Scratch vs code.org — Which is best for your kids to learn to code?
With a plethora of online platforms available to learn coding and programming for kids, most parents wonder what’s the best way to introduce their kids to coding. In this blog, we will compare two of the most popular learn to code platforms for kids, namely Scratch.edu and code.org. We will be evaluating these platforms for beginner coders on the following criteria:
- Ease of use
- Structured learning
- Advanced learning
So without much adieu, let’s jump right into it.
- Ease of use:
While both the platforms are easy to use, we feel that code.org is more geared towards beginner and young users. The courses are well structured based around age brackets. It helps children build a strong coding foundation to help them in their coding journey. So for beginner users it’s a win for code.org.
Winner: Code.org
- Structure learning:
New coders always get lost in the wide open world of scratch and lose interest. While code.org has structured and progressive content available based on a children’s age and knowledge levels. For this round again we will go with code.org as the winner due to their tailor made courses built according to children’s age and knowledge levels.
Winner: Code.org
- Self learning:
New coders always get lost in the wide open world of scratch and lose interest. While code.org has structured and progressive content available based on a children’s age and knowledge levels. For this round again we will go with code.org as the winner due to their tailor made courses built according to children’s age and knowledge levels.
Code.org is a great for beginner user but once they have a grasp of the basic concepts the course content on code.or gets exhausted pretty rapidly. On the other hand due to the way Scratch is laid out, one can spend hours and hours on learning and mastering the concepts without exhausting the content or getting bored.
Winner: Scratch
- Unstructured format and promoting creativity:
Real world coders need to deal with lot of ambiguity and once learnt the concepts are applied in random ways. While there is basic structure of syntax and algorithm has to follow a pattern, there are multiple ways to solve the same problem. Hence real coders need to be expert at dealing with ambiguity. In this respect Scratch clearly edges out code.org. Unlike code.org, where each lesson is laid out in detail, in Scratch students learn to work on the concepts in an open format. We feel this helps the children in dealing with ambiguity and multiple ways to approach a coding problem.
Winner: Scratch
Conclusion:
So given the above points our recommendation is that if you are a beginner coder, start by learning the concepts on code.org and then move on to Scratch for advanced learning. Once you have practiced on Scratch and have a good handle of the basic concepts, we recommend that you move onto one of the text based coding languages like JAVA or Python. Good luck on your coding journey.
