by Maya Staresinic
Possessing the ability to code opens up so many doors and exposes our students to many opportunities. This is something we have said before, and something that we will continue to preach (because it’s true!). It has been estimated that more than 50% of future jobs will be found in the coding industry, or IT (information technology) sectors. For this reason, it only makes sense that we introduce our students to coding, and how to code, at an early age. Describing to a grade 1 class how to code using HTML, Python, or any of those advanced coding software’s is not an easy task, and chances are they are going to lose interest fast. Luckily for us, there are a number of novice coding apps that are helping pave the way for all students to love and enjoy coding.
Move the Turtle. Programming for Kids by Next is Great is a coding app designed for children as young as 5 years of age to become comfortable with coding. The app utilizes fun characters, such as a turtle, to allow children to practice their programming skills. Using intuitive graphing commands, children are set out with the goal of moving the turtle from point A to point B, all while taking into consideration any obstacles that they may need to account for while moving the turtle on its journey.
The color
ful graphic environment gets children familiar with the notions of loops, procedures, variables and conditional instructions. Move the Turtle starts off quite basic, allowing the user to get comfortable with the traditional “move up, down, left and right” commands, before moving onto more complex commands that require them to put their sequential thinking skills to the test. Children are encouraged to continue on with more complex coding sequences, as they are given badges/trophies for completing tasks. Each new level is equipped with a different task, such as programming the turtle to reach a certain point, draw a line, make a sound and more.
Children will develop a sense of sequential thinking skills, problem solving skills, a growth mindset and numerous other 21st century competencies while using the Move the Turtle app.
Move the Turtle. Programming for Kids by Next is Great is compatible with iOS devices (iPod and iPad), and costs $2.99
