
Microsoft MakeCode - mdturnerphys
https://makecode.com/
======
leggomylibro
Wow, cool - the 'block editor' looks a lot like Scratch. _Is_ it Scratch? I'm
having trouble finding many details about the technical side of it.

I think 'visual programming' has a lot of promise for education, but...jeez,
after looking into it for awhile I'm sort of losing hope that it isn't a
gimmick or fad.

Has anyone actually made a complex project with these initiatives, and had it
spark an interest in computing/electronics that didn't already exist? Have
they managed to make the jump from visual interfaces to lines-of-code? Is
there any evidence that these programs REALLY help when it comes to engaging a
wider group of people?

I'm starting to worry that it's just more cynical grant-grabbing as the
projects pile up and the results don't seem to. I _hope_ it isn't, I just
worry that this is all starting to sound a little 'magic solution'-y.

The Arduino came out about 15 years ago, for perspective.

~~~
agar
Only a single data point, but Scratch has definitely sparked an interest in
programming in my 12 year-old daughter.

Though still early days, she has taken her first steps into learning Python.
The concepts of loops, variables, counters, and even objects has definitely
carried over from Scratch.

She still spends most of her time in Scratch though, sometimes creating her
own games or drawing programs, sometimes playing others' creations, sometimes
looking behind the curtain to see how her favorite games work and doing light
remixing.

Will this turn her into a career programmer? Probably not, but she has told me
that she now really appreciates what makes programs work, and every time she
sees a new app she can't help but think about how it might be structured.

Overall, I think that's a pretty good argument for early exposure to visual
editors.

~~~
glaberficken
Exactly my view =)

I have a 7yo daughter and she has just tried some block based programming
challenges and she loved tinkering and predicting what the program would do,
and then fixing the bugs. Gave her a real sense of accomplishment.

I also don't think it will automatically send her on to a career as a
programmer. But I think it is important for everyone nowadays to have at least
an notion of how software works, given that there is software is almost
everything we use these days...

~~~
agar
> I think it is important for everyone nowadays to have at least an notion of
> how software works, given that there is software is almost everything we use
> these days...

I couldn't agree more. Education isn't just learning facts, it's providing
tools so kids can contextualize the world around them.

When the world is powered by software, even a passing familiarity with the
basics of programming will be as important as learning history, literature, or
basic science.

------
nukeop
It's sad that these "get everyone and their dog into 'coding'" initiatives by
large companies are just attempts to provide cheap workers for themselves in
the future. There's so many of them, and yet there's no evidence that they
help anyone other than the company's PR team in generating exposure and
promoting their products.

~~~
yaseer
This isn't the only reason.

It's obvious that coding is becoming a skill on par with math for its utility
in the modern world.

If more people understand the fundamentals of coding, it will completely
change the user interfaces and sophistication of applications in the future.
People will be able to code up simple features and behaviours they need, for
example.

~~~
nukeop
Most people don't have the analytical approach engineering-minded people have.
They understand most of their surrounding reality in terms of blackboxes. Pull
a trigger and a bullet comes out. Press a button and receive a parking card.
Touch the screen and the facebook app launches. They're not interested in the
internal mechanisms. And if you're not already interested in that, then no
amount of coding bootcamps are going to spark that interest.

~~~
madeofpalk
Sure, but a lot of people don't have the mindset required for cooking or
construction or sports, yet these are still things we teach in school and try
to make accessible for more people.

~~~
chrisan
Or any of the liberal arts.

The "well rounded" argument works both ways!

------
gwilkes
I really don't understand why Minecraft Education Edition (the only way to use
MakeCode with Minecraft AFAIK) is only available to schools. I'm willing to
pay for it but I'm not allowed to.

Not MakeCode's fault, this is great software. But clearly this is Microsoft's
fault.

~~~
abchatra
MakeCode works with Minecraft Windows 10 as well. Please see the setup
instructions here:
[https://minecraft.makecode.com/setup](https://minecraft.makecode.com/setup)

~~~
gwilkes
I stand corrected, i don't think that was the case sometime last year when I
first checked out MakeCode, glad to see that has changed

Edit: I may also be misremembering, I primarily use Mac OS, and Education
Edition has a Mac OS version. Plus Education Edition has some unique features
that I would like to be able to use.

~~~
mynameisvlad
Looks like it was added around October: [https://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/Seth-
Juarez/Announcing-Micro...](https://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/Seth-
Juarez/Announcing-Microsoft-MakeCode-for-Minecraft-Windows-10)

------
tonydiv
I'm really excited about this project! It seems like it's Google Blockly with
a lot more bells and whistles. I'll have to dig into the code more to tell.

At BlockSchool, my online coding school for kids 6-13, we've had a pretty good
experience using Blockly. We've managed to hook it up to our own Minecraft-
esque world.

If you're interested in what we're doing with kids you can learn more here:
[https://block.school](https://block.school)

~~~
darzu
It uses Google Blockly internally:
[https://github.com/Microsoft/pxt/tree/master/pxtblocks](https://github.com/Microsoft/pxt/tree/master/pxtblocks)

------
gw
The transition between block-based code and JavaScript is implemented better
than I expected. If I write something in JS, and switch back to blocks, the
equivalent blocks actually appear! Going back to JS shows rewritten code but
still readable.

------
fillskills
Off topic but this is one of the best UIs I have seen in a while. It clearly
illustrates what it is about with examples, tutorials etc. I didnt have to go
to any sub pages to understand what it actually does

------
jordanwallwork
I ran a code club at my local primary school last year using the micro:bits.
They're awesome little devices, super simple to get some pretty effective
results with. I had 15 kids aged 7 - 11, some of whom were there only because
they went along to every after school club it's cheaper for working parents
than a childminder, and all of them absolutely loved it. We did some great
little projects - making 'musical instruments' with speakers and the
gyroscope, making those buzzy 'steady hand' games, sending messages to one
another via bluetooth, etc...

------
AshleysBrain
Microsoft have tried this kind of thing more than once in the past, usually
ultimately cancelling the projects. There was Microsoft Popfly (retired),
Project Spark (retired), Microsoft Kodu (still going), now MakeCode. I suspect
there are even more if you go further back.

Our startup has been doing the visual programming thing successfully for
around 6 years now, and our latest tool is at www.construct.net. Maybe they
should give us a call since it looks like they're struggling to get this right
;)

~~~
pdm55
Thanks for the link to
[https://www.construct.net/au](https://www.construct.net/au). Others are
[https://studio.code.org/s/express](https://studio.code.org/s/express),
[https://blockly-games.appspot.com/?lang=en](https://blockly-
games.appspot.com/?lang=en) &
[http://microbit.org/code/](http://microbit.org/code/).

------
aetherspawn
I’m just sitting here in awe over the Minecraft integration.

And that’s just one bullet point in the feature set.

------
dankohn1
I was just about to start an every other day programming course for my 9 and
11yo kids. Could anyone help me compare this curriculum with code.org (which
they've used through school)?

------
adamkruszewski
Cool! It just reminded me that yesterday I have stumbled upon a 'visual
programming' environment built on Haskell: [http://www.luna-
lang.org/](http://www.luna-lang.org/)

Haven't had time to play with it yet.

------
etanol
I didn't take a deep look, but it reminds me to Bret Victor's proposal on
"Inventing on Principle" from 2012:

[https://vimeo.com/36579366](https://vimeo.com/36579366)

------
pjmlp
It also supports compiling to ARM Thumb.

[https://makecode.com/language](https://makecode.com/language)

------
mukundmr
This is great to introduce programming to my daughter. Switching between
blocks and actual code helps.

~~~
manojlds
What age are you starting this with?

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wslh
It works and it is usable in the mobile phone! That is great.

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shironineja
Where can I get one of these for Terraform?

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2sk21
Looks very attractive.

