Computer Programming (at home) for ds 14 with zero experience???

[ThelmaLou]

A local homeschool academic advisor suggested we help our son narrow down (or rule out) some areas of interest. (He currently has none:001_huh:) Based on what little she could pull out of him, she thinks he might enjoy computers and programming and wants him to give it a stab. He's had no real exposure to computers other than email and word processing, and the ocassional internet surfing. He's 14, almost 15, and I'd like him to work on something he can do relatively independently. We're maxed out when it comes to paying for classes, b/c we'll already be paying for one co-op and two online courses next year. I have no programming experience and my hubbby doesn't have much either. Are there any programming courses or books that he could manage on his own?

[Jen in NY]

Not exactly academic, but a fun way to start: http://scratch.mit.edu/

 

~J

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

Not exactly academic, but a fun way to start: http://scratch.mit.edu/

 

~J

 

Perhaps a college/school is hosting an event near you.

 

Perhaps you can go with your son and see what it's all about. It's free and my kids got a free programming book and disc last year.

 

http://day.scratch.mit.edu/

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

l was also going to suggest Scratch. I got "Scratch Programming for Teens" and it has good basics. Then Alice can be fun, but it's also more challenging and discouraging at first. My son enjoys both, prefers Alice mainly because his sister doesn't have it.

[AngieW in Texas]

My 14yo is working through http://www.inventwithpython.com . It's free.

 

She's about 1/3 of the way through the book right now.

 

My dh has two monitors hooked up to his computer, so she uses his computer to do the programming so she can have the book up on one monitor and have the actual program running on the other monitor. If we didn't have this setup available, I would have had her use an actual paper text. The one that I was looking at before my dh found inventwithpython was Python for the Absolute Beginner.

http://www.amazon.com/Python-Programming-Absolute-Beginner-3rd/dp/1435455002

[Laura in OH]

http://www.alice.org/ has everything you need for an introductory course in programming.

[Mom22ns]

http://www.alice.org/ has everything you need for an introductory course in programming.

 

:iagree:

 

An excellent choice for a first programming class.

[merylvdm]

I teach a class at our local co-op in programming. This past year I taught just Alice - one of my students produced this web page on Alice, complete with samples. This coming year I am going to teach Scratch first and then Alice.

Both languages are very doable without a teacher. My kids have also taught themselves Visual Basic. I have written a web page on Computer Programming for Kids and I explain a bit about each language and link to resources.

[6packofun]

Try http://www.lynda.com There is a site access fee ($25/month or $250/year) but my dh has taken tutorials on Apple Motion, animation, programming and other computer courses and really enjoyed them. (Dh is able to access Lynda.com for "free" as a student of Liberty online, btw.) With the monthly or yearly fee, you can take tons of really neat courses AND receive a certificate of completion! Dh said that most of these are very well done and combining a few tutorials together would make an excellent course. He is bummed because he won't get a certificate since his access is free. LOL

[6packofun]

Forgot to say that I would see if they have a free trial to be sure the classes are basic enough...sorry, dh has some experience so I'm not sure it's the best option. (But maybe others here will benefit with their kiddos!)