Great start to computational thinking!

If you are doing Hour of Code and can give some modeling time before letting them use it than it is a great website. If you are just going to let the 1st graders use it without explanation it is going to be too hard for them. If you use it with older kids I think they will pick up on it quickly. It really does a great job of teaching students to problem solve and debug a situation. Also, if you have them working with partners they can collaborate on the answers.

My take is that this is an AMAZING tool to get kids excited about coding. It's very engaging (and a little addictive!). It works well in various settings and with a variety of student populations, which is especially helpful when you have students ranging from special needs to gifted at the same time. More practice with each step would probably benefit this app (i.e. more simple puzzles should be available to solidify a concept before jumping into it too deeply). Overall, a great tool!

Overall, it is important to keep in mind that this is not just playing a game. Coding and activities like LightBot encourage many "soft skills" our students need: critical thinking, creativity, problem solving, persistence in the face of challenge and failure, cooperation with others. It isn't just about creating a generation of kids who want to become computer scientists...though there will continue to be career opportunities for them, for sure!!