Why not take your children from tech consumers to producers by allowing them to learn to code? Here, ReadWrite outlines apps that will help kids get their code on:
Age Range: 8 and up
Language: Original visual programming language
Platform:Â Browser-based
Created at MIT Media Labs, the visual language and interface boasts more than 3 million uploaded user projects. Â Kids can begin dragging and dropping sprites and blocks of code to create robust projects.
Age Range: 5 to 8
Language: Basic
Platform:Â iPad
The makers of Hopscotch have created an iPad app that teaches the basics of programming. Children can use ultra-basic blocks in order to animate Daisy the
Dinosaur by just dragging one-word commands like “roll,†“jump,†and “grow,†into the programming space, and press play. Players can see a direct relationship between the commands they assign and the actions Daisy takes.