Check out this comic book for kids that teaches numeric systems and how they relate to computers (binary) https://techbooksforkids.com
Ask HN: How do you teach you kids about computers and coding?
51–60 of 71 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you teach you kids about computers and coding?
#52Buy a programmable toy. Where you "program" by pushing buttons ...
Re: Ask HN: How do you teach you kids about computers and coding?
#53My elder one is 7 years old and more inclined towards drawing/arts(seems natural though), he might not be in good stage to write code but flow charts could help him to build logic regardless of a computer. In this way he can enjoy drawing while start building algorithm and logic too.
Thanks for this question which made me to think this idea. Will start working on it soon.
Re: Ask HN: How do you teach you kids about computers and coding?
#54Our solution is TinkerTank, a STEAM school startup. Student lead, project based learning style.
Re: Ask HN: How do you teach you kids about computers and coding?
#55The BBC Micro:bit would be a great starting point. It's a simple microcontroller module with Bluetooth Low Energy, an accelerometer and easily accessible IO. There are browser-based IDEs supporting drag-and-drop code blocks, Javascript or Python; you can also program the device from a smartphone app over Bluetooth. There are hundreds of lessons and projects for the micro:bit, including a 14 week introduction to CS course. A starter kit costs just $16.50 from AdaFruit.
In my opinion, it's the best introduction to computer science for children.
Re: Ask HN: How do you teach you kids about computers and coding?
#56My elder one is 7 years old and more inclined towards drawing/arts(seems natural though), he might not be in good stage to write code but flow charts could help him to build logic regardless of a computer. In this way he can enjoy drawing while start building algorithm and logic too. Thanks for this question which made me to think this idea. Will start working on it soon.
You may want to take a look at flowgrid.org. I think the main problem (compared to tradtional code) is that drawing is quite "verbose"... Perhaps it could make sense to re-focus the project on AndroidThings GPIO...
Re: Ask HN: How do you teach you kids about computers and coding?
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thank you for this. My daughter will be 5 later this year and, I myself have started learning to code. I feel like it will be good time with my kid teaching and helping her. I even built her a game with tkinter to help with math and reading that we can do together.
I have taken the approach to just finding activities across a variety of topics like chemistry, electronics, programming, art etc
Yeah, I'm going to start finding games that are educational in different topics to encourage learning that her and I can both play. Have you had any success with other educational board games with your little one? I looked into Scratch JR and the robot turtles game which I'm going to get her for her 5th birthday.
Re: Ask HN: How do you teach you kids about computers and coding?
#58I have been working on a programming environment for Android phones / tablets for a while in my spare time. I'll do a proper ShowHN when I have some more reasonable writeup about the motivation and background: https://github.com/stefanhaustein/codechat O:)
Re: Ask HN: How do you teach you kids about computers and coding?
#59I had heaps of trouble with this. Kids have an obscene amount of choice nowadays, and it's crippling. Back in the day, we had no choice: you learned BASIC, and when you realised it was too slow, you learned assembler. I was shown my first ever BASIC program on a Commodore PET by a sixth-form student when I was about 13 or 14. There was no-one to teach you, so you were pretty much on your own. I swear that experience…
>I swear that experience of learning Z80 assembler by typing in the hex or decimal opcodes (I couldn't afford an assembler), was the single most important event of my programming career. I eventually graduated to doing the same thing - in my case writing out assembly programs on paper, putting the decimal opcodes next to each instruction. Once the main program was "assembled" you'd then go put in the jump targets - w…
The technique I used was to always leave a few bytes spare at the end of each subroutine so I could add code later on without breaking every single jump address. The pain we went through!
Re: Ask HN: How do you teach you kids about computers and coding?
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
That game that came with Q basic where the gorillas throw exploding bananas at each other was always a good time.
Or the snake one called Nibbles - my 6th grade computer class teacher had made modifications to it adding levels, etc., and had his class play with what he had created. I was just starting to learn Qbasic at the time and he wouldn't let me have the source code :(
Perhaps he was hoping you'd write your own, or find the code? Weren't the games plaintext?