Great way to introduce coding concepts to young students.
Community Review for Kodable
My Take
I think that this is an excellent way to introduce students to coding, especially if you aren't going to spend a whole lot of time on teaching "coding" per se. The Hour of Code is an excellent time to introduce the tool and then use it when you have the time. I had many students who bought the app to use at home because they enjoyed using it and wanted to continue the challenge at home. Another benefit is that the company is very receptive to teacher feedback. Teachers should feel free to tweet or e-mail them with questions, concerns and of course compliments.
How I Use It
I used this tool in with my Kindergarten, first and second grade students during the 2013 Hour of Code. At this point, Kodable Class was in beta and the creators allowed me to try it so that all of my students had their own "accounts." That was a huge help since I taught 12 classes and the app only allowed for five children at that point. It was a great way for students to learn some very basic coding concepts while having a lot of fun. While some students struggled, others really excelled, and they all worked together to help each other out. I had no trouble running the app on the iPads and the beta worked smoothly and the kids were able to find their accounts quickly and easily.