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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.
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Introducing Programming to a Child
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Two is not equal to three, even for large values of two.
(Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Thursday December 03 2015, @11:22PM
I couldn't find the copypasta, so you get away with it... this time. A serious response will have to suffice instead.
I think gamemaker is terrible for learning because, while it allows you to (arguably) churn something functional quickly, it doesn't give you a good understanding of what's ACTUALLY going on.
It's a serviceable but mediocre DOING tool, not a good LEARNING tool. Also, based upon a project I briefly worked on with people before work went to hell, it seems like the docs are in shambles, and examples of how to do things online, at least if you tried to do things in code, were often non-functional and looked like they were written up by someone who repeatedly failed CS140.
If I had to recommend a "game devleopment toolkit" to use instead, I'd probably go with pyGame. I've not done anything that impressive any beyond finish out a tutorial, but it worked nicely and it didn't abstract away anything significant.
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
(Score: 2) by buswolley on Monday December 14 2015, @11:03PM
Im sure you are right in a lot of ways, but I think you ignore one thing. Code looks scary to kids. Luring them in with a GUI, then getting them used to seeing any kind of code, with even basic structures and operators, ifs elses etc...and learning the art of the google search.....these are valuable skills. Learning always starts with simplicity.
subicular junctures
(Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Tuesday December 15 2015, @12:22AM
Well, ultimately, I guess the important part was that it worked for your son. I never had an issue with code as a kid, but I was practically raised to be a programmer, and apparently had a decent enough mindset for it out of the gate.
Good on your son that he's getting there, no matter the means!
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!