So you want to learn to code — awesome! You are embarking on an adventure that will transform you from a user of technology into a maker of technology. And it’s a lot easier than you might guess! Coding — writing computer programs — has something for everyone: creativity, logic, art, math, storytelling, design, and problem solving. From games and toys to animations and simulations, this book coaches you step by step through coding real programs you can share with family and friends.
Although coding is emerging as a critical skill, it is not usually taught until high school — if at all. There are some super camps and great websites where you can get started with coding, but most affordable resources either stop with the very basics or club you over the head with too much, too soon. What you’ll find in this book is a complete introductory to intermediate treatment of coding in a single programming language — one that has stood the test of time with generations of students, and is conceptually transferrable to every other programming language. And this treatment isn’t boring or theoretical: Like content in all of the For Dummies series, this book is fun, clear, and organized in an easy-access format.
Coding For Kids For Dummies is assembled as a series of projects with steps for constructing each project from start to finish. As you work through each project, keep in mind the following writing conventions:
In this book, I make a few assumptions about you in regard to getting started:
Further, I’ve made some assumptions with regard to your entering into the world of coding:
Lastly, if you struggle with spelling, you may need to spend extra time troubleshooting your code for misspellings. A programming language doesn’t understand spelling errors, but can give you clues about which commands it doesn’t understand.
I have made available a lot of extra content that you won’t find in this book. Go online to find the following:
MicroWorlds EX was developed as a constructionist tool — a tool you can use to construct ideas from your head in the real world. It was never really intended to be a Step 1, Step 2–style programming language, but rather a creative programming playground. However, because you and I are not physically together in a classroom with your peers, we’re going to work in a method that has worked well for hundreds of For Dummies books: This book uses printed instructions and example screenshots to guide you through a series of fun projects!
Early projects in this book are fairly simple. Later projects increase in difficulty as you gain experience. Each project includes new primitives — coding commands built into MicroWorlds EX — and may introduce new procedures — coding commands you invent to do new things in your program. The projects are intended to be completed sequentially, but you are always welcome to “jump around” and work on projects in any order you choose. Most projects are sufficiently self-contained that you will be able to complete them simply from the pages within that chapter. As such, you may notice that there is some repetition of concepts and steps from one project to the next — this is deliberate so that you don’t feel lost if you do choose to code projects out of order.
After you gain a little experience coding, there are a bazillion new directions you can go, from learning more advanced concepts in MicroWorlds EX to tackling more challenging programming languages. I congratulate you on taking the first step!