Although kids may benefit from working through the sections as teacher-guided lessons and testing out the code examples, educators could also use the lessons as reading assignments to help kids learn about programming. Both kids and teachers can find additional help and inspiration by checking out other users’ completed programs on the website and posing questions to the community. The site and corresponding application can help kids strengthen other skills, including critical thinking, logic, and using sequential order to give instruction and complete tasks. |
Hackety Hack is a downloadable application that provides basic instruction to help kids learn the Ruby programming language. The application and site both offer four programming lessons for teachers to share or have kids review individually. Older middle school kids and high schoolers new to programming would benefit from the tools' general programming tips and basic instructions on types of coding. Students read what steps to take and then test them out by copying and pasting examples from the text. In order to post questions and share programs on the website, students will need to register. Kids probably won't be able to create their own website after using Hackety Hack, but the information they learn can help them understand a bit about programming. |
Students should start with an application tour, as the app lesson list suggests, or the basic programming info section since some of the structure and term information is mentioned in other lessons. (The website's lesson section suggests looking at Ruby info first, but that wouldn't be as helpful.) Kids should then be able to move on to learning about Ruby programming and Shoes, which is an advanced toolkit that helps kids build graphic user interface (GUI) items, such as a website button or including a photo on a page.
Overall, the site is structured and written in a way that's easy to understand. Step by step, kids learn how to write a few types of simple code. A casual, conversational tone directly addresses them with detailed directions. Kids get hands-on instruction by copying the examples, pasting them into the application window, and testing the result. Summaries at the end of each lesson recap what kids learned. |