An engaging fun way to introduce students to coding.
Community Review for CodeMonkey
My Take
Code Monkey is fun. I love how it helps children learn the basic concepts of coding. The work mat area is great. Code monkey makes it easy for the younger kids that are learning how to read or my struggling readers to still be successful in building codes. It's fun watching kids pretend they are the monkey so they know which direction to move. I like that the levels build up in difficulty. For teachers the site provides lesson plans and the codes. Support has always answered me as well. Twitter is another fun way to stay connected to others using Code Monkey. If they had an option in the future where the directions were read aloud, that would be great. After I introduce kids to this site, they revisit it on their own and at home. Overall, I love integrating Code Monkey into my schools.
How I Use It
I started using Code Monkey last year with my kindergarten - 2nd grade to introduce the concepts of coding. I demo the introduction video and the first couple levels as a whole class. I show them the layout features and the basic tools. I remind them that they will make mistakes and that is how they learn how to correct the code and fix them. Once we discuss the basics, I pair them up in 2's to work together. We call it pilot and co pilot style or paired programming. Students take turns in each role. It's great for them to be problem solving together. When I work in 3rd and 4th grade I always remind them that Code Monkey is an option. They also love it. I just had a 3rd grader complete all 30 levels in an hour. She was so proud!