A Beginner’s Guide to Coding and Programming

You interact with code every day of your life. In fact, you’re interacting with code right now just by reading this page! When you know how to use code, it can make you feel like a wizard: You can create programs or websites from nothing to share with your friends. Every game you play on a computer is made with programming, and you can learn how to make things just like that starting today.

Coding is like solving puzzles; you have a problem, like “I need to make the alien’s ears wiggle,” and then you create a solution with your code. Eventually, you put all the pieces together and you have a complete game, website, or program. Not only is (programming) really fun, but it’s also useful for the future. Do you want to make video games? Learning to program is a great start. If you want to be an artist, being able to create your own beautiful portfolio website can be helpful. There are lots of jobs that can use coding skills, but you can make also a program just for fun.

Even if you choose to never touch code again, learning about it can still help you in the future. It requires focus, which will be useful throughout your entire life. You will be using technology no matter what you want to do in the future, and understanding how technology is created and developed is important. You can also improve your ability to communicate when you learn how to code, since you’ll be learning to communicate with the simplest language possible to teach a computer how to do what you want.

Not only is code fun because you can solve puzzles, but you can also create things with code. Bringing a story to life can be done in code, for example. You can set up the characters, make them move the way you’d like, and make links to move the story forward. At its core, you’re creating something from scratch, where there was nothing before. It’s just as creative as drawing a picture or telling a story!

It’s not even that hard to get started learning how to code. That’s because there are tons of games, tools, and even full courses on the Internet that you can use for free. You can start by playing around with code while playing a fun game, then graduate to being able to build something entirely from scratch. Someday, you might even be able to build a best-selling game or other type of program that people use every day.

Games

Coding is fun and easy to learn from games, since coding is a lot like puzzle-solving. You might fight your way through a robot army, race a car around a track, or control dragons while you’re doing activities designed to get you used to the logic and data behind programming. By the time you’re finished, you’ll be surprised how much you’ve learned about logic, software development, and creating a program from start to finish.

• Codemoji Playground
• RoboZZle: A Social Puzzle Game
• Code Monster
• Codingame: Play Games by Coding
• Code Combat
• Lightbot: Light Up the Squares
• Rapid Router
• Robocode: Build the Best, Destroy the Rest!
• Code Master Logic Game
• Blockly Puzzle Game
• Kodable Level-Maker
• Code Your Hero
• Coding With Wonder Woman
• Banana Tales: Code Monkey Challenge

Tools

Kid-friendly programming tools can give you the ability to play with code in any way you’d like. Make a website, make pictures of your friends dance, or do anything else you can think of. The sky’s the limit with these open-ended creative programs. You can even take apps and tools that are already out there and play around with them to make your own creations, learning from what’s there and changing it to build something unique.

• Scratch: Get Creative With Code!
• Glitch: Deploy Code as You Type

Courses

Ready to take your coding skills to the next level? Writing your own code from scratch will require you to learn at least one coding language, like Python, JavaScript, or C++. Thankfully, there are countless online lessons that can take you from beginner to expert in any programming language you’re interested in learning. You can learn by doing, by reading, or by watching videos that can teach you just about anything you’ll need to know.

• Khan Academy: Intro to Programming
• Intro to Programming With Blocks