Apps that are educational, challenging and fun

BELIEVE it or not, opening children’s minds to the joy of coding need not rely on having computers, high-speed wi-fi or teachers with degrees in programming.

An “unplugged” coding game developed by Nelson Mandela University (NMU) is making waves because the software works offline and is free – and the main “hardware” required is eager young minds, hungry to have fun while learning.

And because they are accessible and easy to use, these off-line coding apps – Tanks, Boats and Rangers, with more to come – are helping education non-profits like Good Work Foundation power up their coding and robotics offerings.

The foundation’s mission is to get young people in rural Mpumalanga and the Free State ready to take their place in a workplace driven by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, armed with life skills, digital knowledge, creative mindset and the ability to analyse and solve problems.

While the fondations’s six digital learning campuses are equipped with computers, tablets and coding robots, as well as Lego kits for building robots out of blocks and coding them to move, they emphasise the importance of collaborative problem-solving through the use of off-line apps Tanks, Boats and Rangers.

Using only physical game tokens, a mobile app and a smartphone or tablet to introduce young people to coding, this concept is known as “tangible coding” because you can literally touch the code (ie the game tokens) with your hands as you plot

USING only physical game tokens, a mobile app and a smartphone or tablet to introduce young people to coding, this concept is known as “tangible coding” because you can literally touch the code. it out.

Patricia Ubisi, a coding and robotics co-ordinator at foundation’s Hazyview Digital Learning Campus, is an enthusiastic proponent of online and off-line coding as ways to unlock curiosity in young minds.

“The children have so much fun while learning coding – and fun is one of our values. We use Tanks and Rangers on our campuses. Rangers, for example, is not just about coding – it also teaches young people about conservation and teamwork,” she said.

Such conservation awareness is critical, as most of of the campuses border the Kruger National Park and many of its students, armed with the right skills, could end up working in the wildlife economy.

The Rangers app uses physical game tokens laid out on a black cloth to help the “game rangers” outwit the “rhino poachers”, moving through various levels of difficulty. Once the youngsters have plotted out a code to help the rangers protect the endangered rhino, a picture is captured on a tablet or a smartphone and uploaded to the app. They watch and adapt the code as the ranger moves, navigates the obstacles, and shoots nets in a bid to capture the poachers. It’s challenging, educational and fun.

These off-line apps are the brainchild of Professor Jean Greyling, who heads up the Department of Computing Sciences at NMU, and Byron Batteson, a former honours student.

In a few years at least 120 000 young people have benefited from these unplugged coding apps, with 16 000 participants in 22 countries using them to participate in the #Coding4Mandela tournament in 2023.