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Learning programming will aid children in preparing for a brighter future. Fortunately, there is a multitude of websites, classes, and engaging apps for young ones to participate in. In this article, Mytour helps you discover some of the best websites with the most effective teaching methods, enabling students of all ages to begin learning programming.
1. Scratch and ScratchJr
Scratch, an online programming platform for kids, is created by the MIT Lifelong Kindergarten Group. You can use it online or download it to your computer. Kids can learn Scratch on their tablets or on the web. Scratch Junior is only available on tablets.
Scratch requires students to save their work on the Scratch server. This allows learners at all levels to see what more advanced learners are doing and draw inspiration from them.
The intuitive block interface is user-friendly, eliminating the need for young learners to type code, which is a significant advantage for beginners. The blocks enable children to experiment with code and grasp basic principles of game development, graphic design, and animation.
Another advantage of using Scratch is that the program allows users to share their creations with the community.
The Scratch platform excels in teaching programming concepts while fostering creativity and critical thinking. Children can control nearly every aspect of design from backgrounds to sound!
Scratch is best suited for children around eight years old and up, but there's a version designed specifically for pre-readers and early readers called ScratchJr.
2. Code.org
Code.org is one of the most popular websites providing programming tutorials for kids. It offers courses for all ages from four years old and up.
Code.org offers five free computer science courses with varying levels of complexity, starting with the Pre-reader Express program consisting of 14 lessons. The website also provides short tutorial videos from famous programmers like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. To make it even more engaging, students can program small games with popular characters from Minecraft, Disney, and other popular games.
There's a project library containing millions of games created by students on the website that others can play or remix.
The courses are organized by grade level, so children won't have to choose lessons that are too difficult for them and will receive a certificate to recognize completing a lesson.
3. Tynker and Tynker Junior
Similar to most beginner-friendly websites, Tynker uses block coding. Participants will connect and arrange the code blocks to get accurate motion or other actions. Kids can create their own projects, share them with the online community, and collaborate with other users.
There are free programming lessons lasting six hours and Hour of Code activities for beginners. If you want more creative and in-depth experiences with JavaScript and Python, there's an option to subscribe. The lessons are well-designed and engaging, organized and labeled by age and experience, making it easy for parents to choose challenging lessons without discouraging their children.
The lessons cover a variety of topics from Dragons to life on Mars to captivate and inspire children.
Additionally, there's Tynker Junior for tablets. It's designed for children aged 4 to 7.
If you have children and want to guide them in learning programming, explore some of these websites together. By using websites like these, children will become more familiar with programming concepts, which not only helps prepare them for the future but also improves problem-solving and communication skills.
