{"id":1033026,"date":"2022-07-14T05:21:04","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T09:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1033026"},"modified":"2022-07-14T05:21:04","modified_gmt":"2022-07-14T09:21:04","slug":"how-do-i-start-my-child-coding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1033026","title":{"rendered":"How do I start my child coding?"},"content":{"rendered":"

You may have heard a lot about coding and how important it is for children to start learning about coding as early as possible. Computers have become part of our lives, and we\u2019re not just talking about the laptop or desktop computer you might have in your home or on your desk at work. Your phone, your microwave, and your car are all controlled by computers, and those computers need instructions to tell them what to do. Coding, or computer programming, involves writing those instructions.<\/p>\n

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If children discover a love for coding, they will have an avenue to make the things they want to make; to write programs and build projects that they find useful, fun, or interesting. So how do you give your child the opportunity to learn about coding? We\u2019ve listed some free resources and suggested activities below.<\/p>\n

Scratch Junior\u00a0<\/h2>\n

If you have a young child under about 7 years of age, then a great place to begin is with ScratchJr.<\/a> This is an app available on Android and iOS phones and tablets, that lets children learn the basics of programming, without having to worry about making mistakes.<\/p>\n

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\"ScratchJr<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Code Club World<\/h2>\n

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has developed a series of activities for young learners, on their journey to developing their computing skills. Code Club World<\/a> provides a platform for children to play with code to design their own avatar, make it dance, and play music. Plus they can share their creations with other learners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou could have a go too and discover Scratch together. The platform is designed for complete beginners and it is great fun to play with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carol Thornhill, Engineering Science MA, Mathematics teacher<\/em><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Scratch<\/h2>\n

For 7- to 11-year-old children, Scratch<\/a> is a good way to begin their journey in coding, or to progress from ScratchJr. Like ScratchJr, Scratch is a block-based language, allowing children to assemble code to produce games, animations, stories, or even use some of the add-ons to interact with electronic devices and explore physical computing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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A girl with a Scratch project she has coded.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has hundreds of Scratch projects that your child can try out, but the best place to begin is with our Introduction to Scratch<\/a> path, which will provide your child with the basic skills they need, and then encourage them to build projects that are relevant to them, culminating in their creation of their own interactive ebook.<\/p>\n

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Try out an interactive animation coded in Scratch<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Your child may never tire of Scratch, and that is absolutely fine \u2014 it is a fully functioning programming language that is surprisingly powerful, when you learn to understand everything it can do. Another advantage of Scratch is that it provides easy access to graphics, sounds, and interactivity that can be trickier to achieve in other programming languages.<\/p>\n

Python\u00a0<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re looking for more traditional programming languages for your child to progress on to, especially when they reach 12 years of age or beyond, then we like to direct our young learners to the Python programming language and to the languages that the World Wide Web is built on, particularly HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.<\/p>\n

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An animation coded using Python.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Our Python resources<\/a> cover the basics of using the language, and then progress from there. Python is one of the most widely used languages when it comes to the fields of artificial intelligence<\/a> and data science<\/a>, and we have resources to support your child in learning about these fascinating aspects of technology. Our projects can even introduce your child to the world of electronics and physical computing with activities that use the inexpensive Raspberry Pi Pico, and a handful of electronic components, enabling your kids to create a wide variety of art installations and useful gadgets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cTrying Python doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t go back to Scratch or switch between Scratch and Python for different purposes. I still use Scratch for some projects myself!\u201d<\/p>\n

Tracy Gardner, Computer Science PhD, former IBM Software Architect and currently a project writer at the Raspberry Pi Foundation<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Python is a great text-based programming language for young people to learn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Coding projects<\/h2>\n

On our coding tutorials website<\/a> we have many different projects to help your child learn coding and digital making. These range from beginner resources like the Introduction to Scratch<\/a> path to more advanced activities such as the Introduction to Unity<\/a> path, where children can learn how to make 3D worlds and games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cOur new project paths can be tackled by young creators on their own, without adult intervention. Paths are structured so that they build skills and confidence in the early stages, and then provide more open-ended tasks and inspirational ideas that creators can adapt or work from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rik Cross, BSc (Hons), PGCE, former teacher and Director of Informal Learning at the Raspberry Pi Foundation<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Web development\u00a0<\/h2>\n

The Web is integral to many of our lives, and we believe that it is important for children to have an understanding of the technology that drives it. That is why we have an Introduction to the Web<\/a> path that allows children to develop their own web pages, focusing on the kinds of webpages that they want to build, be that sending a greeting card, telling a story, or creating a showcase of their projects.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s empowering for children to learn to how the websites they visit are created with code.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Coding clubs\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Coding clubs are a great place for children to have fun and become more confident with coding, where they can learn through making and share their creations with each other. The Raspberry Pi Foundation operates the world\u2019s largest network of coding clubs \u2014 CoderDojo<\/a> and Code Club<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have a new group of creators at my Code Club every year and my favourite part is when they realise they really can let their imagination run wild. You want to make an animation where a talking pineapple chases a snowman \u2014 absolutely. You want to make a piece of scalable art out of 1000 pixelated cartoon musical instruments \u2014 go right ahead. If you can code it, you can make it \u201d<\/p>\n

Liz Smart, Code Club and CoderDojo mentor, former Solutions Architect and project writer for the Raspberry Pi Foundation<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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At Code Club and CoderDojo, many young people enjoy teaming up to code projects together.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Coding challenges\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Once your child has learnt some of the basics, they may enjoy entering a coding challenge! The European Astro Pi Challenge programme<\/a> allows young people to write code and actually have it run on the International Space Station, and Coolest Projects<\/a> gives children a chance to showcase their projects from across the globe.<\/p>\n

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A girl with her coded creation at an in-person Coolest Projects showcase.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Free resources\u00a0<\/h2>\n

No matter what technology your child wants to engage with, there is a wealth of free resources and materials available from organisations such as the Raspberry Pi Foundation and Scratch Foundation, that prepare young people for 21st century life. Whether they want to become professional software engineers, tinker with some electronics, or just have a play around \u2026 encourage them to explore some coding projects<\/a>, and see what they can learn, make, and do!<\/p>\n

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Author: Marc Scott, BSc (Hons) is a former Science, Computer Science, and Engineering teacher and the Content Lead for Projects at the Raspberry Pi Foundation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The post How do I start my child coding?<\/a> appeared first on Raspberry Pi<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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You may have heard a lot about coding and how important it is for children to start learning about coding as early as possible. Computers have become part of our lives, and we\u2019re not just talking about the laptop or … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1033027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,110],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-1033026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rpi","category-unfiltered-rss","tag-rpi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1033026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1033026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1033026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1033027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1033026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1033026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1033026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}