Teaching students how to write computer code is almost
as common at the three R’s. Coding camps have become big business and the Florida Senate approved a bill that would declare computer coding a requirement for graduation.
Now, Apple has is making a splash with its Everyone Can
Code curriculum,
a free coding app it introduced during the launch of the iPhone 7 in early
September. The program, aimed at middle-school students, uses Swift Playgrounds
software that allows students to write code to guide characters through a
graphical world, solve puzzles, and master challenges using the Swift
programming language.
“When you learn to code with Swift Playgrounds, you are
learning the same language used by professional developers,” Brian Croll, Apple
vice president of product marketing, said in an article for The New York Times. “It’s easy to take the next step and learn to write a
real app.”
The Apple coding app requires an iPad tablet to operate
but is free to download. The app is so simple anyone could use it to teach
themselves to code at home, according to Croll.
