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Codr, an app to help teach kids to code

codrlab.com

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Re: Codr, an app to help teach kids to code

#11

Post by dragonwriter »

z131 wrote: post #3

I'm appalled that some of the first languages you intend to teach are Javascript (But really JQuery) and Python. That's just my personal opinion, but when I think "Teaching kids to code" I don't think "pick languages unlike any other language, and that will teach bad expectations of future languages." I would even be happy if you were to teach them something like VB over Javascript and Python.

JavaScript is perhaps the most broadly and immediately useful language right now, whether or not it should be, and Python is probably the best balance of utility on its own, usefulness for learning concepts applicable to other languages, and accessibility of any language today.

VB is more distant from other languages than Python, more limited in its direct utility, and less useful for teaching general CS concepts.

Python and JS may not be the perfect set of choices, but they are good set, and certainly either is far better than VB.

Re: Codr, an app to help teach kids to code

#13

Post by jbigelow76 »

gregschlom wrote: post #2

Just a tiny piece of feedback: I was annoyed that clicking the checkboxes didn't work in order to answer the questions at the beginning, I had to click the text. ie: I consider myself to be an: [ ] Artist [ ] Gamer [ ] Storyteller It would be nice if one could tick the checkbox by, huh, clicking on it :)

    >It would be nice if one could tick the checkbox by, huh, clicking on it :)
Ease up there Jony Ive, this is codrlab, not uxlab (j/k)

Re: Codr, an app to help teach kids to code

#14

Post by pessimizer »

z131 wrote: post #3

I'm appalled that some of the first languages you intend to teach are Javascript (But really JQuery) and Python. That's just my personal opinion, but when I think "Teaching kids to code" I don't think "pick languages unlike any other language, and that will teach bad expectations of future languages." I would even be happy if you were to teach them something like VB over Javascript and Python.

What's the problem with Python? It's no more complicated than VB and was designed as a teaching language. The significant whitespace may be annoying, but it's semantically identical to other ways of specifying blocks.

Javascript for teaching programming to children is an awful idea, though.

Re: Codr, an app to help teach kids to code

#15

Post by MarcScott »

pessimizer wrote: post #14
z131 wrote: post #3

I'm appalled that some of the first languages you intend to teach are Javascript (But really JQuery) and Python. That's just my personal opinion, but when I think "Teaching kids to code" I don't think "pick languages unlike any other language, and that will teach bad expectations of future languages." I would even be happy if you were to teach them something like VB over Javascript and Python.

What's the problem with Python? It's no more complicated than VB and was designed as a teaching language. The significant whitespace may be annoying, but it's semantically identical to other ways of specifying blocks. Javascript for teaching programming to children is an awful idea, though.

JavaScript is an excellent language to get children to learn to code, because it runs in a web-browser, an environment children are very familiar with.

Re: Codr, an app to help teach kids to code

#16

Post by MarcScott »

I normally avoid negativity in my comments, but I'm afraid I really can't see the purpose of this site.

I only seem to be able to access the JavaScript section (no matter which options I pick), and am immediately presented with, what to a child, would be indecipherable code.

What is jQuery? What is CSS and how is it able to render certain Scratch Blocks? What is a var? What is setTimeout?

Children need to have things explained, and it appears that the creator has had zero contact with anyone with pedagogical experience.

Re: Codr, an app to help teach kids to code

#18

Post by pessimizer »

MarcScott wrote: post #15
pessimizer wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the problem with Python? It's no more complicated than VB and was designed as a teaching language. The significant whitespace may be annoying, but it's semantically identical to other ways of specifying blocks. Javascript for teaching programming to children is an awful idea, though.

JavaScript is an excellent language to get children to learn to code, because it runs in a web-browser, an environment children are very familiar with.

Javascript is an awful language to get children to learn to code because it doesn't understand numbers and pretends to be object-oriented when it's prototypical - which puts it by itself in the world of popular languages.

That it naturally runs in a browser is an awful reason to use it. Use something that compiles to javascript if you feel web programming is so important.

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