2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-13 00:26
“I think that in the future, everyone, not just programmers, will be associated with programming elements,” says Mark Zuckerberg. Since our children will have to live in this future, it is time to prepare them for difficulties, that is, to teach them how to program.
Why teach your child to program? Especially if your future ballerina or football player is growing up? The answer is simple: in order to teach you to think logically and plan your actions. Parents boast that modern children are able to turn on tablets and computers almost from the cradle. An interest in technology and a desire for fun can be combined with learning and development by offering your child games that teach how to compose algorithms and even write code.
Kodable
What do you think, at what age should you start learning programming? The creators of Kodable claim that their game is available to two-year-olds. You can learn the code before learning the letters. Even kids can really drive funny faces through the labyrinths, and at the same time master the preparation of programs, indicating the sequence of actions. Hints and recommendations are made using graphics, so that the child does not have to read anything.
Kodable is recommended for learning computer science in elementary school: teachers and parents can monitor the learning process, set difficulty levels, and track progress. A great start for the little ones.
Code.org
The website Code.org, created by the non-profit organization, the international movement "Hour of Programming", has collected several educational courses for children and adults. The age to start at is four years. There is no one game that will teach everything at once, but there is a step-by-step game training with characters from various cartoons. Moving from level to level, you can learn and create your own short programs.
Lightbot
In a game available on a smartphone or tablet, a small robot, obeying commands, must light bulbs in the right places. The main task that the child will face in this case is to design the path of the toy using simple commands. The parent's task is to explain to the kids what the pictures mean.
It is not a fact that a child playing Lightbot will grow up to be a brilliant developer, but he will definitely learn how to plan actions and draw up the simplest algorithms. This application can also be recommended as one of the starting ones, even for preschoolers 4-6 years old. The developers also offer a more complex version, which is suitable for children over nine years old.
Parents, by the way, can also be happy to spend time drawing up routes. The robot is fun enough to please kids and serious enough not to bore adults.
PictoMir
PiktoMir, developed by NIISI RAS on the order of the Russian Academy of Sciences, is our answer to foreign analogs. The NIISI RAS has already developed a system "", in which senior schoolchildren get acquainted with programming, but there is no game element in it. "PiktoMir", designed for preschoolers, turned out to be fun and very affordable.
The robot paints the fields, and the child learns to compose algorithms. All hints are made using graphics, so PiktoMir can be safely given to children who cannot read, starting from the age of five: it is noticeable that scientists have tried to make the actions understandable even for kids. If parents do not know English and do not understand anything in programs themselves, but really want to develop logical thinking in children, PiktoMir will be a real salvation. Mobile versions are available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone, but the last two will have to be downloaded from the developer's website.
Robozzle
To complete tasks and make an algorithm for the movement of an arrow along a puzzle - this is the meaning of a game that younger students can already play. True, an ordinary arrow is unlikely to captivate a seven-year-old for a long time, especially if this is the first of such games. But it can seriously interest schoolchildren from the age of ten who are already familiar with algorithmization, because the most interesting puzzles, of course, are found at more difficult levels. Robozzle provides almost unlimited possibilities for creating and searching for new tasks, so it is most suitable not for learning the basics, but for constant repetition and practice.
Cargo-Bot
Another easy-to-learn game, at the initial levels of which preschoolers will feel comfortable. Since there is little text in it, it is enough for children to distinguish between individual letters in order to complete the first tasks and shift the boxes in fewer moves from place to place. Even adults can think about complex combinations for a long time. Among other educational and entertainment applications, Cargo-Bot stands out with a very nice picture. By the way, Cargo-Bot was completely on iPad.
CodeMonkey
The life hacker has already written in detail about the CodeMonkey game, which is simply obliged to take its rightful place in the list of game tutorials for children.
The online game, in which children learn to control a funny monkey step by step, is very simple and intuitive. Each new level tells about the possibilities of programming, and in order to complete the next task, you will have to apply the knowledge from the previous lesson. It takes a few minutes to get to a banana, so it is convenient to plan classes so that the child remains engaged and does not have time to get tired.
A big plus of CodeMonkey is that this game gives an idea of the syntax as such, because commands need to be selected using icons, and the sequence of actions is written in lines of almost real code.
Scratch
It is not entirely fair to include Scratch on this list, because it is not a game, but a specially designed environment for teaching children to program, and it is impossible not to include it, because it is a great educational tool. Scratch is authored by MIT, and in the community most of the information is translated into Russian, so Scratch is available to a very wide audience.
Scratch's capabilities are really impressive, although it does not have tasks and levels, but it has a lot of imagination and the means to use it. Since the child must set the goal in each project independently, there are no universal solutions, but there is scope for creativity, which is lacking in games that teach algorithms. Scratch is perfect for children from eight years old who are already tired of chasing robots and monkeys along their usual routes.
СeeBot
We must not forget about the classics, even pretty dusty. CeeBot educational games appeared in 2003 as a special development for educational institutions. Initially, the developers created Colobot - a game about the colonization of a new planet, the main feature of which was that you had to write your own programs to control the characters.
CeeBot is a multi-task game tutorial with detailed instructions. The story about programmable robots on a new planet destroying the local fauna, of course, is not suitable for kids, but for teenagers who have already managed to get carried away with computer science and imagine what an algorithm is, it will be a good tool. CeeBot looks a little pale against the background of modern games, but where else can a child control characters, creating their own programs that are as close as possible to the C ++ syntax?
CodeCombat
CodeCombat is already serious, because in this game real code is taught and the winner will turn out to be a ready-made programmer. You choose a programming language in which you have to write commands for your character (the game offers Python, JavaScript, Lua, or some experimental ones like CoffeScript), and set off on a journey for crystals.
Boys and girls from eight years old can be imprisoned for the game. Training and tips in Russian, for $ 9.99, you can get new levels every month for passing (the first 70 are free). The game can be used in schools, there are separate bonuses for teachers.
In the game, before the start of each level, the child will read funny and motivating quotes about programming, reminding that "this code will not learn itself." CodeCombat is more addictive than the usual "action games" and "shooters", one of the best combinations of relaxation and training.
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