I would likely pick something from: https://wiki.python.org/moin/IntroductoryBooks (reduce screen fatigue for small ones)
A interactive video course would likely be better as well in terms of engagement.
https://scrimba.com/learn/python (really, try this)
It's a few basic steps, and then I run out.
But I like that it's step-by-step, and things we could actually do. It doesn't have black holes.
And it's quick. It's not a 500 page devops manual.
And it's rapid return. You do it, and you see something happen.
All of that is nice.
Now, if it did servos, got to audio, and things like that, it'd be the next big step.
You can also buy kits that come with a load of sensors and nicely printed manuals, colour coded interface pcbs, and sensors with keyways so you can't get the connection wrong. They also include some extra "blocks" for the scratch-like language so you can really easily use them. Those are a bit pricey. Here's one example for £40 (which weirdly doesn't include the BBC Micro:Bit itself). https://coolcomponents.co.uk/products/smart-home-kit-for-bbc...
You don't need to spend anywhere near that much though. You can buy a micro:bit and then get a kit of transducers from Aliexpress.
> And it's quick. It's not a 500 page devops manual.
> And it's rapid return. You do it, and you see something happen.
Scrimba is exactly that.
Could you elaborate more on what parents and teachers lack or need to teach their kids coding?
I am curious. Might compile a guide.
For general coding for kids, there's a bunch of really excellent things:
* Khan Academy JavaScript is fantastic. You learn JavaScript building interesting things, learning both deep and shallow concepts.
* code.org tends to be an hour long, but that hour is beautifully scripted. It doesn't go far, but is really nice for getting started.
Scratch, Blockly Games, Open Processing, and a bunch of others do a nice job picking up from there.
Where there is a gap is on tying code to hardware, which this starts to close. What I liked about this is you start with something physical. This isn't just coding. It's coding+electronics. It's surprisingly hard to find good stuff for RPi, Arduino, or similar. There are:
* Great robotics platforms, without software support or tutorials
* Decent software, where there is a game of making it work with pick-your-own-hardware.
* Decent tutorials, bogged down by lousy platforms, no integrated way to get the stuff you need, etc.
* Etc.
There isn't anything clear, integrated, and coherent like the ones above (KA/Scratch/etc.) that I know of.
If someone were to take a:
* best-of-breed cheap kid-friendly robotics platform
* integrate it with arduino or rpi
* integrate it with JavaScript or Python
And have a 5-minutes-to-get-started thing, and from there, ways to go deep, it'd be a pretty big hit. No organization seems to do all three pieces well:
* Hardware
* Software
* Pedagogy
Perhaps since they're such different skills, or perhaps because it's too big a task.
> Scrimba is $19/month, and aimed at adults. From the front page, you build boring stuff, and it's not clear where to go. Quality is mixed
I linked the python course in the original comment but mostly recommend scrimba for building learning material for kids because you can mess with the code and run it inside the video directly. It's free for that.
Have you tried using something from the magpie, sparkfun and other kit suppliers?
Any elaboration on the specific product would be helpful. I want to know what kind of kits aren't available or upto the mark.
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/programming-an-fpga
But I totally understand the current market could be better. I have spent a good chunk of time finding parts for raspberry Pi although the projects were a bit more complex and budget constrained. I got them from various Chinese market places and had to read up a bit.
I like Sparkfun, but it's not batteries included. You run into the first major roadblock before you've started:
"Please Note: If you haven't worked with Alchitry boards before, you will need to head over to their website to get set up and running before continuing with this tutorial."
... and you're down a rabbithole.
Next, it splits on Cu versus Au boards.
And by the end, it looks like I have a blinking LED.
And I need to spend over $100 to get started. $100 is okay if I knew there was a good, frictionless pathway to the end. But in this case, I don't. It's gluing a half-dozen pieces together, and my experience is that 75% of the time, the kit ends up with some bug along the way, and lands in a drawer.
The places I listed JUST WORK. That's a big difference.
It's also important it feed into something. Half the time, companies will invent their own programming language, environment, or something, and at the end, we're at a dead end. I've never heard of Lucid. If I were doing an FPGA project, I'd start with VHDL or Verilog and standard tools. And clicking through, many of the tools used in this tutorial are now several layers obsoleted.
That's more-or-less the state of most things.
The challenge is getting kids engaged enough that they start experimenting by themselves. Also the same for older kids and adults. People will nod and smile, do all the exercises and then never touch the resources again. I've been doing outreach for a decade or so, this is totally common with students of all ages.
That said, for programming you need material that promotes very quick and visual or physical feedback loops. You also need projects that are fun and achievable, but also can be extended.
Also be aware of how long something will take a total beginner to do. When I'm designing projects for summer schools (16-24), I generally assume that if I can do it in a day from scratch, it'll take them a couple of weeks if they have no experience. Take that with a pinch of salt, but I've found it's pretty accurate.
I would likely use repl.it or scrimba (one I linked).
For hardware stuff, there are guides and kits targetted at kids with graphics and stuff.
If you check raspberry Pi magazine or site, you will find many of them.
https://magpi.raspberrypi.org/
Example: https://aiyprojects.withgoogle.com/voice/
Which I think is easier to follow than purchasing individual items yourself.
Here's our Python Module 1 - https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/codeclub/python-module-1
It uses the online Trinket as an IDE