Coding as a Playground is the first book to focus on how young children (ages 7 and under) can engage in computational thinking and be taught to become computer programmers, a process that can increase both their cognitive and social-emotional skills. Readers will learn how coding can engage children as producers—and not merely consumers—of technology in a playful way. You will come away from this groundbreaking work with an understanding of how coding promotes developmentally appropriate experiences such as problem solving, imagination, cognitive challenges, social interactions, motor skills development, emotional exploration, and making different choices. You will also learn how to integrate coding into different curricular areas to promote literacy, math, science, engineering, and the arts through a project-based approach.

Coding as a Playground, Second Edition focuses on how young children (aged 7 and under) can engage in computational thinking and be taught to become computer programmers, a process that can increase both their cognitive and social-emotional skills. Learn how coding can engage children as producers—and not merely consumers—of technology in a playful way. You will come away from this groundbreaking work with an understanding of how coding promotes developmentally appropriate experiences such as problem-solving, imagination, cognitive challenges, social interactions, motor skills development, emotional exploration, and making different choices. Featuring all-new case studies, vignettes, and projects, as well as an expanded focus on teaching coding as a new literacy, this second edition helps you learn how to integrate coding into different curricular areas to promote literacy, math, science, engineering, and the arts through a project-based approach and a positive attitude to learning.

A project-filled introduction to coding that shows kids how to build programs by making cool games. Scratch, the colorful drag-and-drop programming language, is used by millions of first-time learners worldwide. Scratch 3 features an updated interface, new programming blocks, and the ability to run on tablets and smartphones, so you can learn how to code on the go. In Scratch 3 Programming Playground, you'll learn to code by making cool games. Get ready to destroy asteroids, shoot hoops, and slice and dice fruit! Each game includes easy-to-follow instructions with full-color images, review questions, and creative coding challenges to make the game your own. Want to add more levels or a cheat code? No problem, just write some code. You'll learn to make games like: Maze Runner: escape the maze! Snaaaaaake: gobble apples and avoid your own tail Asteroid Breaker: smash space rocks Fruit Slicer: a Fruit Ninja clone Brick Breaker: a remake of Breakout, the brick-breaking classic Platformer: a game inspired by Super Mario Bros Learning how to program shouldn't be dry and dreary. With Scratch 3 Programming Playground, you'll make a game of it! Covers: Scratch 3

Why children should be taught coding not as a technical skill but as a new literacy—a way to express themselves and engage with the world. Today, schools are introducing STEM education and robotics to children in ever-lower grades. In Beyond Coding, Marina Umaschi Bers lays out a pedagogical roadmap for teaching code that encompasses the cultivation of character along with technical knowledge and skills. Presenting code as a universal language, she shows how children discover new ways of thinking, relating, and behaving through creative coding activities. Today’s children will undoubtedly have the technical knowledge to change the world. But cultivating strength of character, socioeconomic maturity, and a moral compass alongside that knowledge, says Bers, is crucial. Bers, a leading proponent of teaching computational thinking and coding as early as preschool and kindergarten, presents examples of children and teachers using the Scratch Jr. and Kibo robotics platforms to make explicit some of the positive values implicit in the process of learning computer science. If we are to do right by our children, our approach to coding must incorporate the elements of a moral education: the use of narrative to explore identity and values, the development of logical thinking to think critically and solve technical and ethical problems, and experiences in the community to enable personal relationships. Through learning the language of programming, says Bers, it is possible for diverse cultural and religious groups to find points of connection, put assumptions and stereotypes behind them, and work together toward a common goal.

The Coding on the Playground book presents early learners with a playground story challenge they can solve using Scratch 3. Simple text and instructional images guide students to deepen their understanding of coding. Readers learn about coordinates, movement, sprite characteristics, events, and more. Book is aligned to curriculum standards and includes extension activities and opportunities for students to customize and experiment with their code. Call outs on each page help students grasp the conceptual understanding behind the code block. Book includes table of contents, glossary of keywords, index, and author biography.

Apple’s Swift is a powerful, beginner-friendly programming language that anyone can use to make cool apps for the iPhone or iPad. In Coding iPhone Apps for Kids, you’ll learn how to use Swift to write programs, even if you’ve never programmed before. You’ll work in the Xcode playground, an interactive environment where you can play with your code and see the results of your work immediately! You’ll learn the fundamentals of programming too, like how to store data in arrays, use conditional statements to make decisions, and create functions to organize your code—all with the help of clear and patient explanations. Once you master the basics, you’ll build a birthday tracker app so that you won’t forget anyone’s birthday and a platform game called Schoolhouse Skateboarder with animation, jumps, and more! As you begin your programming adventure, you’ll learn how to: –Build programs to save you time, like one that invites all of your friends to a party with just the click of a button! –Program a number-guessing game with loops to make the computer keep guessing until it gets the right answer –Make a real, playable game with graphics and sound effects using SpriteKit –Challenge players by speeding up your game and adding a high-score systemWhy should serious adults have all the fun? Coding iPhone Apps for Kids is your ticket to the exciting world of computer programming. Covers Swift 3.x and Xcode 8.x. Requires OS X 10.11 or higher.

Python is a powerful programming language that’s easy to learn and fun to play with. But once you’ve gotten a handle on the basics, what do you do next? Python Playground is a collection of imaginative programming projects that will inspire you to use Python to make art and music, build simulations of real-world phenomena, and interact with hardware like the Arduino and Raspberry Pi. You’ll learn to use common Python tools and libraries like numpy, matplotlib, and pygame to do things like: –Generate Spirograph-like patterns using parametric equations and the turtle module –Create music on your computer by simulating frequency overtones –Translate graphical images into ASCII art –Write an autostereogram program that produces 3D images hidden beneath random patterns –Make realistic animations with OpenGL shaders by exploring particle systems, transparency, and billboarding techniques –Construct 3D visualizations using data from CT and MRI scans –Build a laser show that responds to music by hooking up your computer to an Arduino Programming shouldn’t be a chore. Have some solid, geeky fun with Python Playground. The projects in this book are compatible with both Python 2 and 3.