BASICS OF CODING

What is Coding?

Coding is the process of creating instructions for computers to follow. These instructions are
written in a language that computers can understand.

Why Learn Coding?

1. Problem Solving: Coding helps you solve problems and think logically.
2. Creativity: You can create websites, apps, games, and more.
3. Career Opportunities: Many jobs require coding skills.

How Does Coding Work?

1. Language: Just like humans speak different languages, computers understand

different coding languages. Examples include Python, JavaScript, and HTML.
2. Syntax: Each language has its own rules, called syntax. These rules tell the computer
what to do.
3. Code: The actual instructions you write are called code.
Basic Concepts

1. Variables: This store information. Think of them as boxes where you can keep data.
o Example: age = 10 (Here, age is a variable storing the number 10.)

2. Functions: These are sets of instructions that perform a specific task.

o Example: print ("Hello, World!") (This tells the computer to display the
message "Hello, World!")
 3. Loops: These repeat a set of instructions until a condition is met.
o Example: for i in range (5): (This will repeat the instructions 5 times.)

4. Conditionals: These help the computer make decisions based on certain conditions.
o Example: if age > 18: (This checks if the age is greater than 18.)

What Is Coding Used for?

Coding is all around us in this digital age—the websites you browse, the apps you
use daily, the games you play for fun, and much more. You know that coding is
like giving instructions to a super-powered machine, but what exactly can you do
with code? Let's dive into some tasks coding is used for:
Building Websites and Apps: From the social media platforms you scroll through
to the online stores you shop at, coding brings websites and apps to life. Coders
write instructions that determine how websites and apps look, function, and
respond to your clicks and swipes.

Creating Software: The software that runs your computer, edits your photos,
protects your data, or even powers your favorite games all rely on code to function.
Coders design and write the code that instructs the software on how to perform
specific tasks, ensuring its functionality and efficiency.

Data Analysis: Companies use coding to analyse data and recommend products
you might like. Coders develop programs that analyse massive datasets, identify
patterns and trends, and translate this information into actionable insights for
businesses and organizations.

Artificial Intelligence: The self-driving cars and generative AI catboats that are
reshaping our world are also powered by code and complex algorithms. Coders
design and implement these algorithms, enabling machines to learn, reason, and
make decisions in an intelligent way.

Benefits of Learning Coding

In today's tech-driven world, coding is more than just a cool skill; it's a gateway to
exciting opportunities and a powerful tool for personal and professional growth.
Here's why learning to code can be incredibly beneficial:

Experience High Demand & Earning Potential: Coders are in high demand
across various industries. This translates to a strong job market with competitive
salaries. Whether you dream of becoming a web developer, data scientist, or
software engineer, coding equips you with the skills to thrive in this dynamic field.

Use Problem-Solving & Creativity Skills: Coding is more than just writing
instructions; it's about critical thinking and creative problem-solving. As you learn
to code, you'll develop essential skills like logic, breaking down complex
problems, and designing creative solutions—valuable assets in any career path.

Build Anything You Imagine: The beauty of coding lies in its ability to bring
ideas to life, whether it's building a website, developing a mobile app, or even
creating video games. Coding empowers you to transform your vision into reality,
fostering innovation and entrepreneurial thinking.

Future-Proof Your Career: In a constantly evolving digital landscape, coding

skills are becoming increasingly valuable. Learning to code not only opens doors
to new career opportunities but also keeps you relevant and adaptable in the ever-
changing digital world.

Coding is a valuable skill that transcends industries, from healthcare and finance to
entertainment and education. It empowers you to not just use technology, but to
harness the skills and understanding to create and manipulate it!
 Block-based coding
 Blocks: Each block represents a command or an action. For example, one block might
make a character jump, and another might make it say "Hello!"

 Snapping Together: Just like LEGO pieces fit together, these coding blocks fit together in
a sequence. The order you snap them in determines what happens first, next, and so on.

 Colors and Shapes: Blocks often come in different colors and shapes to show they do
different things. For example, motion blocks might be blue, while sound blocks are pink.

 Drag and Drop: You use the mouse to drag a block from a toolbox and drop it into your
workspace. This is how you build your code.

 Running the Code: After you've snapped your blocks together in the right order, you can
run your code to see what happens. Your character might move, talk, or do something fun
based on the blocks you used.

Features of Block-based coding

Whether you use Scratch, Thunkable, or another block-based coding tool, they
tend to have similar features, mostly based around coding concepts that you'll
find in typed coding languages as well.

They all tend to revolve around two elements: creating the visual interface that
the user will interact with, and putting together the blocks that make up the
code.
Scratch is a block based coding tool designed for beginners and education
contexts, which allows you to create games, animations, and interactive stories.

Scratch allows you to control things on the screen, such as getting the sprite to
move or a sound to play.

Thunkable:

Thunkable is a block-based coding tool for creating simple interactive apps,

such as little games. It can also be used to add features like text-to-speech and
image recognition, as it has blocks with specific features.

It's good for prototyping ideas and thinking about what you might need to make
an app work, without having to learn one of the coding languages used to
develop apps.

It's also useful for thinking about how you make an app functional for your
users, as you can live test your app within your web browser to try out the
features you give it.
Block coding turns programming into a drag-and-drop process
by converting text based code into visual blocks. Each block
contains real code and when they’re combined together, they create animations and
games. No matter which block-based programming language you’re using, they all
have a variety of different blocks that perform different key coding functions.

When learning how to use block-based coding, it’s key to understand what each kind
of block does and how the blocks work together to create a finished project. Here’s
an example of a block coding program in Scratch.

You can see the individual blocks on the left and combined blocks in the middle that
create part of the program shown on the right.

Advantages of Block-Based Programming

Block coding for kids has a lot of advantages when it comes to getting started with
programming.

Syntax-Free Coding
One of the trickiest things to learn with text-based programming languages is syntax.
Simply typing a line of code in the wrong order, or leaving out a single character, can
cause errors. Block coding takes syntax out of the equation entirely.
Without having to worry about how code is written, kids can focus on what each
block does and how they work together. This helps teach key coding fundamentals
that can be used across many text-based programming languages.

Visual Coding

Block coding focuses on teaching coding using visual methods. All kids have to do is
click the different blocks of code and drag them together. This visual representation
of programming is a powerful learning tool to show how different elements of coding
work together.

Visual coding also allows kids who are still developing typing skills to learn the
basics of coding. Kids are able to work a mouse or a trackpad at an earlier age, so
block coding largely takes typing out of the equation.

Fast Results

How does block-based coding make life easier when coding? It produces results
faster! Instead of spending time learning how to type lines of code in very specific
formats, kids just need to learn the basics of what the different blocks do. Even just
knowing how to use a handful of blocks can produce a fun game or animation.

Seeing real results is motivating for kids who are just starting out learning to code.
Beginning lessons with text-based coding often involve just making text appear on a
screen. Block-based coding lets kids quickly create something tangible that they can
interact with. This encourages them to want to keep learning.
Examples of Block Code

Motion Code Blocks

How Motion Blocks Work

Loop Code Blocks
A key component of coding, loop blocks determine when and how often other blocks
get activated.

Examples of Loop Blocks

How Loop Blocks Work

Event Code Blocks
These are actions that trigger code in your program or game. Event blocks start and
stop your code from running based on specific events.

Examples of Event Blocks

How Events Blocks Work

Sound Code Blocks
Add and control sounds using sound blocks. Block-based coding languages typically
have a vast library of sounds you can incorporate into your games and animations.

Examples of Sound Blocks

Visual Effect Code Blocks

Visual blocks let you change colors, sizing, backgrounds, and more. In Scratch,
these are called Looks.

Examples of Visual Effects Blo

cks

How Visual Effects Blocks Work

Block-Based Coding Builds Games, Software, & More!

Games

The most popular use of block-based programming languages is to build games.

Block coding games can be very simple or very complex, it’s all up to the
programmer! Kids can create mazes, clicking games, chasing games, pong games,
or even adventure games with full storylines.

Animations

Most kids who are just starting out with block coding begin with creating an
animation. Simple animations are just a single screen with characters (sprites) that
have some motion and/or sound coded along with them. More complex animations
can tell a whole story across multiple screens. They can include multiple characters,
different outfits, speech bubbles, music, and multiple kinds of motion.

Programs

Many robotics kits for kids use block-based coding languages for programming. That
means your child can create a program to make their robot move, do tasks, make
sounds, and more. Several kits also allow you to choose between a block-based
language and a text-based language for programming.