Tynker is the world’s leading K-12 creative coding platform, enabling students of all ages to develop the coding skills to design and power animations, games, music, robots and drones, smart devices, virtual worlds like Minecraft, and more. The company’s award-winning platform helps kids engage at home, school, and on the go, while developing critical thinking, problem-solving, and programming skills to help them be successful today and tomorrow. Tynker’s highly successful coding curriculum has been used by one in three U.S. K-8 schools, 90,000 schools globally, and over 60 million kids across 150 countries. Tynker’s partners include some of the world’s most respected brands, including Apple, BBC Learning, Google, Microsoft, Mattel, PBS, Lego, NASA, and more. Tynker is accessible from any computer with an internet browser, as well as via the Tynker and Tynker Junior mobile apps, and offers both free and paid subscription options.
Kids today are surrounded by technology. They are experts at consuming this technology, but beyond that it is important to have the skill to understand and appreciate what goes into making it. Kids find it challenging to become active participants, or "creators," instead of passive consumers. Learning to program allows them this creativity and control over their world.
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Schools are focusing more and more on these subjects, recognizing their importance in today's high-tech economy.
President Obama launched a campaign called "Educate to Innovate." It's a call to action for schools, businesses and nonprofits to increase and improve STEM education across the US. We're answering that call.
Computational thinking is a problem solving process. It includes knowing how and when to use computing tools, knowing what steps you need to take to solve a problem, and logically organizing and analyzing data.
Among other things, kids can use Tynker to build games, tell stories, and create projects using what they learn in school. In this way, students reinforce learning and be creative at the same time.
Students will learn how to tell a good story, logically sequence events, and model real situations. They'll increase their technical proficiency. In addition, they'll also develop their algorithmic and design thinking abilities.
Anyone can Tynker! There's no "right" age to learn how to code. That being said, we recommend introducing Tynker to students in the 4th grade, or at a comparable level. Students should be able to read, write, and understand cause-and-effect relationships.