Developed by MIT the creators goal was to “develop an approach to programming that would appeal to people who hadn’t previously imagined themselves as programmers.” - media.mit.edu Which it has done very successfully. A popular site for programmers and teachers alike.The code is written in blocks which can be pulled into the workspace and clicked together like Legos. This site is the best I know of for online sharing and collaboration. Users share, remix and comment on each other’s projects with ease. The multitude of projects makes it easy for teachers to find a project which they can use as inspiration in the classroom. There are many accompanying curriculums for Scratch, my favorite is Scratched Media Curriculum Guide

For people who love Scratch and are looking for similar apps on the iPad, Hopscotch is fantastic. The other iPad coding apps that I have seen are basically games that teach coding skills. Hopscotch leaves more room for creativity. You can design your own projects and learn about coding as you do so.The design is simple to start with and visually appealing. One of my favorite aspects of Hopscotch is that you can add code that responds to the tilt of the ipad.

Originally created by Google and now being maintained by MIT this App is a great next step for coders who have been using Scratch or another similar looking App. It also uses similar blocks as Scratch but is a bit more complicated. Prior to this app many students loved the idea of creating their own apps but got frustrated trying to do so. App Inventor makes it much simpler for students to be able to actually create their own app. It works well with a computer and an Android phone or you can download a phone emulator and use it on your computer.

This is the go to site for getting started with coding. Where can I learn more? What is the research behind coding? How can I get started? This site answers all of your questions and more. It also has it’s own curriculum. The curriculum has a combination of unplugged and plugged in activities. Some activities are games which are designed to teach you concepts of coding and in other activities you get to play around with coding. My favorite feature in code.org is that you can click on “show code” and you can see what the code you used looks like in Java script.

A great place to start if you want to learn some practical coding languages such as HTML, CSS or JAVAScript. The tutorials found here are very step by step and if you get stuck you can click on “Hint” to get help. The site has congratulations and badges along the way to keep you motivated. I especially like the “projects” section where students can apply what they have learned.

This site has a similar look and feel to Scratch in many ways but it has unique features. It is designed as a comprehensive coding site for educators. When you sign up, you can create a class, input your student roster, assign lesson plans and track students progress. It is very user friendly and still allows for student creativity and autonomy. The game tutorials are especially geared towards younger kids.