These entertaining apps will teach your kids to code
Children love to play games on computers and smartphones. And while parents may worry about the effects of all that gaming, it can be beneficial when kids go from being fixated on winning to focusing on how the game was created. These educational apps masquerade as games, but their goal is to teach kids how to code.
Nancy Drew Codes and Clues
(iOS, Android; free)
Girls are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics classes, but studies show when girls take STEM courses they do as well as boys. This app should appeal to girls because it features Nancy Drew, the teen detective and hero to girls for 90 years. In the game, kids learn basic coding as they unravel a mystery with six chapters. The first chapter is free; a $4 in-app purchase unlocks the remaining five.
Tynker
(iOS, Android; subscription)
Aimed at children ages 7-13, Tynker lets kids learn coding and programming concepts as they control robots. The mobile app, an adjunct to the Tynker coding website, has several free games and templates. A Tynker subscription ($60 per quarter) is necessary to unlock the full slate of more than 40 programming courses with thousands of learning modules.
codeSpark Academy
(iOS, Android; subscription)
This app, aimed at children ages 5-9, uses what it calls a “no words interface,” where kids solve interactive puzzles with creativity and logic. Even better, codeSpark Academy gives kids basic tools to create and code their own stories and video games. You will need a subscription ($10 a month), but you can try it out for free for seven days.
ScratchJr
(iOS, Android; free)
A free offering from the not-for-profit Scratch Foundation, ScratchJr uses the popular Scratch programming language as its engine. Kids 5 and older crack the code of programming by designing their own games and creating their own characters by combining programming blocks. The developers say with their app children learn to “express themselves with the computer, not just to interact with it.”
No hard and fast rule
Are GIF files pronounced with a “hard” G (like “get”) or “soft” G (like “gem”)? GIF format creator Steve Wilhite prefers the soft G, although most people use the hard G. Now, Jif peanut butter has teamed with image search engine GIPHY (pronounced with a hard G) to have some fun with the debate. Jif is offering a limited-edition jar of peanut butter with two labels: Jif and Gif.
— PETER KING
Snapchat: Golden opportunity for NBC
NBC is looking to mine the youth market for gold at the Summer Olympics. The network is teaming with Snapchat to produce more than 70 shows leading up to and during the Tokyo games, which begin in July. NBC said the shows will be “updated in near real-time” every day. Nearly three-quarters of internet users ages 18-24 use Snapchat, according to the Pew Research Center.
— PETER KING
Facebook likes Instagram
Instagram, the photo-sharing app Facebook acquired for $715 million in 2012, generated about $20 billion in advertising revenue in 2019, more than a quarter of the social-media company’s revenue, according to people familiar with the matter. Instagram is increasingly central to Facebook’s future, with users and advertisers flocking to the app even as sales growth slows at the main social network. Facebook doesn’t disclose revenue for Instagram.
— BLOOMBERG NEWS
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