I wish there was something like repl.it but with an even more basic UI (but which still allowed saving and sharing of programs). Super-beginners don't need version control or a debugger, and I worry that extra visual noise draws away brain power when you're starting out.
We use Trinket.io at my Girls Who Code club (or did before Coronavirus mayhem shut it down). It has the simpler interface, but one huge flaw—the free version is some kind of weird hybrid interpreter that will attempt to run both python 2 and python 3 code (in the same program, even).
Repl.it CEO here, I'm curious which noise are you talking about? Here is how the empty python environment looks like (editor, console, and a huge green run button): https://answer-on-hn.amasad.repl.co/python.png
We continue to test with kids and they intuitively get it with little instructions. If you want to make the environment even simpler just add "?lite=1" to the url and it will look like this: https://answer-on-hn.amasad.repl.co/lite.png
Thank you! What I really want is that left sidebar gone (Files, Version Control, Packages, Debugger, Settings). Kids starting out don't need any of it.
Oh ok. I'll think about that. Slightly off topic but I just made a BASIC environment designed for kids learning to code. The theory is BASIC is still one of the best way languages to start with. Let me know if you try it:
We use Trinket.io at my Girls Who Code club (or did before Coronavirus mayhem shut it down). It has the simpler interface, but one huge flaw—the free version is some kind of weird hybrid interpreter that will attempt to run both python 2 and python 3 code (in the same program, even).