Kodable helps kids learn coding through interactive games and self-guided activities. No prior coding knowledge is required, students start from beginner level and work their way up to advanced levels where they get to use coding syntax to write commands in simplified versions of JavaScript or Swift.
Kodable offers a wide variety of unplugged lessons and educational materials teachers can use to introduce kids to the world of coding and help them develop their computer programming skills. Teachers can track students progress and access detailed reports on their performance.
Kodable teaches students coding in three easy steps: First, teachers use the ready-made lessons to introduce students to various coding concepts. Second, students play the games to practice the coding knowledge and skills they learned in the lessons. Third, students apply their coding skills in creative coding projects.
The purpose of this post is to introduce you to Kodable and show you some of the useful features it offers. More specifically, the post covers the following points:
- What is KODE?
- Kodable teacher login
- How to create a class and add students on Kodable?
- Kodable student login
- Kodable coding lessons
- Coding games for kids
- Kodable coding projects for kids
- Hour of Code in Kodable
- Kodable app
- How much does kodable cost
What is KODE?
KODE stands for Kid Optimized Developer Environment. KODE is like a text editor that students get to use in Kodable to practice and write using a simplified and learner-friendly JavaScript and Swift languages. Students will particularly need KODE in the following games and projects: Asteroidia, Bug World, Fuzz Builder, and Game Designer.
Kodable teacher login
To tap into the educational potential of kodable you need to have a teacher account. To do so, head over to Kodable, click on Register and select Teacher. Type your name, email address, password, and select how you will use Kodable. Next, add your school. You can search for your school by Zip code, by state or you can continue without adding a school by clicking on 'I am outside the United States'.
You are now logged in to the teacher dashboard where you can access game courses, check student creations, track students progress with in-depth actionable reports (premium feature), create classes, add students, and many more.
How to create a class and add students on Kodable?
To create a class on kodable, log in to your teacher account, and click on Add class button from the left hand side bar. Type in a name for your class and choose a class grade (K-5). Alternatively, you can import your class from Google Classroom by clicking on Add from Google Classroom.
Click on Add students and type in students names or copy and paste them from a spreadsheet. Next, click on Setup Class Code to generate your class code. Copy the code to share with students. You can also print Kodable Code cards to share with students and parents. Code cards include students passwords, class code, and parents code so kids can play Kodable at home.
Kodable student login
Students can log in to Kodable using the generated class code you share with them. They simply need to open Kodable app on any iOS device or access Kodable site through a browser in desktop or tablet. Next, they type in the class code, and select their names from class roaster.
Kodable coding lessons
Kodable offers a wide variety of unplugged lessons to use with your students in class or in remote learning settings. You can filter lessons by grade (K to 5th grade) or by coding concepts (e.g., sequence, conditions, loops, functions, variables, properties, ect).
Each lesson includes the following sections: Prep (features learning objectives and materials required for the lesson), Teach (offers step by step instruction for teaching the lesson), Unplugged activity (features guided activities), Independent practice, and Reflect (tips for checking students understanding).
Kodable also offers a number of other interesting printable resources including teacher guides, classroom materials, worksheets, vocab cards, certificates of completion and many more.
Coding games for kids
Kodable offers a number of fun and interactive games to help kids develop their coding skills. The three main games are:
A. Smeeborg
This is a coding game for kids K- 2nd, the beginner level. Smeeborg introduces kids to the fundamentals of coding using a maze game. Students use commands to write correct code to move their fuzz through the Technomaze without problems.Whenever students successfully finish a level, they collect stars and move on to the next level. Playing Smeeborg, kids get to practice a number of coding concepts (e.g., sequence, conditions, loops, and functions) and skills (e.g.,problem-solving, resilience, critical thinking, divergent thinking, etc.) .
B. Asteroidia
This coding game is for kids 2nd- 5th, intermediate level. In Asteroidia, students use variables (e.g., integer, array, and string) to destroy asteroid field and collect the three stars. The learning objectives of the game is to help kids practice and develop the following skills: systems thinking, cause and effect, resilience, and problem solving.
C. Bug World
Bug World is a coding game for students 4th- 5th. Its advanced level content is focused on object-oriented programming. In Bug World, students use coding languages such as JavaScript and Swift to 'program defense towers and protect the power flowers from evil approaching Slimes.'
Playing Bug World, students get to practice and develop the following skills: decision making, critical thinking, flexible thinking, and mathematical thinking. They also get to learn about classes, properties, variables, object-oriented programming and programming languages.
Kodable coding projects for kids
Kodable offers three coding projects to help kids apply the coding knowledge they developed through lessons and games. The purpose of these projects is to help kids use coding to express themselves creatively. These projects are:
A. Fuzz Builder
In Fuzz Builder, students use KODE to create their own fuzz characters. In order for students to complete this project, students need to have already successfully completed the Alien Algorithms level in Smeeborg game. The learning skills applied in this project include self-expression, design, variables, properties, sequence, and classes.
B. Maze Maker
In Maze Maker, students use their coding skills to construct their unqiue Technomazes. To successfully complete this project, students need to draw on the skills learned from previous games especially the one called If Fuzz, Then Roll in Smeeborg. These skills include design thinking, rapid iteration, and collaboration.
C. Game Designer
in Game Designer, students use KODE to create a personalized 'asteroid-blaster game'. To do so, students need to have already successfully completed String Beans which is the fourth level of Celestial Strings in Asteroidia. Some of the skills students get to practice in this project include: design thinking and object-oriented programming. They also get to practice the following coding concepts: variables (e.g., string, integer, array), classes, and properties.
Hour of Code in Kodable
Launched in December 2013 by Computer Science Education Week and Code.org, Hour of Code is an international initiative meant to introduce students to the world of computer science and programming.
While Hour of Code officially takes place each year in December, students can complete it anytime during the year by taking one hour of computer science activity at home or at school. Watch this video to learn more about how students can take part in Hour of Code using kodable.
Kodable app
Kodable is available as a mobile app for iOS devices: iPhone (iOS 11.0 or later), iPad (iPadOS 11.0 or later), and iPod Touch (iOS 11.0 or later). Kodable can also be accessed through any browser from a desktop or tablet.
How much does kodable cost
Kodable offers both free and premium plans. The free plan includes only starter kit of lesson plans and videos to introduce coding concepts. To unlock more content and features you need to upgrade. There is the premium plan which costs $1250 per year and the Premium+ (ask for a quote).
More sources:
What is Kodable (Video by Kodable)
Kodable teacher guide (PDF by Kodable)
How to use Kodable for teachers (Video by Kodable)
5 Reasons to teach kids to code (Poster by Kodable)
