SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
My 9 year old girl has expressed an interest in learning to program. Of course I want something that will give her short term rewards, but still teach solid skills. I know this question gets asked from time to time on various forums but I wanted to get some opinions from the good people of SN.
Christmas is coming... she's (for now) a Windows user... is there something you'd recommend as a gift?
Thanks for your ideas.
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
Introducing Programming to a Child
|
Log In/Create an Account
| Top
| 62 comments
| Search Discussion
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
TOO BAD YOU CAN'T BUY a voodoo globe so that you could make the earth spin
real fast and freak everybody out.
-- Jack Handey, The New Mexican, 1988.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 03 2015, @01:49PM
It is cheap and has Python, Scratch out-of-the-box[via NOOBS/Raspian]. She can learn about basic hardware too while she is at it.[maybe Dad can too]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 03 2015, @03:45PM
I have been steering people away from the Pi. It is a seriously cool platform and cheap. However its setup curve is quite steep (at least for a beginner). Your first challenge is buying the right kit. Then making sure you have an OS you can play with. Not difficult, but not exactly what people would consider 'programming'. It can turn them off fast if the first thing you do is figure out which linux distro to use. Remember when you are not around their parents will be the one stuck helping.
Most of them already have a PC somewhere be it a mac or windows. I point them at python with a good tutorial book. If they are being cheap (remember they are kids and have no money) there are good ones on the python.org website.
It shows to structure your language quickly. Passing of variables is learned quickly. Objects are basically required learning to understand it. The errors sometimes a bit cryptic but usually straight forward to figure out what is wrong with a bit of google. The only thing I dislike about the language from a learning POV is the fact it does not encourage good type safety with variables. Quite the opposite. But most 4g languages are like that...
This way if they GET interested then I start recommending better tools such as eclipse or visual studio or xcode as well as the Pi. If they figure its 'not their thing' they are out pretty much 0 dollars.
This is a good book for learning it.
http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Python-5th-Mark-Lutz/dp/1449355730 [amazon.com]
Probably the biggest challenge people have is they are afraid to break their computer. Also 'programming' is not a 'good' present for Christmas. It is like giving piano lessons as a gift. You are giving someone homework and a chore. So if you want them to grow into it. It has to be handled with a bit of grace.
What I have found is most people like the *idea* of programming. But in practice not so much. Sort of like learning to play piano. It takes practice to be any good. I would say about 1 out of 4 can do it, 1 out of 20 like it (that set is not necessarily inclusive).
Just go slow. Dont buy 50-200 bucks worth of kit (at first). See if they really are into it first. At that point you can start making gifts out of it.
she's (for now) a Windows user
If she gets interested you can do a lot worse than the free Visual Studio 2015 edition. Visual studio is an *excellent* IDE.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 03 2015, @08:52PM
Learning is a social activity for children and for girls especially. It could[should] be something they do together, at least at first.