Apple Reveals 'Swift Playgrounds' Educational Coding App for iPad - MacRumors
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Apple Reveals 'Swift Playgrounds' Educational Coding App for iPad

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Apple today revealed an all-new "Swift Playgrounds" app that aims to introduce users to "a new way to learn to code with Swift on iPad." The app -- which will be a free download -- is aimed for a public release on the App Store when iOS 10 launches this fall.

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The library of Apple-developed programming lessons helps students learn core coding concepts, such as issuing commands, creating functions, performing loops and using conditional code and variables, and allows them to progressively build confidence and skill. Apple will regularly release new standalone challenges so students can continue to refine their coding abilities as their skills and interests grow. Educators and developers can also use Xcode® to create their own unique challenges for the app.

Along with other features, the app has custom "learn to code" lessons from Apple that focus on crafting visual cues around numeric coding data to slowly introduce kids into the world of coding. Multi-touch on the iPad helps coding in the app more straightforward, but Apple also crafted a new coding keyboard to add in new code in just a few keystrokes.

Starting today, Swift Playgrounds is available to Apple Developer Program members, and will additionally be available in the iOS 10 public beta this July. The final version of the app is expected to launch for free on the App Store sometime in the fall. All iPad Air and iPad Pro models will be compatible with the app, as well as iPad mini 2-and-later devices.

Tag: WWDC 2016

Top Rated Comments

Junipr Avatar
Junipr
132 months ago
How silly of me to want new Macs! We should all be coding on iPads!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nutmac Avatar
nutmac
132 months ago
To me, easily one of the highlights. I just wish Apple would bring it to macOS as well.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spendlove Avatar
Spendlove
132 months ago
Hell even I, a total klutz at anything to do with programming might have a go at this. Never too late to learn!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Z
Z400Racer37
132 months ago
So cool. It look like they've done a very good job with this, it's very conceptual. Cant wait to try this out :)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
erthquake Avatar
erthquake
132 months ago
This "every cool kid has to code" ******** must stop soon.
There's a lot of value in learning the problem decomposition skills required by programming. Most students are require to take physics, chemistry, and biology classes. Even though they don't go into that field, they're important for learning how the world works. We now live in a time when it's important to learn how our technology works. See the recent court case between Google and Oracle and the trouble the jury had with understanding the issues for proof how important it is to understand coding.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
P
prism
132 months ago
Great so now everyone is going to become a coder and like what digital did to photography: inflation of the wanna be's substantially diluting the beauty and art in true photography, good coding is going to become even harder to come by.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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