Coding for Kids
Note: This post is archived. We have moved onto using Jupyter notebooks on Counter Hack and Sky Pirates to help kids learn JavaScript.
We are excited to announce a wonderful feature that will enable kids to learn coding with blocks and then move on to real text based code when they are ready. Using the new Code View in Tynker workshop, kids can seamlessly move between blocks and code while building games. We have also made a whole host of improvements with the Tynker Workshop! Read on to learn more.
Table of Contents
Transitioning from blocks to code
Curious about how each Tynker block works? Simply click the new Code View button to instantly see your code in JavaScript. Toggle back to visual coding by clicking Blocks View. Each visual block maps to a function in JavaScript. Kids will be able to see a one-to-one correlation between the visual blocks and the code and know that it’s all the same. We believe that this is an excellent way for kids to get comfortable with mainstream programming languages.
Why JavaScript? JavaScript is an open web standard and easily accessible to kids in any web browser, without the need to install compilers and other tools. The code view is read-only at this time. In an upcoming release, we’ll allow kids to edit code either in JavaScript or using blocks, so that if they are comfortable coding with syntax, they can transition to real text-based coding.
All-new Tynker Workshop
Tynker Workshop has a new look with improvements all around. The blocks are bigger making them more readable and easier to snap together. A consolidated Actor Panel is under the Stage. The toolbar has been improved with the most common Stage buttons on the top-left. We’ve also added multi-line blocks to make it easier to read some of the more complex blocks.
Theme-based graphic assets
Adventure…Sci-Fi…Greeting Cards…Fantasy…Spooky – these are just some of the brand new themed collection of graphics that we have just added to the media library. Using the new organization into themes, kids will be able to quickly find what they want in a theme or mix and match as they like. With a number of original backgrounds and brilliant props to choose from, the Media library is an endless supply of fun!
Courses have a fresh new look!
The Introduction to Programming course now has improved graphics and all new badges! All the guide characters have been upgraded to use the new animation engine that makes their motion more fluid and life-like. There are also 16 new puzzle challenges, one per chapter – try to crack the code!
Happy Coding!
