Coding Season is upon us! We will, as a whole School participate in an Hour of Code, using Code.org's wonderful lessons and special games, like Star Wars, Frozen and of course, Minecraft. But I also like to recognize these gems, perfect for our K-5 Students during Centers, for Free Time, for Morning Work, extra Bonus Time, or just about any other opportunity to get the brain waves cracking! Daisy the Dinosaur and Scratch Jr are not only great at getting the younger friends started coding, but have an added feature of being a perfect application for storytelling! In both, add backgrounds, change the character, add text boxes and more. Nice feature!
Kodable is a true favorite for K-2 friends. They love the fuzzy friends that go around the tablet searching for coins. I particularly like how this application demonstrates directions and how-to's. They make it so easy for the younger friends to catch on! Kodable also comes with a web-based version, (thank you very much!) and this is what we'll start our younger friends with during our Month of Code!
Toca Builders is a favorite of mine for designing and building. The app's five little characters have a specific job to do and it's up to you to get them to work! The imagination can get carried away with buildings, doors, windows, obstacles and more. This is a truly addicting application.
Fix The Factory is a Lego app, which means...perfection to effects, sounds, resolution, you-name-it! It does get a bit tricky at some of the higher levels, but I like that it is a different type of game compared to the others. Students, boys and girls alike, will like this one.
Tynker and Hopscotch are favorites for our older Elementary Friends in 3-5 & up. Use blockly commands to create all sorts of different games, spiraling images, etc. It too gets a little tricky as you level up. Students like the challenge, tho...so it becomes a competition as to who can get their first.
All these applications are Free, at present in the App Store. The Free versions give upwards of 20 or more lessons, each lesson with 3 or more obstacles apiece. They also come with a paid application which will give more whistles and bells.
Happy Coding!
