I think this topic should have a permanent link at the top of HN; it seriously comes up so often we need to setup a sort of wiki page about this.
Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?
51–60 of 138 posts
Re: Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?
#52I teach. I have the kids learn Python between age 9 and 11 depending on when they are interested. We write games and learn the fundamentals of CS by following the curriculum of Rice's "Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python" class designed by Rixner and Warren. It has a Python interpreter and game library that compiles in-browser into javascript, which is a very helpful design for a first class, and for sh…
We used Learn to Mod for a junior hackathon, it is like modding Minecraft but with a scratchlike interface. Super cool
Re: Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?
#53I found Scratch Jr. [1] and Alice 3D [2] great tools for teaching programming. I found Alice 3D more appealing for kids that the full Scratch online. Scratch Jr. for a 7 year old kid is a good way to start. A typical 9 year old is more capable of general programming (thinking in a straigthforward syntax like in Python). For younger kids I only recommend Scratch Jr. since it is natural, has less friction, and doesn't…
+1 for Scratch Jr.
I am also a fan of hour of code ( https://code.org/learn), it uses popular games and Disney characters and typically no project takes more than an hour.
Re: Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
The real question is "why JavaScript rather than Python?" The only reason JavaScript is so popular is that it runs in the browser. JavaScript is otherwise a pretty poor language, and certainly much harder to learn than Python.
Running in the browser and having pretty good debugging tools seems pretty useful to me.
Compared to other languages and environments, debugging JavaScript can be difficult if you don't have a good idea of what's going on behind the scenes in specific browser versions, the DOM and JavaScript VM. Throw callbacks, Promises, etc into the mix and things get confusing pretty fast.
Comparatively, other languages, like Python, will throw sane exceptions and a meaningful stack trace when something goes wrong.
Re: Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?
#55But first, you must answer the question of why you want to teach coding to kids. If it is because they have asked you about coding, or are curious enough that they will be intrigued or interested in coding, or perhaps you are convinced it is a life skill they should learn, then proceed.
But if you want to teach coding to increase your own esteem in their eyes, or to validate your own life choices by making them follow yours, then step back a bit before proceeding. Get to know them - and yourself - well before embarking on this quest.
Re: Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?
#56I taught my 8 years old girl using JavaScript and we made a simple game (numbers falling from the top of the screen and you have to click them to make a number: e.g. "3" and "4" because the number to make was "7").
It eventually became PopMath (which I reimplemented in ObjectiveC for the iPhone) but she understood the concept of loops, random number generation, collision with sides (so x coordinate had to be reversed) and event handling (function to get the user clicks).
I also did the same with my son when he was 9, with another game where the player would need to use arrow keys to navigate a maze.
Also in JavaScript because they can see the results right in the browser, can easily add graphics, and even sound effects.
I think simple games are a great teaching tool.
Re: Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?
#57I've never been a parent or teacher, and have not been responsible for raising children in any formal capacity. So, my question is... Are the kids remotely interested in programming, and does it make sense to try teaching them if they show no interest? As a child, I remember pushed towards taking piano lessons and hating every second of it.
I've been teaching the curriculum of @codeclub for 4 years now (see elsewhere in this thread) as an optional after school club in the U.K. It's massively over subscribed every term, this past term I've had 50% coverage of the total number of students offered in that year group. So, no one is forced and it appears popular, but I guess your point is still valid that parents could be pushing the children. Subjectively, it feels like they want to do it though.....
Re: Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?
#58My father bought me a russian clone of ZX Spectrum 48k in 1994 (in post soviet states, ZX Spectrum was hugely popular during 90s just like in UK during 80s):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX_Spectrum
My father was not an engineer and had no idea what to do with it. I also was completely uneducated (I was 10 years old boy in 1994) and basically ignored school classes (or prefered to sleep there). So I also had no idea what it is.
He bought me games and bunch of books about programming on ZX Spectrum.
I just started writing code from these books and see the result on the screen. Then I started slightly modify code. Then I started writing my own little programs.
After 6 years, I managed to learn assembly language and even write my own version of Snake game:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_(video_game)
I had no help whatsoever from my father, from school teachers or anyone else.
Then my father bought me Pentium I 166 Mhz with installed Windows 98. Unlike ZX Spectrum I couldn't see what's going on under the hood at all. I tried some available programming languages. Their IDEs were huge, bloated, complicated and confusing. I was so frustrated that I couldn't understand what's going on under the hood so I dropped programming for next 7 years. I returned to programming when I switched to Linux and started writing programs in C using Vim as editor (and I'm still stick to Vim!).
So here are my advices based on my story:
Buy them something similar to ZX Spectrum, a small, simple, programming friendly micro-computer where kids can start programming straight away. Give them some simple programming books. Kids will learn themselves!
I personally can't imagine how I would start programming on modern computer. Especially under Windows OS (such a messy unfriendly OS for beginning developers!).
I would definitely not teach kids web-development! It will create a mess in their heads!
Re: Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?
#59I've never been a parent or teacher, and have not been responsible for raising children in any formal capacity. So, my question is... Are the kids remotely interested in programming, and does it make sense to try teaching them if they show no interest? As a child, I remember pushed towards taking piano lessons and hating every second of it.
I've been teaching the curriculum of @codeclub for 4 years now (see elsewhere in this thread) as an optional after school club in the U.K. It's massively over subscribed every term, this past term I've had 50% coverage of the total number of students offered in that year group. So, no one is forced and it appears popular, but I guess your point is still valid that parents could be pushing the children. Subjectively,…
I like the idea of @codeclub.
"Would you like to go to @codeclub"
"Yes!"
"Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?"
Getting kids an opportunity to become interested in @codeclub is a related, but separate question.
Re: Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?
#60I teach coding to managers with LOGO (Scratch). This works wonderful and people learn to really code (break down a problem into smaller ones etc.) not just copy&paste code or do some cargo cult programming. I still believe turtle graphics are the best to learn what coding is.
I imagine as LOGO was developed for kids, it should work :-)