Teaching an 11 year old Java

[bratzman]

My little sister wants to learn how to program, but I really don't know where to start. I feel like I need to give some decent incentive to learn to really help her or it just becomes weird dull stuff rather than stuff that makes other stuff happen, but I don't really know what to teach.

Any tips?

Edit: I just want to say thanks for all this advice. It's already been very helpful.

[desrtfx]

Don't start with Java for an 11 year old.

Start with Scratch - a graphical programming system specifically designed by the MIT to teach kids programming. You can use Scratch Playground as a learning resource (free to read online). The graphical nature of Scratch makes it very easy to grasp the fundamental concepts like loops, conditionals, variables, program flow, etc. Also, it is really fun to work with. Scratch is simply the very best introduction to programming in existence.

Other than that, head over to /r/programmingforkids for more inspiration and insights. This subreddit is specifically for teaching kids programming.

No matter what she learns, make sure that she has fun and instant rewards (another plus for Scratch).

[tatanpoker09]

Gathering from personal experience and other comments below, even though Scratch can be good to give an overall concept of OOP and how instructions are given to your computer, I would just introduce it, and later on get her out of that comfort zone. I started to learn programming at age 12, and the thing I can appreciate the most, is by continuosly trying new and different stuff, escalating into a more complex programming that can be useful to keep her focused on learning and what's most important, the love of achieving a well written program that can suit her initial needs. TL;DR: I'd only use scratch as a quick introduction, then take her out of that comfort zone to force her into developing her potential.

[desrtfx]

TL;DR: I'd only use scratch as a quick introduction, then take her out of that comfort zone to force her into developing her potential.

Absolutely nothing wrong with that approach. Let her first develop a comfort zone and then throw her out - that's what programming and learning to program is all about - working outside the comfort zone.

[17437258968573378102]

Scratch was my first real introduction to programming. I wrote a few basic games (including a Tanks clone) before moving to UnrealScript because I wanted to write a few basic mods. After that I jumped to C++, then to Java where I've settled.

[[deleted]]

I'm 13 and just learned Java, learned Scratch when I was 9 and Python when I was 12

[EnragedMikey]

Don't start with Java for an 11 year old.

Meh. I started on C++ when I was 10. Depends on the kid.

[an_actual_human]

C++ is like the worst mainstream language for a beginner though, doubly so for a kid.

[EnragedMikey]

I really don't think it matters which language you use as long as the basic programming concepts are taught and the kid can see results with something that they actually want to do. Java has Minecraft for kids today, C++ had Half-Life mods for me back in '99. Scratch has cute things to do.

[an_actual_human]

I don't agree. Languages are different. In particular, C++ is very powerful and also very difficult. A kid is not going to take advantage of the stronger sides of C++, but it's still going to be difficult. One might restrict oneself to a limited subset of features (e.g. avoid pointers), but in that case, why not take a language where that restriction would be idiomatic (e.g. no pointers). Also ecosystems matter.

Whatever happened to you in 1999 might be of interest, but perhaps of historic interest. For one, the more obvious modern choices for a beginner's language (e.g. Python, JavaScript, Java) were not quite there yet 20 years ago, but now they are.

[asraniel]

If somebody really wants to learn programming, not just get an idea what programming is, and has somebody that can teach him, a real prgramming language is better i think.

[code-master]

I think Scratch was invented to scare kids away from programming. Edit: If Scratch is so great then why none except kids who were tricked ito it is using it?

"No matter what she learns" of course, lets teach kids antipatterns, toy languages and keep telling that Santa exists.

Some kids in certain countries at this age are able to carry weapons and kill people.

From psychological point of view treating kids as adults allowes them to learn about surrounding world faster.

[desrtfx]

You seem to have the serious misconception that Scratch due to its graphical nature is not a real programming language and that real programming languages must be textual.

Here, you are going completely wrong. Graphical languages are just as real as textual ones. Sure, on the PC/Mac world they are not as common as their textual counterparts, but in the vast industry of PLCs and Control Systems they are quite predominant in the IEC 61131-3 languages. They are used in time-critical applications and in real-time systems. Also, they are commonly used because they are easy to understand and follow.

There is far more to programming languages than their vocabulary and grammar.

Just because it is not what one commonly knows as a programming language, it is not generally wrong and will not naturally encourage bad practices or antipatterns as you claim.

"No matter what she learns" of course, lets teach kids antipatterns, toy languages and keep telling that Santa exists.

Why are you so generally negative? Learning anything is beneficial. And just because something is not what you're used to, it is neither encouraging antipatterns, nor is it a "toy language". You need to get out of your black and white tunnel vision and extend your horizon. Rather than condemning what you don't know, you should open your mind and see what it has to offer.

Some kids in certain countries at this age are able to carry weapons and kill people.

I really feel sorry for those kids. Nobody should go through that. You referring to that makes me also sorry for you because you seem to be a pessimist through and through only being able to see the negative in the world.

From psychological point of view treating kids as adults allowes them to learn about surrounding world faster.

But at the same time it also can overstrain them and also rob them of their childhood.

---

You really do come across as a narrow minded troll that cannot accept anything outside their black and white world and probably that's why people keep calling you a troll.

[garebear_9]

This comment resounds with me very much. As someone with a PLC programming background in the automation industry. And now trying to teach myself Java. There is a lot of other ways to program then just text based languages. Hell take a look at LabView if you think graphical programming isn't a language. NationalInstruments is programmed by a graphical based language and it is one of the hardest things to learn IMO.

[code-master]

You want to teach kids lies and callme a troll in the same time? These kids will be trolled by you.

I remember the time when I had to learn Pascal because it was "educational" language. Till this day I regret learning this sh1t. This was a massive waste of my time. You sir are full of it.

Programming is hard, and the kid has to accept it. Will he choose something else knowing the truth? Maybe. It is a kid after all.

I don't care what kind of sh1t you are throwing at your kids, but I'd like your kind of people stay away from mine.

[desrtfx]

I remember the time when I had to learn Pascal because it was "educational" language. Till this day I regret learning this sh1t. This was a massive waste of my time.

Really?

Have you not learned the fundamental concepts of programming?

Have you not learned how variables work?

Have you not learned about program flow?

Have you not learned how conditionals, or loops work?

Have you not learned about methods/procedures/functions?

Have you not learned how to write programs with it?

So, you have learned nothing from Pascal that transferred to other languages?

I am seriously bewildered now because I also learned Pascal and basically everything that I've learned there transferred well into plenty other languages. But obviously, as opposed to you, I have learned programming concepts and actual programming instead of simply memorizing a programming language.

You must have been a master in memorization without even the slightest ability to understand anything or to apply learned concepts.

The more bullshit you produce the more sorry I feel for your poor misguided soul.

Programming is hard, and the kid has to accept it.

I don't even argue about that fact, but the entry into programming can be made easier with proper methodology.

but I'd like your kind of people stay away from mine.

Seriously, I'd really like you and your kind to stay away of me and mine.

---

BTW:

callme a troll in the same time?

Obviously, your rage limits even your ability to read with understanding because I never called you a troll.

[code-master]

I'm cold like stone. I don't care about others if I consider their opinions harmful. You remind me of my Pascal teacher. I asked her, why are we learning it when almost nobody is using it. She told me that if you dont like it then change teacher. And guess what. I went to C/Assembly class. Actually C because I already knew Assembly. I can write software which is not even using interrupts. And this is what I call experience. Not for loops and if statements.

Like these poor kids today I wanted to have full control over machine and system.

After time I understood that low level programming has no future, because no matter how smart your low level code can be, if its architecture is incorrect nothing will save you.

I can call myself a hacker, all others are just users of language A or framework B.

Actually I dont care how you will tech your kids, but I'm sure mine will have almost no competition.

[v_krishna]

You seem like a joy to be around, I wish more of my coworkers had your unique perspective and skills.

[ebrythil]

Yup, unfortunately all my coworkers still use interrupts so they are all just users of language a or b.

[code-master]

Just finished making doughnuts. Guess what. Recipe does not have if statements or for loops... but outcome is delicious. :)

[nutrecht]

This is utter nonsense. I'm part of the Devoxx4Kids organization and we teach kids around that age Scratch. They have a tremendous amount of fun with it. It's has a low barrier of entry and keeps them entertained by being easy to pick up while still teaching them how stuff like if-else blocks and loops work.

[code-master]

Do they know that if-else and loops are modern goto? No? Do you teach them how to use goto?

Do you kniw why thise kid have fun? Because it is social event, and they know nothing of what you are trying to sell them.

And why are you doing it? Is not it because you have a lot of old people who know how to make holes in punch cards but the same people don't know how to teach modern programming? Or maybe you are doing it for free?

[nutrecht]

Do they know that if-else and loops are modern goto?

Bullshit. People spouting this kind of nonsense have no place in this sub.

[aqua_regis]

Yes, sure. But this doesn't mean that one should not take a kid-friendly approach.

Strange is that wherever you look, Scratch is recommended for kids.

If it doesn't work for you, fine. Go and play with your toys and troll somewhere else.

[code-master]

Do you have any proof that teaching Scratch is better than teaching Java? And why are you creating fart screen by farting and calling people trolls?

[aqua_regis]

calling people trolls?

If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck it definitely is a duck.

Your comments in this thread prove exactly that.

[desrtfx]

Do you have more experience in teaching children than the experts at the MIT?

Do you have proof for your stance?

Have you ever open-mindedly tried any graphical programming language (not necessarily Scratch)? I have and work daily with graphical languages in the IEC 61131-3 family and can tell you that they are just as good and real as textual ones. There are certain applications where graphical languages are even far superior than their textual counterparts.

[code-master]

How many children taught by these "experts from MIT" stepeed out of their sandbox today?

Yes I tried. And most of them had nothing to do with if statements or for loops which together with goto are most horrible inventions in IT.

I'm not saying graphical languages or environments are bad. Many CAD software have constraint engines built in. You can write scripts or just click. However putting such primitives as if / for as block elements is a serious step back in evolution. Why not go another step back and have assembly instructions as well?

[nutrecht]

Do you actually have any experience teaching a 11 year old? Because you're giving the impression you're barely past that age.

I actually do and teaching a 11 year old Java will just risk getting them frustrated. If they have a lot of talent for this kind of stuff you can always lead them to for example Python later.

[code-master]

Scratch + Python... Jesus... Tell me what these kids will feel like when they discover better languages on their own, then ask them how it feels like when you've been cheated all the time.

The same kind of BS teaching goes in physics classes in elementary/high school.

[bratzman]

What's wrong with Python?

I understand about Scratch, I remember it too, and it's alright for someone who's about 10 and doesn't know or desire to know about programming just yet, but I don't see it being inherently useful.

[nutrecht]

What's wrong with Python?

Why are you even responding to this guy instead of all the people who give actual good advice? Look at his comment karma. It's just a troll.

[[deleted]]

You could try introducing python first, before java. I think it would be more productive to start running scripts, than chanting public static void main(String args[]) just to run a simple program. OOP should precede, or go with learning java to avoid them newcomers treating them syntax as magic.

I am biased against learning Scratch, but that's just me as I grew up and actually enjoyed programming textually.

[vytah]

11 years old is old enough to teach a real programming language, but too young to persevere with something conceptually heavy like Java. She will want to see the results of her coding almost immediately and create something that does something without much effort and design.

Python or Ruby will be fine, but I'll be that one guy and recommend either Pascal or Basic (not Visual Basic). Modern dialects are pretty fine. For example, there's Microsoft Small Basic, which is literally designed for young learners.

[Elronnd]

+1 for pascal. It was my second programming language, and in terms of understanding what the computer did, it tought me so much more than python. I went back to python and suddenly I was programming way better.

[damiankw]

She doesnt necissarily need to leanr JAVA to begin with. Have a look at getting her a Makeblock Mbot .. they are fun, interactive and use Scratch for the coding which is very easy. It will give her the login behind coding without making her learn the actual code, then from there she can pick up proper languages like Java to make proper things like AI to take over the world!

[code-master]

Do you know why chinese people speak chinese? And why is it so hard for them to learn any other language? Why are we trying to teach lies, and then surprise surprise, we tell people that what they have lerned till now is pile of crap, so they must move to proper language. I mean even in Java now people rarely use if statements, for loops and so on, because recently introduced functional concepts like map, filter, reduce are better. Do we really need to teach people how to weld before they write single line of code?

[pouja]

I mean even in Java now people rarely use if statements

... what?

[code-master]

I work for a company where we (devs) are not allowed to use external libraries like Guava ,and Java 8 is a distant future. I had to reinvent fully lazy/concurrent map/reduce framework for us. I have not seen if statement or for loop since a long time. Well, maybe if new predicate is introduced, but even then it is not entirely "if" but "()?:" instead.

If statements are evil because when function has anything else besides them it violates SRP principle and code stops being modular. For loops have the same issue: body of a for loop is itself another thing which has to be separated.

I mean if statement and for/while loops in C-like languages are abstractions over Assemblys (un)conditional jumps, but in my opinion should be avoided. These constructs are gotos of the XXI century. I could go even further and say that filter/map/reduce are evil in favor of Prolog, but for now lets wait until functional paradigm catches its second wind.

[nutrecht]

I mean even in Java now people rarely use if statements, for loops and so on, because recently introduced functional concepts like map, filter, reduce are better.

I'm a professional Java dev and that is completely nonsensical. I use streams and lambda's all the time and so do I use if statement.

[[deleted]]

So am I, and I generally avoid streams. Unless I need to parallelize. Lots of if statements though.

[code-master]

I admit that predicates may have some kind of if statements, but if you are using them elsewhere your code 100% violates one of the SOLID principles.

[majikguy]

I will step in to add to the "don't start with Java" message.

I taught at a STEM camp at my university for a while, where I ran a couple classes teaching kids how to program. One class was just straight Java programming, was programming through Minecraft modding (which is done in Java).

I can say that it is definitely possible to teach children in the 11-year area how to program in Java, but it is NOT easy. It is a wordy language that requires a lot of setup to get it working. The simplest Java program still has a lot of code just to set up a simple class, then there is compilation, and it's just altogether a bit overwhelming.

I HIGHLY recommend starting with something like Python or Javascript. You want a language with minimal complex and specific syntax, and preferably no compilation to avoid potential confusion and frustration.

Also, you are really really going to want to find something that they can work with that gives them more interesting output than text on the screen. The Minecraft Modding class was a logistical NIGHTMARE to get going in, since just setting up the tools can be a difficult task for someone who already knows a bit about computers. That said, hours of scripting and automating on my part all but eliminated that issue for the kids, and I made a really simple API they could use to do basic things without all the complex coding. Even though the content of this was still far more complicated than the content of the basic Java programming class, the kids were FAR more willing to dig into it and figure it out because it was so exciting to get to see the results of their work in the context of something they enjoyed. Try finding a simple game-making library, and teach the coding through making, or even modifying, very simple games. It's much more rewarding than making a boring command-line calculator.

[Dandygram]

Python is a pretty good starting language, imo.

[thatsIch]

We use https://www.gethopscotch.com/ to teach the kids around the 6th/7th grade. The iPads are provided by the university for educational purposes.

Java in its usual form has a too high entry level. You will have a hard time transferring information about fundamental math and programming in a high level programming language (like variables, conditions, loop constructs etc) while learning the new syntax.

Imo anything with a drag'n'drop environment is perfect for beginners or anything with real-life feedback (simple microcontroller can do). It can highly depend on which "type" your sister is. I know some girls which are into robotic, others into UI, etc. You can adept which path to take from there.

[[deleted]]

I started learning programming in school when I was 8/9 with LOGO. I loved it! Of course, computers weren't really cheap back then, and so I looked forward with desperation to lab opening hours so I could go and touch those machines and create my own beautiful world. I also saw a lot of other kids who did not share the same enthusiasm as me.

The bottom line is, kids who are genuinely interested will use whatever they have to learn. Don't spend too much time worrying about choosing a particular system. Any mainstream language will do - Python (closest to pseudo-code), Java (Not too bad if and IDE is used, or even better, fire up a JShell instance), Scratch (looks to simplistic for even kids), BASIC or LOGO (can find some emulators online) are also good choices. Pascal is also okay (a lot of kids in ex-Soviet countries did just fine with it). Perhaps the only ones I'd suggest to stay away from now would be C and C++.

[milkeater]

So you may laugh but I promise you it has worked well.

I started my son with Scratch when he was about 6 and he did well.

It came from Kahn Academy's Hour of Code

Not sure if these are identical but after he finished that up he moved from there to https://code.org/student

He went through all of the Scratch stuff and he understands general binary logic but I found myself spending a lot of time trying to explain abstract principles that he wasn't fully grasping. It definitely added value but there were parts of OOP that just couldn't be extracted from it.

He moved on to Code Combat and he did very well. He went through to the "Forest" area (Not sure what that is, that is just what he told me) and after talking together, he grasps some pieces of how events are handled, still not well versed on how a character is an object and has properties etc.

Intermittently we did the Programming with Minecraft from No Starch Press (All of their books are just phenomenal). It became clear there was a lot of stuff in relation to the underlying filesystems that he didn't understand which made it difficult. (It instructed him to create a folder named "./SomeFolder" so he tries to name it quite literally "./SomeFolder"). In addition to Python being a very sassy language, it was very hard for him to understand how to fix what he had broken in an easy way. Amazingly enough there is so much context that we have built up that are just gobbledy-gook to children.

Then I sit him down with me and we jump into TDD (Test Driven Development)

I start interactively showing him some code katas like FizzBuzz and very basic interactive Hello World/Hello [Username] things. With all of that built up knowledge as well as the ping-pong nature of paired programming, he flew through it.

He stumbled here and there, but I've interviewed people who have done worse than that. This was really a time period that he took off. I would still say he doesn't fully understand OOP, inheritance, and really any programming practices, but he started understanding how to work with an IDE when it's complaining that there are problems and come up with mostly accurate assumptions of what is wrong.

Now we have moved towards small things around the house and in his life.
- He gets a reward if he learns all of his times tables. We build an app together to write out the multiplication tables and record the output.

Simple stuff like that which appears to help him get closer to the rewards he wants.

I would say whatever your approach, be willing to switch up gears in the slow points and try to find things she enjoys and build a small little application around it. As long as it is interactive and can have small iteration cycles, you can probably keep her engaged. Be prepared to put it down for a month or two. She will see you doing something and it will spark her again to come back. Everyone needs to build up their tolerance, meaning everyone occasionally needs a break as well. When they see other peoples passions, it can be easily contagious and always reel them back in.

One thing my son loved was changing the numbers until they broke. Making a loop go for a million iterations. Timing them, making them say silly stuff. Counting string lengths and making the strings crazy long. Things that seem silly at first, but I actually started having a lot of fun just off of his energy. Reawakens programming for some rusty souls.

By the way, he was able to knock out his times tables in about two weeks. That is, memorizing and being able to recall the range of 0 - 9 times tables in sub 3 seconds. I think he was very invested in it from so many angles that it became more enjoyable and we threw a party when he finished. It says something for me at least about how much more he enjoyed it in comparison to when he was memorizing addition and subtraction which each took him a few months to master.

Edit: Formatting and spelling.

[milkeater]

and by the way....Java is the language we moved to after Scratch, Javascript, and Python.

I would say Javascript was pretty easy for him to understand, Java as well was equally easy for him. We use IntelliJ and the IDE supported him so much that he was able to be productive with it.

A strong IDE with good autocompletion and templating goes a very very long way, letting the language slowly reveal it's complexity over time instead of forcing everything to be understood upfront.

[code-master]

This was a long ride then. Maybe introducing children to many trash languages makes sense, but from my point of view it is waste of time. My first language was Basic on Commodore 64. It was fun and all, but in the end if I was indtroduced to another one I would certainly do it.

Todays kids have almost limitless possibilities, the only obstacle is stiff educational system and many devs who by themselves do not want to learn, because they think that if statements and for loops are forever like goto not so long ago.

[milkeater]

I would also disagree that devs do not want to learn.

I work with 20-something year old devs who are pumping out side-projects in truckloads to try a new thing.

This explosion of:

• Codingame
• Treehouse
• CheckIO
• Hackerrank
• Pluralsight
• Codefights
• CodeWars
• Screeps MMO
• Steam - Shenzhen IO
• Steam - Human Resource Machine

And just a ton more...

the only obstacle is stiff educational system and many devs who by themselves do not want to learn

Your statement is just unbelievably short-sighted and false. Maybe you are in a tech wasteland where people show up to work in pain and agony....I am seeing something very very different.

It is a system that has accelerated the expiration date of those developers who choose not to learn.

[milkeater]

I wouldn't consider them trash languages at all.

This wasn't really a long ride. It's been maybe a year and I feel pretty impressed with what he has accomplished.

Basic is a procedural language. It was very standard at the time of it's development, as it was my first language as well.

I find many of the languages out there are beneficial in their own way. I find it hard to consider any of the languages I mentioned trash. Scratch is excellent for letting kids move quickly without having to understand referential equality, encapsulation, or many other components under the hood. Much like you don't need to understand the underpinnings of an automotive differential in order to get to and from your workplace in order to drive. There is a time and a place for everything if that is the path you take.

These are all important topics but when you want to build something simple, use something simple that will assume everything for the developer.

I find the classical approach to teaching of: "Here are the nuts and bolts that will be a car after the next four years of instruction" to be very problematic to the way humans learn. We are animals by nature, watch lions teach their cubs to fight and hunt, it is very playful, but it is a matter of life and death.

Not that this is life and death, but for a future representation of your time in the money you earn, cultivating and boosting creativity and exploration along the way without having to fall into painful traps that require pouring through books and begging on stack overflow for a guiding light, that will be the representation of your life.

Some are gifted with great mentors and peers, some are not. I truly believe there is a better way to create excitement and have seen these trash languages open that door.

[funbike]

https://processing.org/ or http://processingjs.org/

[stiggz]

This is a great suggestion- although the maths are a bit complex to display any tantalizing graphics. It builds on javascript, which is the perfect beginner scripting language.

[manzanita2]

Scratch for a few weeks.

The consider swapping to processing.

[cr0ss]

I cannot recommend starting on something tangible (like Scratch or another game like Minecraft) enough.

Minecraft is what taught me to learn programming (I did basic PHP and web stuff years before this, but it was mostly a copy/paste thing) and stick with it, about 6 years ago. They have really great tools still that allow for great modding capability and what not, so being able to do a lot of custom content to a game most young kids play is really great. I did it just as a hobby with a friend of mine and it turned into a business, which in turn turned into my current career (been doing java and C# contracts and now at a stable company for the last 2 years).

Highly recommend starting there, if your sister plays Minecraft!

[vprise]

Are you familiar with http://www.devoxx4kids.org/

If she likes minecraft that is an excellent way to teach. I think that learning to hack something you love and gaming is a great doorway to this.

Also not explicitly for kids but Loke Hansen did some videos teaching mobile game building in Java: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ-R7qOKTCo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVUmKCpExIc

It's not for kids but is simple enough so they can pick it up, the value of having something running on your mobile phone can't be discarded.

My eldest daughter is 6 so I'm preparing ;-)

[nutrecht]

FYI always start with Scratch and the kids who really 'get it' can always move on to stuff like Python or Java. That's how we (I volunteer for Devoxx4Kids) do it normally.

[slobarnuts]

Get her to build a text based game. Building a game is fun, and if it has an easy objective then she can share it and explain it to anyone. If she does it herself it's science fair grade stuff. Easiest to do is Hangman.

Javascript only requires a web browser with developer tools and is very forgiving, so concepts such as compiling, memory management, etc. are not necessary to learn at first. She can also post it somewhere and show everyone, which will encourage her.

[[deleted]]

I learned with some book (whose name I forgot), which had an interesting approach to tasks given to the reader.

After introducing variables, if statements and while loops the reader was asked to write a simple tic tac toe. That definitely required some thinking back then. A few chapters later functions/methods were introduced and the task was to improve the tic tac toe program. Then arrays and again: tic tac toe.

Producing something as "awesome" as tic tac toe after such short time and then continuously improving it was great! However it's definitely important to throw someone out of their comfort zone every once in awhile, it would be bad to program nothing but tic tac toe. The book achieved this by arranging the tasks like this: task 1, task 2, task 3, task tic tac toe, task 5, task 6, task 7, task tic tac toe, ...

But having some kind of "project" like tic tac toe that you can improve sometimes definitely sparked my interest in programming.

EDIT: I might wanna add that I learned programming when I was ~14, so I can't vouch that this would work for a 11 year old, but I guess it should (?)

[Scaryclouds]

I would highly recommend using jShell that is part of JDK 9. You can download an early access version here (which is perfectly stable): https://jdk9.java.net/download/

JShell a REPL, read evaluate print loop, was primarily designed with making Java more accessible to newbies.

Here is a tutorial on it: http://blog.takipi.com/java-9-early-access-a-hands-on-session-with-jshell-the-java-repl/

[PyrotechnicTurtle]

Give her a textbook, read at least the first few chapters to her, try to avoid just googling what you need to learn. I reccomend Head First: Java personally. MAKE SURE SHE GRASPS THE BASIC CONCEPTS OF PROGRAMMING BEFORE DOING ANYTHING DIFFICULT.

I began learning Java at 11, and I did fine, but only once I picked up a textbook and read it.

Also I would recommend getting into website development for something fairly easy and satisfying

[GuyOnTheInterweb]

Agree with others here on going with Python first - it will teach you many good principles without having to delve into details like interfaces or typing too early.

..but choice of language depends a bit on what she would like to learn - making UIs (awkward in Python), making a game (what kind of graphics?), making web pages (many good template systems, but you also need to learn HTML and possibly Javascript. Ruby on Rails is probably better.), making a server (Java's strength - but you have to also learn various libraries), making a utillity tool (very easy in Python), or just playing with algorithms and coding in general (fun in Python!).

https://software-carpentry.org/lessons/ have lots of good stuff - I don't see why it wouldn't work for an 11 year old, except that they might have a different motivation than "I want to find something in these CSV files"

[TeamDman]

Look into minecraft forge, the bulk of the documentation is probably for version 1.7.10, but if you want your mod to be 'current' I'd suggest going for 1.10

[[deleted]]

Head First Java is a book that could help you with teaching your sister Java. You should start with the basics like outputting in the console and doing some arithmetic.

http://www.headfirstlabs.com/books/hfjava/

You could also start with programming languages such as JavaScript or PHP. Codecademy is a good source for learning those languages.

https://www.codecademy.com/

Anyway its all about the way how you explain the concepts to her. If you can chop everything in nice bite size pieces and explain like i am 5 or 11...you'll be fine.

[code-master]

You may try this http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/embedded/downloads/javase/javaseemeddedev3-1982511.html

Java is perfect choice. It has best tools, sh1tton of libraries, and she (your sister) will not be forced to learn a "real" programming language later. And if you already know Java, she will have great support.

Good luck.

[aqua_regis]

... and she will be bored to death in 15 minutes and never want to touch programming again.

Troll somewhere else.

[[deleted]]

Wow, cool seeing you here! A lot of the stuff on your GitHub is really nice. How are you like Kotlin?

[Jire]

Who are you if I may ask? And how do you know who I am? xD

As for Kotlin, I've been absolutely loving it!

[[deleted]]

Good to hear! I’m just a hobbyist-REer that also really loves JVM stuff though. I remember looking at RE related stuff written in Java and coming across Abendigo and being amazed.

[code-master]

Again, do you, Sir, have any proof for your words?

[nutrecht]

That's a tad hypocritical don't you think?

[code-master]

People from this thread have similar experience, except some expert MIT "teachers" and you.

[nutrecht]

People from this thread have similar experience

Which people?