From visual to textual programming : Easing the transition for children

Abstract

Children start learning how to program at young ages and visual programming is a great way to introduce them to the world of coding. However, at some point they will have to take the big leap from visual programming to textual programming if they want to deepen their programming knowledge and create programs that work outside of visual programming environments.

For some children this transition can be difficult. This thesis explores one way of making the transition easier by introducing a step between visual and textual programming. Visual Python is a visual programming tool where the user uses blocks to create code, but the blocks have the syntax of Python. This way children can familiarise themselves with the commands and new words before they have to type out the code themselves.

Visual Python was tested out by several groups of children who learn programming as a hobby. These children as well as their instructors answered a survey after completing one programming lesson with Visual Python. The results show that Visual Python is a beneficial tool for the transition. Although further research is needed and other approaches should be considered as well.