CodeMonkey is an educational computer coding environment that allows beginners to learn computer programming concepts and languages. CodeMonkey is intended for students ages 6–14. Students learn text-based coding on languages like Python,

Blockly Blockly is a client-side library for the programming language JavaScript for creating block-based visual programming languages (VPLs) and editors. A project of Google, it is free and open-source software released under the Apache License 2.0. It ...

and

CoffeeScript CoffeeScript is a programming language that compiles to JavaScript. It adds syntactic sugar inspired by Ruby, Python, and Haskell in an effort to enhance JavaScript's brevity and readability. Specific additional features include list comprehen ...

, as well as learning the fundamentals of

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includin ...

and

math Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

. The software was first released in 2014, and was originally developed by Jonathan Schor, Ido Schor and Yishai Pinchover, supported by the Center for Educational Technology in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Development history

CodeMonkey software program in form of a game for children was developed by three software engineers from Haifa, Israel: the brothers Jonathan and Ido Schor and Yishai Pinchover. The trio set up a start-up company CodeMonkey Studios Ltd., supported by the Center for Educational Technology. The game was launched in May 2014 and is currently available in 23 languages. The company has offices in Israel and USA. Since 2014, CodeMonkey launched several additional programming tools in form of games including ''Coding Adventure'', ''Game Builder'', ''Dodo Does Math'', ''Banana Tales'', ''CodeMonkey Jr.'' and ''Beaver Achiever''. In 2018, the software company was acquired by

TAL Education Group TAL Education Group (), which stands for "Tomorrow Advancing Life", is a Chinese holding company that offers after-school education and tutoring for students in primary and secondary school. It is headquartered in Beijing, China. The company was ...

, a Chinese holding company, but remained active as its independent subsidiary also retaining its software development team. In June 2020, CodeMonkey joined

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

distance learning Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually i ...

initiative and offered free courses for all schools that were forced to close during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Overview and functionality

The game does not require prior programming experience and is intended for children from the age of 6. It allows the user to make his first steps in programming but also progresses to more advanced topics. The teaching method is experiential, in accordance with the principles of

Game-based learning Educational games are games explicitly designed with educational purposes, or which have incidental or secondary educational value. All types of games may be used in an educational environment, however educational games are games that are design ...

: the children control the figures of animals and direct them to collect bananas, overcoming various obstacles. One of the salient features of the game is that it requires writing actual textual code, as opposed to games that work in a method that represents commands using graphical blocks.

Supported language

The programming languages are Python and

, chosen mostly due to a friendly syntax. Some games like CodeMonkey Jr. and Beaver Achiever rely on block-based coding using

Integration of the game in schools

The games are intended for individual use and for educational classrooms and have been selectively applied by schools and school centers in several countries including Israel, United States, UK, China,

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

and

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountai ...

, among others. CodeMonkey was also integrated in the ''Israeli Cyber Championship for Elementary Schools'' (Skillz Olympics) and a high school software program also called ''Skillz'', where CodeMonkey games are a part of coding competition for young students.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:CodeMonkey Computer science education Educational programming languages Pedagogic integrated development environments

Development history

Overview and functionality

Supported language

Integration of the game in schools

See also

References