iPad Apps for Computing in the classroom

I'm currently using Gamemaker with my Year 8s to further introduce them to the concepts of programming. As we are running a 1 to 1 iPad trial with them, I thought I would find some apps which I could use for homeworks to re-enforce our programming work in different interfaces. All of these apps are free with the exception of Codea. This is what I'm using, and planning to use:

Kodable

The students love this app, graphically it is very visual and the fact that you can unlock different characters appeals to them. Currently the app is possibly not the go to in order to teach hard core programming, but is a good top up for homework. The developer noticed I was using the app via my twitter account and has been in contact to ask for feedback. It's really good to see this sort of interaction between developer and teacher/student and it looks like the team behind Kodable are working on some really interesting concepts for older students. They have even agreed to do a Facetime conference with our 6th Form tech society which is very generous of their time. 

Hopscotch

This is a great app and it ties in with Scratch brilliantly in the fact that it uses the same block based system for programming. There are a variety of things that you can create in the app. I have set the students tasks, such as program the app to draw a shape. Many students have gone above and beyond this to create some cool things like Etcha Sketches and detailed drawings.

Bee Bot

Similar concept to Kodable and is great as a top up for students learning programming. I normally set a certain amount of levels to be done for homework.

Cargo Bot

This is another great app for teaching programming routines, and it gets the students to think outside the box. The aim of the game is to move boxes to different areas on a stage. The students have to think about how to structure their program before the run it. As with all programming there are multiple ways to complete the levels, some more efficient that others (ie using loops rather than long hand).

Codea

This is the only paid for app on this list, but it has some serious possibilities. The Cargo Bot app was built entirely on an iPad using this app. This is probably geared more towards older students in that they have to learn a programming language to use this app, Lua is the language of choice here. I am planning to use this next September and I will introduce it by getting students to modify an existing program within the app, rather than have them build one from scratch. I can see lots of differentiation opportunities in this app so it should appeal to a wide spectrum of ability.

Programming in Education on the iPad is still in relative infancy, but with exciting developers like SurfScore (Kodable) and Two Lives Left (Codea), things are looking interesting.