As Scratch Jr put it, coding is the new literacy. It’s all the rage in education and beyond. There is a growing emphasis on including computer science lessons in primary schools, and numerous institutions throughout the world have already begun to teach children the principles of coding. One of the most exciting aspects of coding is that as children learn to code, they simultaneously learn a variety of other abilities. This phenomenon is known as incidental learning by educators.
Coding games and exercises, for example, are naturally difficult and frequently necessitate collaboration and coordination. When kids work together to debug codes and solve coding problems, they not only learn the skill of coding (which is the skill that is intentionally targeted), but they also develop a number of other important skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, strategic thinking, systems thinking, logical reasoning, design thinking, and others.
Indeed, coding games and activities help children build their psychosocial systems as well as their technical skills. The more youngsters cooperate and participate in coding activities, the more resilient, motivated, and perseverant they will become. Coding fosters children’s curiosity, inventiveness, and ability to study independently. Over the last few years, we’ve examined and shared a range of educational coding materials including coding websites, coding applications, coding books, and more.
In today’s post, we’re including a list of websites that teach coding to kids and students using games. Learners will have access to interesting and entertaining games that cover a variety of coding topics, from the fundamentals to writing in programming languages like Python and JavaScript. These items will be beneficial to children of all skill levels. In reality, no prior coding knowledge is required for children to begin playing the games. There are video courses, tutorials, and instructions available to assist kids in navigating the coding games.
1- Kodable
Through interactive games and enjoyable activities, Kodable teaches youngsters how to code. You can quickly establish a class for your students in Kodable and invite them to join as a teacher. You’ll be able to access pre-designed coding classes, gaming courses, assess students’ progress, and track their performance from your instructor dashboard. After being introduced to coding fundamentals, students can play Kodable games to put what they’ve learned to the test. Smeeborg (for beginners), Asteroidea (intermediate level), and Bug Word are the three main games offered by Kodable (advanced level). Students can use kodable projects to reinforce the coding skills they learned in these lessons and activities. Fuzz Builder, Maze Maker, and Game Designer are the three main projects that students can utilize to practice their coding skills. Hour of Code is another feature of Kodable that allows students to do an hour of computer science activities at their own pace and whenever they choose.
2- Scratch
Scratch is a coding platform for kids that teaches them a variety of coding abilities and allows them to use those skills to make games, animations, digital stories, and more. While Scratch coding resources and activities are aimed at children aged 8 to 16, they may be utilized by anybody interested in learning about computer science. Scratch Jr, a simpler version of Scratch, is available for children aged 5 to 7. Students can use Scratch to design a range of projects on the Scratch Ideas page, which includes a variety of exercises. Animate a name, compose music, construct a story, make a chase game, animate a character, animate an adventure game, make talking animations, record a sound, animate a sprite, and many other activities are available. Students, for example, use Scratch to design the world they imagine in the Imagine a World project. They have the ability to make animals talk, people fly, and so on. There’s also the Scratch app, which allows children to develop and save projects without needing to be connected to the Internet. The app is free for Windows 10 and up, Android 6.0 and up, Mac App Store, and ChromeOS users.
3- Minecraft Education
Minecraft uses block-based games and activities to teach kids how to code. Minecraft’s Education edition includes a number of features tailored exclusively for instructors and students. Over 600 pre-made standards-aligned courses are available, as well as the option for teachers to create their own coding lessons to submit to Minecraft. Additionally, Minecraft Education provides resources for using coding and programming in a variety of areas, including history, STEM, Language Arts, space exploration, and more. Teachers may use Minecraft Education to help students participate in Hour of Code in their schools and classrooms. They only need to install Minecraft Education Edition, select a lesson plan from the lesson library, and begin leading the Hour of Code in their classroom. There are various resources available, including video tutorials and manuals, to assist teachers in incorporating computer science lessons into their classrooms; some of these materials are free. Minecraft Education, on the other hand, is not free and has a variety of price options.
4- Coding Park
Coding Park is a fun video game that teaches kids coding and computer science. It also offers a variety of educational tools, such as lesson plans suitable for primary school kids. Teachers may create classes and online coding workshops, invite students to participate, and track their progress in real time. One-on-one online coaching sessions are also available through Coding Park. Coding Park offers three pricing options: Family ($29.90/year), Educator ($149.99/year), and School ($149.99/year) (request quote).
5- CodeCombat
Codecombat is a game that teaches kids how to code. The games are appropriate for children aged 9 and up who are just beginning to learn to code. It is not necessary to have any prior technical experience. Students learn two basic programming languages, Python and JavaScript, through games. The CodeCombat Resource Hub provides teachers with a wide range of educational materials, including lesson plans, activities, exercises, downloadable instructions, and more. Teachers can create classes quickly and invite students to join using a class code. Teachers can utilize the dashboard to access class statistics and progress reports for their students. CodeCombat has a variety of pricing choices.
6- Blockly Games
Google’s Blockly Games educates kids to code and computer programming through a variety of games. There’s the Puzzle game, which teaches kids about Blockly’s shapes and how to put them together, the Maze game, which introduces kids to coding concepts like loops and conditionals, the Birds game, which develops kids’ knowledge of conditionals, the Turtle game, which immerses kids in a deep learning experience focused on loops, the Movie game, which teaches kids how to use math to animate movies, and the Music game, which teaches kids how to use functions to compose music.
7- Code Monkey
Code Monkey is another excellent platform that provides coding games to aid in the learning of computer programming by children. It provides a variety of K-8 curricular tools to engage students of all ages and skill levels in learning how to code in real programming languages. Teachers will be able to set up their own classrooms and oversee their students’ coding progress in addition to having access to pre-designed courses and activities. Teachers utilize automatic grading and reporting analytics to assess students’ progress and provide aid and feedback in real time as they play games and take coding sessions. Teachers Plan and Parents Plan are the two primary plans offered by Code Monkey, each with its own pricing.
8-Erase All Kittens
Erase All Kittens is an engaging coding game for children aged 7 to 13. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are among the coding languages taught in the game. The game is web-based and does not require the installation of any software. Erase All Kittens also includes over 5 hours of lesson ideas on themes like computer science, cybersecurity, online behavior, fake news, the environment, and entrepreneurship. The first two levels of Erase All Kittens are free, but to gain additional features and material, you’ll need to upgrade to a premium subscription.
9- Kidlo Coding
Kidlo Coding is a website that teaches youngsters the principles of coding and programming through interactive games. There are more than 50 games available that cover various coding principles. There are games to teach the fundamentals of coding, games to teach the concept of sequencing, games to teach looping, debugging, functions, and so on.
Children learn to recognize patterns, order actions in a logical sequence, solve problems, think logically, and many other abilities while playing these coding games. The game is available on iOS, Android, and Amazon Appstore as an app.
