Teaching programming languages ​​to children is considered the new literacy of our current era because technology has become increasingly controlling us, and we have become in dire need of knowing how to deal with these technological developments. Our need for programming helps us organize our lives, our routine work, and many personal tasks

Technical institutes and research centers have begun working to provide programming environments that help teach programming languages ​​to children easily and appropriately, starting from the ages of 5 and 7 years, by developing innovative educational curricula.

These endeavors aim to help children learn programming stories and special interactive games. To integrate them with the best and most interesting ways of learning programming and prepare them for the next era

Is it easy to teach programming languages ​​to children?

Of course, because teaching programming languages ​​to children depends on innovative educational curricula that teach children how to solve large problems and divide them into smaller problems.

Programming teaches children that ready-made answers have no meaning, but they learn to pay attention, practice, repeat, deconstruct problems, and learn how they can be solved and dealt with in the simplest ways, which positively affects their life

What are the programming languages ​​for children?

Programming languages ​​for children removes all the difficulties they face because they are accustomed to solving all technical problems in simple ways. There are seven of the most important programming languages ​​that have been developed to suit children

• (Scratch programming language for young children (Scratch Jr

It is an introductory programming language that helps young children create stories and interactive games. While teaching children this language, children can assemble graphic programming blocks to make the characters they choose move, jump, sing, and dance as well.

Through Programming Languages, children can modify the characters. In the graphic editor that is found on this platform, they can also add voices to them, and they can also insert pictures of themselves and use semi-ready templates, which makes the characters they are working on come to life

The Scratch language was inspired by the famous programming language Scratch and became suitable for younger children in terms of its interface and Programming Languages.

Its features were designed with great care to be compatible with the cognitive and personal development of children. These booklets contain an explanation of installing the working platform and educational exercises on it

It is considered a free language for children to use, as it was developed for young children from 5 to 7 years old

Through this language, children can program interactive stories and games for themselves. Children can also learn to solve problems and design projects, in addition to expressing themselves creatively on the computer

Scratch works on the Android platform and Apple IOS on tablets. The method of programming this language is easier than others and is suitable for children, but its functions are limited

• Scratch programming language

It is a programming language for children. It is a high-level visual language. Programming Languages are based on block programming and has a programming platform on the web. This language is characterized by being a free language. It can be taught to children from 8 to 16 years of age and is an important educational tool for programming.

Users on the platform can create web projects using easy-to-use interfaces, and can also use the same building blocks and drag and drop.

The Scratch language service was developed by the MIT Media Lab of MIT University, and one of the features of the Scratch language is that it has been translated into more than 70 languages, including Arabic, this language is used in most parts of the world.

In some places, Scratch is taught after schools and colleges and in some educational institutions as well

It is worth noting that the Scratch website provides supplementary tools and materials for teaching, and the Scratch language can be learned online

• Alice Programming Language

Alice is a language suitable for children starting from the age of 10 years. It is an innovative programming environment.

Programming Languages are based on blocks that facilitate the creation of animation, the creation of interactive stories, or the programming of simple three-dimensional games for children, in contrast to many coding applications that rely on… Puzzles, Alice’s language stimulates learning through children’s creative exploration.

Alice’s language is designed for children to learn logical and computational thinking skills in addition to the main principles of programming. Alice’s language is considered the first to offer object programming such as (Block-Based Programming Language)

The Alice language is characterized by being block programming languages that were developed at del Carnegie University.

It is a free language for children to use. The Alice language uses the same drag-and-drop building blocks and also provides tools and supplementary materials that help teach programming to children easily. It is an environment where Innovative coding makes programming animations, games, and interactive 3D stories.

Despite the advantages of the Alice language, it is difficult to use it in training or primary education, due to an expected barrier that children may face when using the language, as it is a language that has been partially translated into some other languages, including Arabic as well

One of the most distinctive features of Alice from Scratch and Blockly is that it allows users to work with 3D models in addition to the ability to use dynamic camera angles

• Kodu Game Lab

Kudu Games Lab is considered one of the Programming Languages ​​that is suitable for children starting from the age of 8 years. This high-level language allows for writing very simple computer programs. To understand the Kudu language, children must initially study simple languages ​​such as Scratch or Python.

• code.org language from Microsoft

The Code.org language is one of the languages ​​suitable for children from the age of 4 because it is considered one of the best and easiest programming languages ​​of all, according to the reviews of the children who have learned it. The Code.org language supports many languages, including English, Arabic, and others.

The Code.org language programming platform is distinguished by the presence of interactive objects with sound and images and such cartoon characters have great significance in the lives of children, which helps them attract attention and love learning

• Blockly language from Google

When Google wanted to respond to the Scratch programming language implemented by MIT University, it worked on a block-based programming language. Google named this language (blockly. games) and it is considered one of the programming languages ​​intended for children.

It contains Blockly Games, which is a series that includes educational games that help children learn programming. It was designed specifically for children who have no previous experience in programming languages.

With this language, there are programming exercises and games because it is a language that relies on innovative educational curricula for children, and as the child continues to Learn all the stages of this language, the child becomes ready to use traditional languages ​​for programming and languages ​​that rely on codes and texts.

The Blocky language targets children from 8 years of age. It helps children create games, animations, and programs via the Internet browser. The Blocky language uses the same drag-and-drop building blocks.

The games of this language are designed in attractive ways that make the child track the extent of his learning and measure his speed himself. The Blocky language can be downloaded for use. In offline mode, ensuring accessibility for all students.

All of the code for this language is open source, meaning that it is free and customizable to meet the needs of learners, and children can create actual applications using this language, Blocky

• Swift programming language from Apple

The Swift language is considered one of the programming languages ​​intended for children. This language works on iPhone platforms only (IOS), whether it is Mac devices or on Apple mobile phones.

The approach of the Swift language is characterized by its narrow, clean, interesting, and pleasing view, but it does not allow for a lot of creative thinking and the exercise of freedom.

During its lessons, as it does not enable learners to deviate from the paths it predetermines in each challenge or lesson, Swift uses the same building blocks and drop-outs

The best training courses to teach programming languages ​​to children

The ElMadrasah.com platform offers the best online programming courses to teach programming languages ​​to children, based on the best innovative educational curricula with a group of the most qualified lecturers

Timings can be chosen according to what is appropriate for students because ElMadrasah.com offers morning and evening appointments and individual private lessons at the highest level of quality and efficiency