Cracking the Code on the Best iPad Apps for Budding Computer Programmers
by Brad Spirrison-(Managing Editor of Appolicious)
Computer engineering and program development are two of the fastest growing professions in the world. With such high demand, many developers created mobile apps disguised as games that teach the basics from the Elementary School through High School levels. These five computer programming apps for kids may have cracked the code.
Move the Turtle. Programming for kids ($2.99)
This award-winning app is created from a kids perspective and combines fun gameplay with intuitive teaching to help build basic computer programming skills in young learners. Move The Turtle teaches kids the building blocks of computer programming by asking them to give commands to the turtle to move toward a gem. There are beginning tutorial levels and coaching for kids as they attempt different challenges, and advanced learners can actually create their own challenges. The levels are stored in chapter packs that get increasingly harder and kids receive trophies after the completion of a chapter pack.
Robo Logic 2 HD ($1.99)
Robo Logic 2 HD is a fun and engaging way to give kids a foundational understanding of how programming works. This app offers students with various challenges that increase as kids gain more programming skill. It teaches kids how programming is a step by step process through having students use a series of movements to program a robot to move on a grid and claim squares. This app is a non-stop brain challenging thrill ride!
Hopscotch: Coding for kids, a visual programming language (Free)
Hopscotch: Coding for kids, a visual programming language boasts a full range of customization. The coding app is entirely free and is one of the best in this sub-genre for showing kids the cause and effect of their coding actions, mainly the one to one of commands linked to specific actions. This app teaches the fundamental relationship between objects and actions. Users select an “object” from the scrolling list of characters: monkey, gorilla, etcetera, and by using simple drag and drop, set their object to perform specific actions. When you press “play,” the actions you want the object to perform can coincide with how the iPad is moved. Coding blocks are found in the navigation: Motion, Lines, Controls, Looks, Operators, and more. Best of all, with all of the character and movement options, your young programmer can spend countless hours building a skill that will be extremely valuable.
Cargo-Bot (Free)
This game is easy to play and fun, despite the difficulty of the presented problems; this game can deliver quite a challenge. The game gets progressively more complex and the concept of programming will become more and more apparent as students are introduced to programming concepts like looping, branching, and more. The game asks students to program an automated cargo crane to pick and drop colored boxes in a particular pattern in particular places. Sometimes they have to be sorted or rearranged. Students have to think through on how to work out the solution given the restrictions, and implement that solution into the bot’s programming. This app is great for both Elementary and Middle School students.
Circuit Coder ($1.99)
The app is packaged as a game, but does its job teaching high school students about logic gates and building digital circuits. Traditional teaching of this topic can be boring and tedious, asking students to draw the gates again and again in addition to solving the logical problem. This app helps with the visualization of that design and successfully frames the challenges within a game. In these games, students are given sets of inputs and the expectations of the desired output. Students work out the problems by designing circuits using relevant gates to turn on LEDs. The game progresses from easy circuits into more complex situations where they are asked to make use of the switches, timers, and more. Additionally, the application also serves as a simulator where students can freely design whatever circuit they want and view the results!
Educational apps in this article were curated by appoLearning Experts Stephen Danos, Chris Aktinson, and Andreas Kuswara.
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