Using Time Wisely- Part 1: Learn to Code

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This is the first of a series of blog entries designed to let students, teachers, and parents know how they can use some of their free time productively.  These sites can be used in conjunction with a class or as an independent exploration.

Codeacademy  Like Khan Academy, Codeacademy allows students to work with online tutorials at their own pace.  In this case, students learn how to do computer programming starting from nothing.  With Codeacademy, students learn how to make web pages using HTML/CSS and PHP.  They also learn how to write some beginning JavaScript to perform functions.  Students eventually can create fun programs that will open the doors to more writing in the future.  In CodeAcademy, they track your progress through the lessons, and give you "badges" along the way to reward your progress.  No previous experience with programming is necessary. www.codeacademy.com

Scratch

Scratch is a visual based programming site developed by MIT to get students interested in the techniques of programming.  It uses a very visually engaging process to keep student interest.  Scratch allows the student to control various properties of an item on screen without knowing much about the technical language.

By stacking color coded tiles one on top of another, students are able to create program applets that perform a fun variety of different tasks.  Students can mix and match commands to reach the desired outcome.

This is actually a sort of programming environment because it teaches some logical thinking and problem solving needed when programming.
scratch.mit.edu

CodeSchool

CodeSchool teaches more advanced programming on topics like Ruby, JavaScript, HTML/CSS, and iOS App programming with Electives like GIT and DevTools.  Students begin by watching a video that walks you through some basic concepts.  You're then provided with a series of coding challenges based on the videos.  After each section gets completed, you can add achievements to your profile.  When the units get solved, you earn badges that are saved in your profile.

To get full access to all content, you need to pay a $29 per month fee, but there is a huge amount of content on the site for free.  www.codeschool.com

Alice

Alice is a drag and drop programming and scripting environment.  It is designed to be a very visual way of getting students involved with programming.  Works with Mac's or Windows machines.
Students can create their own scripts or presentations with this product.  Students need to go to http://www.alice.org for more info.

Programmr

With Programmr, students can sign in to work on coding quizzes and exercises.  This web site allows students to practice their skills in a very fun manner.  They can even add exercises to the web site to earn more "points."

This site seems to have a very wide array of topics and coding to choose from.  You can pick apart other people's code, take exams and quizzes, solve challenges, or submit your own work.  Caution:  Don't use this one just to play games at school!  Use it to learn how to write code.

www.programmr.com

Support coding and the Hour of Code project at your school.
See the video below!