Coding for Beginners
I'm learning to code with Codecademy and I think everyone should - including children. And especially girls!
PicoBoard - SparkFun Electronics If you're adept with Scratch, this is a great next step. It has various sensors (light, sound etc) on the board which Scratch can read. It turns mini-programmers into inventors!
So - you want to Teach your Kids Computer Programming? A useful blog post with ideas for teaching children of various ages to program.
Daisy the Dinosaur is another children's programming language for iPads but this is aimed at younger children. My 5 year old daughter LOVES it. Very simple but a good starting point which sets them up for Hopscotch and then Scratch.
Hopscotch - a children's programming language on the iPad! Not as sophisticated as Scratch but a great starting point for younger children. It's free and still in Beta. My daughter loves it!
Want to know what to do with your Raspberry Pi? Go to your nearest RaspberryJam event and find out!
When there's de-bugging to be done, dinner has to wait.
Computer Programming for All: A New Standard of Literacy
Code Club - The Interview. Brilliant Promo video for CodeClub - a project to set up a nationwide network of after-school closing clubs.
New York organisation offers lessons in coding aimed at women. They operate in a number of cities round the US.
How to Think Like a Computer Scientist by Jeffrey Elkner, Allen B. Downey and Chris Meyers. Free to download, guys!!
The Guardian's web developer, Chris Cross, gives the Raspberry Pi a go to see what he can do with it! Great video piece!
Mmmm, delicious Raspberry Pi. I've registered "my interest" so fingers crossed! Remember, guys! "Program or be programmed!"
Al Sweigart's theory is that nobody wants to lean how to program; they want to learn how to make programs. The eBook is free to download.
Teknoteacher's audioboo describes how he teaches Python to Yr 7 children (11/12 year olds) and the resources he uses.
Raspberry Pi is a tiny, cheap (25 quid!!) computer for children. It's a BBC Micro for the twenty-first century - something for children to tinker with and program. Could this revolutionise our relationship with computers?
Manchester Girl Geeks ran a Coding Workshop for beginners on 19.02.12. I like the binary biscuit display!
Newsnight report on ICT teaching in schools and the Next Gen report calling for kids to learn coding. October 2011
Codecademy is good but sometimes you need a little human help and some handy kitchen paper. Thanks Manchester Girl Geeks for providing a great Intro to Codecademy Event.
I made some "Love Javascript" biscuits to inspire me to keep going through the tough times with Codecademy!
Hackasaurus. Get your X-Ray goggles and see what lies behind those web pages you've been browsing. Interesting, huh? Now see if you can TOTALLY REMIX them!!!! Yeah!
Atul Varma explains how Hackasaurus tools make it easy for children to mess around with the building blocks that make up the web. Web pages are no longer static images that we consume passively. We can get behind them using the X-Ray Goggles, manipulate them and make the web do what WE want.
Eloquent JavaScript A Modern Introduction to Programming by Marijn Haverbeke
An online library of training videos in all things tech and coding related. Need to pay a subscription though.
If your children are learning about coding using Scratch, show them this! I love the way the boys in this video are so pleased when the code works.