Did you know that there are all kinds of websites that offer free courses and coding exercises for middle school students? They’re called Khan Academy and Code Academy. Just go to metacafe.com and type in “Khan Academy Coding Lessons” and you will find some cool web-based tutorials for beginner learning.
Middle school computer teachers have their hands full teaching Microsoft Word, Google Sheets, and more to hundreds of students every marking period. A coding education can be tough to come by, but with some help from our top coding education list, you can fill the need. In building an online course, I want to make sure students have a website where they can code, play with code, and write code. I also want to make sure the middle school teachers have a free resource for coding websites and coding worksheets. In doing so, our customers will be able to provide their students with a great online experience for learning how to code.
Free coding websites can help students find what they’re looking for to learn the basics of coding. These free programming sites will help students learn about the free coding classes and making apps.
Benefits of Coding
Coding for kids seems like an impossible journey, right? It’s a lot like learning an entirely new language (literally)!
Thus, simply asking children to picture themselves building something like an app is a difficult enough task in itself.
1. Coders are in high demand
As mentioned, according to Code.org, 67% of all new STEM jobs are in computing, yet only 11% of STEM graduates are in Computer Science. That’s a serious shortage of CS majors.
2. Coding provides a competitive advantage when applying to colleges, internships, and jobs
If you possess a hot skill that many of your peers lack–such as the ability to code–you instantly appear more desirable in the eyes of potential college admissions officers and employers. Plain and simple.
3. With coding knowledge, students better understand the world around them
Most of us don’t know the first thing about what makes our smartphones, laptops, social media networks, and video games run. Basic programming knowledge can change the way we interact with the technologies we use (and take for granted) daily and can open our eyes to the infinite possibilities of coding.
4. Coding is fun and satisfying
While programming is logic-based, it’s also an extremely creative activity. If you have the skills, you can develop the aforementioned apps, code games, websites, and more! For many developers, part of the appeal of coding is the challenge and reward of seeing their code come to life after a good debugging session. Don’t be fooled, however–with the right instruction, getting started with programming can be easy and fun.
5. Coding improves creativity
When you learn a language, you use it to express yourself. The same is true with code. Computer coding empowers kids to not only consume digital media and technology but to create it. Instead of simply playing a video game or using an app, they can imagine making their own video game, or envision what their own website or app might look like—and they’ll have the outlet for expression.
Thus, it’s not always about the benefits directly related to computer science. As the above has shown and below will show, there are plenty of benefits that stem from getting involved with and taking an interest in coding.
6. Coding improves problem solving
When kids code, they take complex problems and break them down into smaller parts.
Kids learn what it’s like to approach a problem the way a software engineer does, with logical, computational thinking.
As Dan Crow, CTO of SongKick explains, “Computational thinking teaches you how to tackle large problems by breaking them down into a sequence of smaller, more manageable problems.”
This logical thinking is a powerful tool in school, work, and life.
7. Coding improves persistence
Learning to code, like any new discipline, is a challenge. Thus, tackling complex problems—and making mistakes along the way—can be very frustrating.
Coding teaches the valuable skill of persistence in the face of such challenges. Learning how to problem solve and look for solutions through research and collaboration builds this highly desirable skill.
8. Coding improves collaboration
Every student can learn, and every student can learn how to code—kids can learn alongside others of every race, gender, or background. Kids meet and learn how to collaborate with all kinds of peers, all joined by a common interest in technology.
Classrooms and other in-person environments, like iD Tech, bring kids together for face-to-face collaboration. Kids learning online can also grow, asking each other questions, and working to solve problems and create things together.
Many games, like Minecraft, also offer a bevy of educational benefits because they too involve coding, collaboration, and participation—with peers all over the world.
9. Coding improves communication
Communication is an absolutely essential skill throughout school, work, and life. People who can clearly communicate complex ideas in simple terms tend to be successful in different industries and walks of life.
When kids learn how to code, they learn how to communicate with the most simple-minded audience imaginable: computers. As mentioned, computer coding teaches kids how to break down complex ideas and arrange them in a way that computers can understand.
Our coding worksheets make it easy for you to teach your students basic concepts in a way that’s fun and engaging.
Blockly
Ages: 8+
Pricing: Free
Blockly teaches programming principles and introduces JavaScript using a block-based programming approach. It’s just like doing a puzzle, except you connect pieces of code and you don’t end up with any missing pieces under the couch.
Puzzle pieces will appear on the screen and the goal is to complete the “story” that makes up the software program by completing the puzzle. Each puzzle piece represents a block of code, which is similar to a paragraph in a story. Kids can drag and drop the puzzle pieces to create a sequence of code.
As long as your child can read, he or she can learn coding with Blockly. However, some of the games include using the number of degrees to define the direction an object moves and other concepts that may be difficult for really little kids despite it using a gamification approach and simple graphics.
Overall, Blockly is a simple, straightforward coding website for kids who don’t have any experience with coding. Its aim is to prepare kids to learn conventional text-based computer programming languages.
Code Combat
Ages: 5-17
Pricing: Free for core levels. Monthly subscription for additional levels.
Code Combat is a coding game for kids that teaches Python and JavaScript coding using text-based programming. Kids get to play through different levels of an RPG (role-playing game) and, along the way, they will learn to code in Python and JavaScript. This coding website for kids features fun graphics and the ability to connect with other players in the community making coding a team sport.
Players visit the Dungeons of Kithgard where they direct the hero, Anya, by writing code. After successfully completing a level, students move up to more complex tasks and coding. There are multiple worlds and levels to explore to encourage kids to learn more and take on harder coding challenges.
If you are a teacher, Code Combat developers even provide course guides and wikis for your classrooms. They also promise a Course-in-a-Box containing a semester’s worth of course content to add to your curriculum.
Stencyl
Ages: 6+
Pricing: Free. Annual subscriptions.
Stencyl is game creation software that lets users publish iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, HTML5 & Flash games without code. They use a graphical interface similar to Scratch, but with new functionality and even more ready-to-use blocks. Kids can build their own worlds and characters and edit them in detail to make them more complex.
The graphics are kid-friendly and, for advanced students, there is the option to see and edit the text-based code in their game. It requires a software download and set up, but offers extensive support in their forums. Stencyl is great for the kid who appreciates game development and detail in the design.
Code Monkey
Ages: 9+
Pricing: Annual Subscription Fee
Code Monkey is a coding website that teaches kids coding through playful online games. Children write code with the goal of helping a monkey gather bananas. The player works through a series of challenges and eventually learns enough code to be able to build his or her own game.
Eventually, kids get to write code with a text-based editor and learn CoffeeScript, a language that uses a syntax similar to English but compiles into JavaScript. Their stories cover all of the important coding concepts such as logic, loops, direction, sequencing, and algorithms
Code Monkey is made with 1st and 2nd graders in mind, but they also teach younger kids on their Code Monkey Jr. app. You do not need to download an application to play and no coding experience is required. If your child loves a good story, start with Code Monkey.
Code.org Studio
Ages: 4-14
Pricing: Free
Code.org is a non-profit organization that organizes the annual Hour of Code. In addition to providing curriculum to schools, they also host a coding website for kids with a series of four courses that teach computer science fundamentals. At the end of each course, students are able to create interactive games or stories for sharing online. Your child will get to see and be a part of the over 74 million projects showcased.
Each course is made up of a series of puzzles, videos, and activities that teach the principles behind computer science. Course 1 is made for early readers (age 4-6) and can be skipped if your child is already reading proficiently.
Later courses use a block-based approach for programming activities, but students can choose to see the text-based code that is generated. Taken together, this series of four courses make up a curriculum that has been organized for use in the classroom and is aligned with ISTE standards. Best of all, each of their courses is available at no cost.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy has been around a while, and it is classic essential code training for kids. They have organized and interactive lessons that build on one another so kids learn fast and are able to get creative quickly on how to code. They’ll be coding in circles around you. Luckily, Khan Academy isn’t just for kids, anyone can learn code here! Khan Academy is a 501c3 non-profit organization whose mission is to provide free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere.
Kodable
Kodable is a really cool paid way to learn coding at home and at school. You can actually get a lifetime membership to Kodable for only $120–that’s an amazing deal for all the features that are there. Of course, before you commit to a lifetime of coding, you can get a free trial to check it out. For schools, the plans are a little different, but you can get a lot for free to start. “Skip cartoons, write code.”
Bitsbox
This coding tool is designed for 6-12-year-olds. This program is quite different from the above programs. Teachers or parents actually receive a box in the mail. From the info in the box, students can pick what they what to learn, what apps they want to download, what games they want to play, and what projects to complete. Of course, as a teacher, you can pick and choose the projects for your class. What’s unique is that kids get a tactile experience to accompany learning the code!
Conclusion
Use these free coding websites for middle school students, learn coding worksheets in middle school, and take the free coding classes. There are a number of free coding websites for middle school students on the internet. This article contains some coding worksheets in middle school.
In addition, it provides some free coding classes as well as tutoring services as well as links to several places on the internet that has tutorials, videos, and other online resources that can be used by those who are interested in learning about computer programming.
Let your young ones start learning computer programming by creating interactive games, animations, and crafts using our free coding websites for middle school students. Be part of this brilliant next generation of software developers.