Best tools\methods to teach programming to Kids.
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So I have a 5 year old nephew who I am very fond of. Quite frequently I ponder about his education and feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming. Now , where should I start?
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So I have a 5 year old nephew who I am very fond of. Quite frequently I ponder about his education and feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming. Now , where should I start?
At 5YO it's difficult to get their attention for too long, but given that reading and writing may not be perfected yet, have a look at Kodu: http://research.microsoft.com/apps/video/default.aspx?id=138732[^] It may be a bit advanced, but it is basic concepts oriented, rather than language and syntax. Haven't tried it myself, but then, I'm not 5... :-D
Ideological Purity is no substitute for being able to stick your thumb down a pipe to stop the water
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So I have a 5 year old nephew who I am very fond of. Quite frequently I ponder about his education and feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming. Now , where should I start?
SalCon wrote:
Quite frequently I...feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming.
Big mistake on your part. Making it available is one thing, but making someone like it is completely different, not to mention outright wrong.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"Show me a community that obeys the Ten Commandments and I'll show you a less crowded prison system." - Anonymous
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So I have a 5 year old nephew who I am very fond of. Quite frequently I ponder about his education and feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming. Now , where should I start?
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SalCon wrote:
Quite frequently I...feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming.
Big mistake on your part. Making it available is one thing, but making someone like it is completely different, not to mention outright wrong.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"Show me a community that obeys the Ten Commandments and I'll show you a less crowded prison system." - Anonymous
Pushed in at too young an age will lead to rejection and fear! Better to encourage them in small steps and make no big deal of it. 'Boiling Frogs'
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^]
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So I have a 5 year old nephew who I am very fond of. Quite frequently I ponder about his education and feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming. Now , where should I start?
SalCon wrote:
he should be made to fall in love with programming. Now , where should I start?
This is a start: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/theater/images/clockwork_big.jpg[^]
Be The Noise
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So I have a 5 year old nephew who I am very fond of. Quite frequently I ponder about his education and feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming. Now , where should I start?
Don't, not at 5 y.o. Let him come to you naturally out of curiosity.
Watched code never compiles.
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So I have a 5 year old nephew who I am very fond of. Quite frequently I ponder about his education and feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming. Now , where should I start?
Try doing something like programming some LEDs with an Arduino board while he's around and if he's interested show him how changing some very simple code changes how the lights work. Then you can attach motors etc. and show him how programming can have fun results.
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So I have a 5 year old nephew who I am very fond of. Quite frequently I ponder about his education and feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming. Now , where should I start?
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Pushed in at too young an age will lead to rejection and fear! Better to encourage them in small steps and make no big deal of it. 'Boiling Frogs'
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^]
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So I have a 5 year old nephew who I am very fond of. Quite frequently I ponder about his education and feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming. Now , where should I start?
Natural Curiosity, QBasic "compiler" and the related help file. :)
CPallini wrote:
You cannot argue with agile people so just take the extreme approach and shoot him. :Smile:
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So I have a 5 year old nephew who I am very fond of. Quite frequently I ponder about his education and feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming. Now , where should I start?
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So I have a 5 year old nephew who I am very fond of. Quite frequently I ponder about his education and feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming. Now , where should I start?
Kodu helps children with critical thinking, breaking a complex goal into manageable steps, and iterate on the design process – an approach applicable to all academic subjects, business and personal relationships Oh good grief. The ignorance of child development is appalling.
SalCon wrote:
So I have a 5 year old nephew who I am very fond of. Quite frequently I ponder about his education and feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming.
First of all, you should wait another 5 years or so. Second, this is a time for developing the physical body, fine motor control, artistic abilities, social skills, spending time outdoors, , etc., not sitting in front of a computer! All of which, by the way, has been shown, even in mainstream studies, to have direct and positive influence on brain development. Argh! Yes, I feel very strongly about this subject, I don't particularly care about the counter-views that promote introducing technology to young children, they are, quite simply, WRONG. Disagree if you will, but I will not be swayed. Marc
My Blog
The Relationship Oriented Programming IDE
Melody's Amazon Herb Site -
Pushed in at too young an age will lead to rejection and fear! Better to encourage them in small steps and make no big deal of it. 'Boiling Frogs'
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^]
Dalek Dave wrote:
'Boiling Frogs'
Oh god Dave, not another stupid meme that you believe without question. Next you'll be telling us little green men live on Mars! http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/5402/can-a-frog-be-slowly-boiled-alive-without-it-noticing[^]
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SalCon wrote:
Quite frequently I...feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming.
Big mistake on your part. Making it available is one thing, but making someone like it is completely different, not to mention outright wrong.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"Show me a community that obeys the Ten Commandments and I'll show you a less crowded prison system." - Anonymous
DavidCrow wrote:
but making someone like it is completely different, not to mention outright wrong.
Agreed.
"the meat from that butcher is just the dogs danglies, absolutely amazing cuts of beef." - DaveAuld (2011)
"No, that is just the earthly manifestation of the Great God Retardon." - Nagy Vilmos (2011) "It is the celestial scrotum of good luck!" - Nagy Vilmos (2011) "But you probably have the smoothest scrotum of any grown man" - Pete O'Hanlon (2012) -
So I have a 5 year old nephew who I am very fond of. Quite frequently I ponder about his education and feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming. Now , where should I start?
If you really want to capture his imagination, try Lego Mindstorms robot kits. The programming is simplified, and he gets to build things, too!
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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So I have a 5 year old nephew who I am very fond of. Quite frequently I ponder about his education and feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming. Now , where should I start?
Why not instead see whether he's interested in it and has the right mindset for it? There's an indie game I picked up on Steam a while back called SpaceChem, which is essentially a visual programming game, where you build machines to construct certain types of molecules... It might be a little too advanced for a 5-year-old, though... Not sure, as I tend to avoid micro-humans :)
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels) -
So I have a 5 year old nephew who I am very fond of. Quite frequently I ponder about his education and feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming. Now , where should I start?
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So I have a 5 year old nephew who I am very fond of. Quite frequently I ponder about his education and feel that he should be made to fall in love with programming. Now , where should I start?
This type of question tends to be asked a couple of times a year. My kid is now eleven and shows little interest in learning how to program. One thing I'll mention is Gameroo LightBot, but I daren't try to find a link from work. If I remember, I'll post one later. Another thing that comes to mind is that on Club Penguin there's occasionally an EPF mission that involves giving movement instructions to a robot. Edit: http://www.kongregate.com/games/Coolio_Niato/light-bot[^]
