Community reviews for Lightbot : Programming Puzzles

If you are doing Hour of Code and can give some modeling time before letting them use it than it is a great website. If you are just going to let the 1st graders use it without explanation it is going to be too hard for them. If you use it with older kids I think they will pick up on it quickly. It really does a great job of teaching students to problem solve and debug a situation. Also, if you have them working with partners they can collaborate on the answers.

My take is that this is an AMAZING tool to get kids excited about coding. It's very engaging (and a little addictive!). It works well in various settings and with a variety of student populations, which is especially helpful when you have students ranging from special needs to gifted at the same time. More practice with each step would probably benefit this app (i.e. more simple puzzles should be available to solidify a concept before jumping into it too deeply). Overall, a great tool!

Overall, it is important to keep in mind that this is not just playing a game. Coding and activities like LightBot encourage many "soft skills" our students need: critical thinking, creativity, problem solving, persistence in the face of challenge and failure, cooperation with others. It isn't just about creating a generation of kids who want to become computer scientists...though there will continue to be career opportunities for them, for sure!!

By having students sit in small groups while going through the levels of Lightbot, they were helping each other out when they got stuck. There are only basic tutorials on the app for new skills introduced, the students have to figure out many parts on their own. There were a few levels that were extra frustrating, especially to the teacher, who also couldn’t get past it nor could I help the students. The cost is an issue. I can’t justify spending $2.99 for a single lesson resource. However, there is a free version and one for the Hour of Code that was detailed enough to teach the students what I needed them to learn. It is nice that the website and app works across so many devices since my classroom is BYOT; resources need to be available on iOS, Android, phones, tablets, netbooks, etc. I look forward to using this again this year for the Hour of Code.

I found this a great tool for introducing programming. The best lesson kids learn is "Garbage In/Garbage Out" and that computers interpret instructions literally so they had to be explicit in their instructions.

A quick explanation of the tools with audio would really help the students. They tend to click pass the instruction screens and then missed the important information. I liked that it really challenged the students who were understanding programming.

If you are looking for a break from the everyday grind that math can become, lightbot is a greate coding game that allows students to have fun while still using skills that they need to use in math. Students were highly engaged and having a great time!

My overall opinion of Lightbot is that it is a wonderful tool for introducing programming concepts. I like the way it guides the learner without being heavy handed or too obvious. The Hour of Code version (http://light-bot.com/hocflash.html) is shorter than the app, but it's free so I am not complaining. I actually bought the app for myself, and I'm struggling to complete all of the challenges. In my opinion this is for middle school and up. Younger students will struggle.

Lightbot offers engaging puzzles that have limited clues or direction. Some children may gravitate to the puzzles while others will quickly become frustrated. Opportunities to receive hints is limited which decreases the return for continued play. Although, the program supports basic coding skills, explanations of the cause and effects of codes would be helpful in order for the App to garner more educational value.

LightBot is a fun easy way to understand the principle of computer programming, which sounds like a boring, daunting task! It is fun, it is rewarding, it is addicting, it teaches you the basics of coding. It is the new Logo!