no longer supported it is still available for download.
- Tynker - A great site for students 4th-8th grade learning how to program.
David Kapuler is an educational consultant with more than 10 years of experience working in the K-12 environment. For more information about his work, contact him at email@example.com and read his blog at cyber-kap.blogspot.com