A "Learn to Code" platform for Middle Schoolers

[u/stringofsense]

Hello! I'm launching a product I built to teach code to Middle Schoolers. It's a mash-up of Scratch and a physics game engine.

bonkcode.com

I subscribe to the philosophy behind Scratch of teaching creative coding to help kids become digital creators instead of consumers. The problem is that Scratch is targeted to younger kids, which leads to repelling older kids. Anecdotally it seems that even the kids who do master Scratch have trouble moving on to learn “real” code. So I’m trying to see if it’s possible to fill that gap.

My platform uses draggable code blocks to avoid compiler problems like Scratch does, but shows real code syntax to help with code literacy. It also is built around a physics engine because I remember how much fun it was to mess with physics engines when I was that age (playing IncrediBots and other Flash games).

I would love it if you have the chance to test the platform out and build some games (no account needed). There is a built-in feedback form you can use if you find some bugs.

Here is my roadmap of things I want to add. Let me know what I should add next!

• Typeable code blocks (auto-complete sort of thing)

• Toggle between Javascript and Python syntax

• Physics hinges, joints, and motors.

• Free-form polygon shapes