What are the best tools for children to learn programming?

Question

8

Options
Considered

13

User
Recs.

May 10, 2023

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

6 Options Considered

Best tools for children to learn programming	Price	Platforms	License
-- MakeCode Arcade	Free	Web, Pi, handhelds	MIT
-- Scratch	-	-	-
-- Pygame	Free	-	LGPL
-- Scratch from MIT	-	-	-
-- CloudFuze	Free	-	-

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CloudFuze

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score 1 · Answer 1

MakeCode Arcade

Top Pro

Switch between block and text based coding

Learn programming by quickly creating and modding retro arcade games with Blocks, JavaScript and Python in the online MakeCode editor, the offline app or your own local pxt-arcade server. Play your own or others' games in the online web simulator, or download and play on various handheld or SBC devices. Save your projects for free in the cloud or on GitHub. Open source and free, great community. See More

RickZeeland's Experience

Microsoft MakeCode Arcade is an open-source web-based kid-friendly code editor to create retro arcade games with 160x120 pixels for the web and for microcontrollers. See More

Specs

Platforms:Web, Pi, handhelds

License:MIT

Controller Support:Yes

Storage:Free cloud storage and GitHub integration

See All Specs

Top Pro

Free

See All

score 5 · Answer 2

Scratch

Top Pro

Easy to use

The graphical interface is intuitive for children. See More

Top Con

It is fun, but not real programming

Top Pro

No need to be able to type

Top Con

Does not teach you programming

Learning Scratch might help you if you have high difficulty with logical thinking. However, starting with a proper programming language, especially an easy one, will give you the benefits of starting with something like Scratch and everything else. See More

Top Pro

Great starting point for kids

Scratch was developed specifically for kids ages 8 and up as an exciting way to introduce them to technology. It's designed to be easy to learn, but still provides good depth in computational thinking. See More

Top Con

Won't get you a job

Scratch is not a language used in the workplace. Instead it teaches computational thinking, helping to create a foundation to aid in learning other languages. See More

Top Pro

Visual

Code is represented as visual building blocks that makes it easy to understand how a program is put together. See More

Top Con

For kids, so don't even mention it in a job interview: it makes you look like a noob

Top Pro

Can be used to create games

Top Pro

Easy to learn

Scratch is designed to teach computational thinking rather than focus on specific syntax. It was designed specifically to be easy to learn for anyone over the age of 8. See More

Top Pro

Highly structured

The language is highly structured. Therefore, it gives you the essentials of how to think like a programmer and teaches you good programming practices from early on, so you could write clean, working and readable code in the future. See More

Top Pro

If you learn making apps with your scratch projects, you can even be a Android developer!

See All

score 1 · Answer 3

Pygame

Top Pro

It uses Python, one of the most popular and versatile programming languages

Top Con

Messy documentation

The docs are messy, and some basic functions are infuriating to work out. There's even some places in the documentation where it's clearly wrong about how a method is called/what the arguments really do. See More

Specs

License:LGPL

Top Pro

Very easy to understand

The API is very straightforward. See More

Top Pro

Good canvas system

Pygame has a drawing system that allows the user to create and draw on an unlimited number of canvases. See More

Top Pro

Easy Python syntax

Pygame uses Python as its scripting language. Python is widely considered one of the easiest languages to grasp even for beginners. See More

Top Pro

Works on all major platforms

GNU/Linux, Mac, and Windows. See More

Top Pro

Free, libre, and open source

See All

score 1 · Answer 4

Scratch from MIT

Top Pro

Easy for anyone, even kids, to start learning what the basics of programming is about.

Use visual programming building blocks to program. See More

score 1 · Answer 5

Hour of Code

Top Con

It has a slow learning curve

Top Pro

Highly supported by many companies and successful people

score 1 · Answer 6

6 Options Considered

My Recommendation for MakeCode Arcade

My Recommendation for MakeCode Arcade

Switch between block and text based coding

Free

My Recommendation for Scratch

My Recommendation for Scratch

Easy to use

It is fun, but not real programming

No need to be able to type

Does not teach you programming

Great starting point for kids

Won't get you a job

Visual

For kids, so don't even mention it in a job interview: it makes you look like a noob

Can be used to create games

Easy to learn

Highly structured

If you learn making apps with your scratch projects, you can even be a Android developer!

My Recommendation for Pygame

My Recommendation for Pygame

It uses Python, one of the most popular and versatile programming languages

Messy documentation

Very easy to understand

Good canvas system

Easy Python syntax

Works on all major platforms

Free, libre, and open source

My Recommendation for Scratch from MIT

My Recommendation for Scratch from MIT

Easy for anyone, even kids, to start learning what the basics of programming is about.

My Recommendation for CloudFuze

My Recommendation for CloudFuze

My Recommendation for Hour of Code

My Recommendation for Hour of Code

It has a slow learning curve

Highly supported by many companies and successful people

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