The Raspberry Pi created a lot of interest in the press for its low cost and credit-card size. The main reason for the creation of the Raspberry Pi was to see it used by kids all across the globe to learn programming. Computer classes in the UK have been constrained by the national curriculum for ICT, with students having to limit their computing activities to learning applications such as Word and PowerPoint, and using the internet to help with their school work. However, learning how to use Microsoft Office is often of little or no interest to students. Students are motivated by interactive activities such as programming, as they like to make things to find out how they work.
The art of programming is often perceived as being a difficult activity. This is, in part, because coding can be quite unforgiving with lots of information to remember. It is not a simple activity such as surfing the net, or formatting paragraph text.
Fortunately, there is a growing range of software, often open source, that helps students learn how to code. Stripping away the complexity, the programming languages and associated tools featured in this article aim to create new ways of helping students create projects that appeal to younger minds.
Here’s our recommended free and open source programming tools that are perfect for budding programmers.
Programming Tools for Kids | |
Snap! | Drag-and-drop programming language |
Scratch | Create stories, games, and animations |
Blockly | JavaScript library for building visual programming editors |
Processing | Flexible software sketchbook and a language for learning how to code |
Greenfoot | Teach and learn Java programming |
BASIC-256 | Easy to use version of BASIC designed to teach anybody the language |
Are you interested in learning the art of programming? There are lots of excellent free and open source programming books that teach you how to program in every popular programming language. Read these Free Books. |
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