Tynker
© 2014 Tynker
Update 8/4/2015: You can now program Sphero and Ollie (the rolling robots) using Tynker on an bluetooth enabled tablet or smart phone). Looking for some training wheels for Scratch? Inspired from MIT's famous programming language (currently Scratch 2.0), Tynker is a well-designed set of self-paced challenges and tutorials designed to introduce the basic visual programming functions on touch screen tablet. There are three levels in the free app; one unlocked, the other two for sale for $1.99 each. We tested the free level, called Puppy Adventure, in which you try to help a puppy get to the end of a path by choosing the right combination of jumps and steps. As you progress from challenge to challenge, you learn that you can speed things up with repeat and loop functions. There are 20 free puzzles in the first level; the rest are shown but require payment. Note that the buttons are small and hard to find on the iPad mini. The other two levels (available as in-app purchase for $1.99 each) are Lost in Space, which deals with geometric pen up and pen down commands, and Sketch Racer, which contains an additional 48 puzzles featuring snap the turtle. The complete bundle is available as an in-app purchase for $2.99. According to the PR materials, Tynker was inspired by visual programming languages, such as Scratch from MIT, Alice from CMU, and other programming languages, like Logo, SmallTalk, and Squeak. It was designed by Krishna Vedati. The computer version is browser-based written using Open Web standards such as Javascript, HTML5, CSS3. It does not use Flash.
iPad, iPhone, Android
Teaches: programming, coding
CTR Rating: 92%