Tkc0100: preface

Table of contents

• Preface
• Background information
• Discussion
  • Many paths are available
  • The recommended path
  • Programming knowledge requirements
    • Won't cover the first three items
  • Text based vs. drag-and-drop vs. popup programming
    • Text-based programming
    • Drag-and-drop programming
    • Popup programming
  • Scratch
    • Links to useful Scratch material
    • New features in Scratch 2.0
    • My publications for Scratch v2.0
    • Are you too old for scratch?
    • Additional drag-and-drop programming resources
  • Text based learning resources
    • Codecademy JavaScript
    • Codecademy Web Fundamentals
    • Codecademy Ruby
    • Codecademy PHP and Python
    • Udacity - Introduction to Computer Science
    • Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) with Java
  • Other options
• Miscellaneous
• Appendix A: Programming knowledge requirements in Texas
  • A list of requirements

Preface

This module is one in a collection of modules designed to help beginners of all ages (8 and up) learn how to create the code for computer programs. Information is provided not only for the beginnersthemselves but also for parents, teachers, and other helpers where appropriate.

The purpose of this module is simply to introduce the collection.

Background information

In the year 2013, everything from parking meters to cell phones to Mars landing vehicles are controlled by computer code. That code is written byhumans.

Bill Gates , Mark Zuckerberg , Mitch Resnick , and many other respected individuals are telling us that "Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer... because it teaches you how to think."

If you search the web, you will find a maze of web pages containing information forteaching beginners how to create program code. This collection will attempt to pull much of that information together and to provide explanations that will make it easier forbeginners to navigate that maze and to get involved in computer programming.

As mentioned earlier, the information in this collection is intended not only for the beginnersthemselves, but also for the parents, teachers, and other helpers of those beginners where appropriate.

Discussion

Many paths are available

There are many paths that a beginner can take and many tools that a beginner can use in learning to write computercode -- some good and some not so good. Here is a non-exhaustive list of tools and resources (in no particular order) that I have collected from the web :

1. Scratch
2. Codecademy
3. Udacity - Introduction to Computer Science
4. Alice
5. CodeHS
6. Kodu
7. Python
8. Pygame
9. CS1graphics.org
10. Sugar on a Stick
11. Lua
12. OpenSim
13. Spritely
14. Edubuntu
15. App Inventor
16. Lego Mindstorms
17. Greenfoot
18. BlueJ
19. Java
20. Play-i
21. Marshall Brain: Teaching your kids how to write computer programs
22. Code.org
23. Treehouse
24. W3schools.com
25. TurtleAcademy
26. StackOverflow
27. Programr
28. Mozilla Thimble
29. MIT Open Courseware
30. LearnStreet
31. LCodeTHW
32. KidsRuby
33. JSDares
34. HTML5 Rocks
35. Hackety Hack
36. Tynker
37. Stencyl
38. Microsoft Small Basic
39. Snap! (Build Your Own Blocks)
40. Blockly
41. Kodable
42. Hopscotch
43. Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) with Java