11–15 of 15 posts
I taught an after school program that started with Scratch and Greenfoot, and I understand some of the problems you describe when starting with block coding.
This... is not for kids. Sorry, but it's very boring. Heck, let's pick up adult beginners. What is var? Why animal equals something? Why is there a dot after chat? These are concepts which need explaining, they make no sense for beginners or especially kids. Block coding with graphical elements works because it's: a) fun, and b) visually introduces abstract concepts for non-programmers. I taught programming to 1st ye…
They will be explained naturally as the lessons progress I expect, trying to explain all that up front is the easiest way to fail.
Congrats on the launch! My nephew is 8 years old. I have been on the hunt for a platform that is suitable for him to create a space invaders style game (he has a huge notebook crammed with video game ideas). So tools like pickcode, sprig, scratch and so on are of particular interest. I think the most important thing is for him to be successful early on... and I have yet to find anything in a similar vein that that is…