A totally free index of Internet resources for the K-12 Community.
Even young students – and challenged teachers – can make simple and not so simple programs and games.
For teachers with little/no computer experience, any of these programs would be a good place to start. Check out the tutorials on YouTube and give it a go. You will be surprised how easy it can be.
The only problem with resources like these is that, all to quickly, the students are teaching the teacher.
Colleen Lewis has an extensive collection of YouTube videos on Scratch. This one shows how to get started with a simple guessing game. You can see how students can create something engaging by just assembling a few blocks. learn more
Wanda Dann, Dennis Cosgrove and Caitlin Kelleher go into detail on the new version of Alice (3.0) and why you might want to use it in the classroom in this one hour video. Alice is a freely available teaching tool designed to be a student's first exposure to object-oriented programming. It allows students to learn… learn more
Think of Alice like a 3D animated version of Scratch. Alice is freely available 3D programming environment that makes it easy to create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game, or a video to share on the web. It allows students to learn fundamental programming concepts in the context of creating animated… learn more
Code.org, sponsor of CSEdWeek, is a non-profit dedicated to expanding access to computer science, and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color. Their vision is that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science and that computer science should be part of core curriculum, alongside other courses such… learn more
Here's an overview of what Code.org can offer, why it's important, and how it works. learn more
Welcome to CodeGuppy – where kids 13+ and teens learn JavaScript coding through fun and easy to follow tutorials. Used by schools around the world! Learning to code is easy and fun with the right platform... especially if is FREE. You can use our platform in the classroom, coding club, or at home. Our entire… learn more
Michelle has created a free, printable "Coding a LEGO Maze" activity that can grow with kids. No computers are used. Just paper and (optionally) a maze made of Lego blocks. Children as young as 5 or 6 can attempt the easiest challenges, while the concepts introduced in the harder challenges would be at home in… learn more
Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) is an annual program dedicated to inspiring K-12 students to take interest in computer science. They also have resources you can use to implement and encourage computer classes in your school. learn more
CS Unplugged is a collection of free learning activities that teach Computer Science through engaging games and puzzles that use cards, string, crayons and lots of running around. This site, created by the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, introduce students to Computational Thinking using concepts such as binary numbers, algorithms and data compression. Importantly,… learn more
Here's an overview of the CS Unplugged project, where you learn about computer concepts without touching a computer. learn more
The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. Anyone, anywhere can organize an Hour of Code event or try any of the over 500+ one-hour tutorials, available in over 45 languages. learn more
Here is an index to Code.org resources broken out by age range, plus links to additional videos and resources. learn more
Kodu lets kids create games on a PC and Xbox via a simple visual programming language. Kodu can be used to teach creativity, problem solving, storytelling, as well as programming. Where Alice can create animations and demonstrations as well as games, Kodu is focused on creating games. Great for young children, as well as older… learn more
What can we do as parents to prepare our children for the many academic challenges at school while setting them up for a successful career? One answer is clear: Coding. Let’s take a look at programming courses that teach Python and see how coding can transform your child from consumer to creator. Python is the… learn more
This web site allows you to create fully functional applications for Android cell phones. It uses a variant of Scratch, the drag and drop programming language. While App Inventor can be used to create some complex applications, it also allows simple phone applications to be created in under an hour. Highly recommended by our webmaster. learn more
This video introduces MIT App Inventor, which allows anyone to create Android apps using just your cell phone or tablet and a web browser using a variant of Scratch. The goal was to to create an easy to use platform to introduce older and younger students into programming. learn more
Scratch is an educational programming language and multimedia authoring tool developed by MIT. It can be used by pupils, teachers, and parents for a wide range of educational and entertainment projects. Scratch is totally free and runs inside your web browser. Highly recommended by our webmaster. Scratch lets students, especially younger students, create their own… learn more
A video introduction produced by Paula Aguilera and the Scratch Team at the MIT Media Lab. learn more
As an educator, you can request a Scratch Teacher Account, which makes it easier to create accounts for groups of students and to manage your students' projects and comments. Check out additional educator resources for this programming language used by all grade levels, K thru 12. learn more
This Scratch lesson plan is designed to provide educators with a lesson idea for integrating Scratch into their instruction. Scratch, the user-friendly and free coding program, provides young students with the opportunity to learn to code and create a wide variety of animated creations. By Stephanie Smith Budhai, Ph.D. Nov 2022 learn more
This video shows you how to crate a basic game using Kodu. By layering on simple commands, you can create complex games. learn more
This review shows the Sphero SPRK Edition robot and SPRK app are a great introduction to robotics, coding, and STEM principles. The SPRK app lets kids give their robot orders with visual blocks representing code (like Spark) and later move on to Sphero's own C-based language called OVAL. Sphero's clear shell allows users to see… learn more
Created to help anyone begin to learn how to code. But it is also designed to spark interest and inspire young people to explore learning to code and technology. Visit free resources to learn how to code. Visit the COURSES or TEACHERS RESOURCES. learn more
Nurture problem-solving, logic, and creativity with the many ideas found in the “In the Classroom” portion of the reviews. Find resources for just one hour of code or for use as ongoing technology lessons. Explore these resources for use with after-school computer clubs or as an excellent tool when recruiting skilled parent volunteers. Turn the… learn more
Marshall Brain looks at a number of different options for teaching kids about programming, from simple games (like Light Bot and Magic Pen) to working with robots and smart phone applications. learn more
The benefits around teaching kids to code have gained more and more momentum -- making the market for apps and sites offering computer science curriculum and activities crowded. Thankfully, there are low-barrier, low-cost tools that have cross-curricular appeal and lots of support for educators (or caregivers!). They have this in common: They introduce computational thinking, and they… learn more
Includes the Hour of Code one-hour introductory segments, and computer science fundamentals courses for all ages. learn more