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Ask Slashdot: Professionally Packaged Tools For Teaching Kids To Program?

Posted by Soulskill on from the no-child-left-in-a-for-loop dept.

Binestar writes: I've been doing IT consulting for years, but I'm not a programmer beyond bash scripting, perl scripts to make administration easier, and batch files to make Windows easier. I recently found an online course for modding Minecraft that my 9-year-old daughter is really enjoying (she built a custom sword that shoots lightning). Does anyone have any recommendations on online courses that would be age appropriate and worth the investment? It's been easy to get her interested in the Minecraft modding course because, as any parent with young children knows, Minecraft is kinda popular...

The course she's taking now is teaching her Eclipse and Gimp, and I'm sure there are other tools installed that they haven't had her open yet. What other vendors have stuff worth introducing her to? I've also started looking at things like the Kano and Learn to Mod, but as a non-programmer, I'm not really sure which are most useful for introduction and which are accomplishing what they claim vs. being a waste of money/time.

Anyone have experience or suggestions to help sort this out?

3 of 107 comments (clear)

  1. Hard to beat MIT's Scratch. Free and graphical. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://scratch.mit.edu/

    1. Re:Hard to beat MIT's Scratch. Free and graphical. by flogger · · Score: 3, Informative

      I should just Mod this up, but I'll add to it.

      I work with a lot of students at my school and I've purchased a few KANO kits. They are great and appeal to kids who want to program and kids who want to make cool cases in woodworking shop... Grab one and try it out. If it doesn;t work, donate it to a local school's computer club.

      I also use RPG maker (There is a free version on sourceforge I think) which can be used to make some very elaborate 2d rpg style games.... At first the kids I work with love the mapping and simple switch oriented programming, but after a while, the kids are learning scripting and the logic behind all programming.

      But, yeah, Scratch is great too.

      --
      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
      "First things first -- but not necessarily in that order"
      -- The Doctor, "Doctor
  2. ALICE by everett · · Score: 4, Informative

    ALICE from Carnegie Melon, http://www.alice.org/index.php

    --
    Sig withheld to protect the innocent.