Our professional and recreational interests are usually dictated by the activities we enjoy as children. Kids nowadays spend much of their time interacting with desktop or mobile devices, either playing games or socializing. Parents should take advantage of this and direct their children toward games and applications that integrate learning and play in a fun way.
Studies have shown that children who enjoy play are likely to retain and seek out new information. According to Jennifer M. Zosh (‘How People Learn’, 2017), the most impactful method of teaching code seems to be related to the culture and environment in which the child is taught.
Some of the most popular games available are Scratch and Blockley, which are visual-based programming languages used to teach complex concepts through fun and engaging challenges. Kids can design their own computer games, art, or whole applications and share them with the rest of the online community. Regular feedback and comments from others in the community maintain an incentive for learners to improve their coding skills and remedy their mistakes.
Most kids start by playing established games on the platform and eventually become interested in how the program is built. The user can then expand on the existing code or start a project from the beginning. Scratch is directed at kids ages 7 onward.
Tynker provides a similar learning framework, though unlike the above-mentioned, it is not free to use. With Tynker’s revolutionary approach, kids learn to code using visual code blocks that represent real programming concepts. They can then progress to text languages like JavaScript and Python as they play through 2,000+ interest-driven activities.
Finally, Khan Academy for Kids hosts an entire suite of learning activities and games directed at children aged as early as 2 years old. Khan Academy offers games and activities that run either within the browser or on their native mobile applications and are always free to play.
What are the best apps to learn to code? Keep it fun!
Sources:
https://childrensmd.org/browse-by-age-group/11-best-educational-web-sites-kids/
https://bitescience.com/articles/because-im-happy-how-happy-children-and-teens-perform-better-at-school/
https://www.nap.edu/read/9853/chapter/7#84
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