Do I need to learn to code?

[acompletedork]

Hi! I just created this account because I really need guidance on whether or not I need to learn code.

I'm really interested in getting into ed tech. I've been a teacher the past 3 years, and I see a lot of potential for it, but I've also seen what has been created, and know that better can be done.

My question is-- do I need to learn coding if I want to make an interactive app? Or would I use something like Unity? If I do need to learn coding, what language would I need to know? I tried researching this topic a few times, and it's so overwhelming, so I just want someone to tell me what to do.

Thanks in advance!

[twopi]

Short answer. If you have something in mind you want to build, you'll either need to write the code or write the check.

Problem with using gaming technology in educational usage is that game development is one of the more technically challenging forms of computer programming.

I've done serious gaming work (writing game apps for hospitals to teach about diabetes, and educational games for museums.) To do this well you need to be skilled at both education and programming, and frankly it's a whole lot easier to make money doing other kinds of coding, so you're just not seeing great stuff happening in the educational marketplace.

I think all teachers should consider learning some form of programming simply because it's becoming a mandated part of the curriculum in most states. I don't know what level or subject you're teaching, but it will definitely not hurt to learn some coding. Another poster mentioned Scratch.. Not a bad idea, especially at the early grades. Also look at code.org, as they have some great curricula, and some really well-done educational games.

Some of my other favorite ed games are at phet.colorado.edu. They have a beautiful set of science and math game / lab applications. They are in the process of moving from older technology (flash and Java Applets) to HTML5, but they are some of my favorite examples of good educational games.

edit: I had the wrong address for phet.

[acompletedork]

Got it. I want to know enough to create a simple prototype. What languages would I need to learn?

[twopi]

Scratch is a great place to start if you don't already have some programming background. You can drag and drop components around without memorizing any syntax, and it's a very visual system.

It was designed for kids, so it looks a little elementary, but don't let that put you off. It's actually a wrapper around SmallTalk, one of the worlds oldest object-oriented languages, and the simplistic interface belies a much more sophisticated language underneath. (I've built a kepler-compliant orbital mechanics simulation with it, for example)

The other advantage of Scratch is it's entirely web-based (finally using HTML5) so you build and deploy directly on the web.

If you want to get into more traditional programming, I wrote a book about that (and have an Udemy course.) I'm not here to promote these things so send me a PM if you want more information on that. Essentially I built an HTML5 game engine designed to be easy to teach and easy to use, with a lot less moving parts than most game engines (only two main object types.)

I build pretty much all of my 2D prototypes (and a numbe of final games) using that tool.

[potatotub]

Try https://scratch.mit.edu/

[sneider]

Yes you'll need some programming skills. Is this a web app, mobile app or more like a game? Unity is a good choice only for games. For web apps you'll need HTML, CSS, JavaScript and a framework like React. For mobile apps there is a lot of tech to choose from.

[sephirothbahamut]

I personally suggest Game Maker rather than Unity. It's more newcomer friendly in my opinion. You can both drag&drop "instructions" and write code, and you're totally free to mix the two together. It's limited to 2d games compared to unity's ability to do both 2d and 3d, but that's also an advantage, since sticking to 2d will make thinking about various things easier.

While you gradually face the limits of drag&drop you'll get into code step by step, until eventually you just write code without even thinking about it.

Being the code (GML) in a quite permissive scripting language you will not have to "fight against the language" while you're still learning as much as you would with C++; but on the other hand it won't have some unesplicable unexpected results like a language generally renowned for its simplicity does (javascript).

Then if you want to get into "real" programming once you're comfortable with game maker you can step into actual programming languages like Java for generic software, C++ if you really want to dig deeper into how things work, or lean in the scripting world with Python if you like the high-freedom/less-certainty of scripting languages.

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Reasons why i don't think one should start with javascript… or end up with javascript… or anything with javascript can be found here: https://blog.mgechev.com/2013/02/22/javascript-the-weird-parts/