Why should you bother learning basic programming skills as logical thinking when today you read in every other article, that robots need to be programmed without applying any code. The market leaders have developed different approaches which share a common understanding for this requirement which is the direct result of a massive lack of skilled labour in nearly every industry and every market.
What is Codeless Programming?
But what exactly is codeless programming? In this article I wrote an intro about “easy to program” operating systems. The idea is that you are using pre-configured snippets of code and that you don’t have to really worry about the syntax anymore, instead you focus on the parameters needed to specify what a chosen block shall be doing.
Nearly every school kid has to start working with Scratch today and the concept is quite the same. You choose pre-configured blocks of code from different categories as logics, movements and so on and your kids will blow you mind shortly after they got started with codeless programming.
Thinking logically is a skill which needs to be trained
There is at least one very important aspect of coding they have to get familiar with before they will be able to reach for the stars, however: they need to become familiar with logics. Actually, codeless programming just means that you don’t have to worry learning syntax from the beginning, as the building blocks are pre-defined by programming experts. But you have to get a basic understanding of coding nevertheless – at least if you want to dive into more complex projects.
One of these components of coding they have to get an understanding for is logics. A typical example would be “if.. then statements”. Kids normally have no problems with these particular statements, thinking about how often most of them get threatened that way: if you don’t put this (cellphone) away, I will (punish you)…
But how can you support them learning more complex logical scenarios? It is my belief, that logics needs to be trained like any other skill, like languages, like instruments or sports. Understanding logics is a skill which needs to be developed.
Make training for logical thinking a game
The last two weeks I was sick at home with Covid. And I was not the only one. The whole family had to go into quarantine. One after another. Well you could argue after two years in a pandemic situation kids should have been prepared for that situation. But man, they got bored! Luckily, my little one received a new game as a gift for his last birthday, shortly before he got infected. It was a game sent by heaven!
It is not the first game from ThinkFun he owns. After playing some rounds with my kids, I would say that it is from one side a little bit easier than Rush Hour, but on the other hand the big advantage is that you play Gravity Maze in three dimensions rather than in two.
On a small board you are placing different building blocks (at least two of them) according to the card you drew from the deck which is divided into four levels of difficulties. The blocks come in different colours and have different heights.
Your target is to bring your marble from the highest starting point to the lowest target block but you are restricted to using the building blocks defined by the chosen card.
You don’t play in rounds, although you can do so. You can play it on your own or together as a team. The great thing is that in more difficult levels you need to run your marble through the blocks more than once and you also need to build blocks on top of each other.
So your kid (or you) needs to start visualising the path of the marbles depending on and how they want to use their blocks.
It’s fun – and not only for my kids… I love it, too! If you want me to make a more detailed comparison between Rush Hour and Gravity Maze, or if you have additional tips for improving your logical skills, let me know in the comments below.
Affiliate Link: Gravity Maze