Code Land - Coding for Kids

What is Code Land app?

Code Land's learning takes place across various lands, each dedicated to a different skill set. There are two coding lands - Precode Land and Code Land. These lead kids through the essential coding concepts, with the former being especially good for young kids as it does not require reading. Code Land includes using visual-coding tools similar to some that have been used to produce professional products.

In addition to these are:

Logic Land, where kids solve logic puzzles and problems.

Create Land, where kids exercise their creative skills using the app's built-in tools. They can share their creations with the world and play with others in the app's carefully designed environment that allows sharing in a controlled way.

Mind Land, where kids solve more puzzles and learn further about concepts associated with coding, such as Booleans, patterns and stacks.

Multiplayer Land lets kids compete against other players using the skills they have learned in the rest of the app.

Each of these lands contains different activity types, and the activities typically have many levels for players to work through and develop their understanding.

Code Land's regular app updates show that its developers continually enhance and refine the product. At the time of this review of Code Land, a new section was imminent, and our expert reviewers could view it in advance. Its dancing robots theme and activities were a great addition to the app.

What we love about Code Land app.

Code Land introduces kids to more varied coding-like activities than other apps that teach kids to code. 

Some apps concentrate on an icon-based approach where players build up a series of steps to control the on-screen events. These are great for beginners.

Some apps concentrate on visual code blocks that resemble traditional coding statements but simplify the process and reduce the chance of errors. These are a useful step between icon-based and text-based coding.

Code Land covers both of these and more. The approach the app takes depends upon the skills it is addressing, the player's current level, and what the player wants to do. 

This varied approach makes it much easier for parents to get kids to learn with the app. A coding beginner aged 8 is not too different from a coding beginner aged 6. Both can learn using the icon-based games, play the logic-based activities and build-up to the more challenging activities.

This variety wouldn't matter if the challenges were not effective learning aids, fun enough to get kids playing, or related to real coding skills, but they are. Each activity encourages kids to play, either for the sense of beating the game or because the different solving mechanics entices them.

Unusually, Code Land also encourages kids to be creative, which is very relevant to a STEM-related app such as this and because it is essential to encourage kids to try creating and not just consuming content on modern technology. It feels rewarding to employ what has been learned elsewhere in the app to start making using similar tools and even more thrilling to know that others might play them.

Not every activity in Code Land will feel directly related to the school curricula, but they all push kids to think, persevere, learn, and link skills that will help them across subjects and life.

Aside from the excellent learning content, the app is beautifully presented. Its look and feel sit well with the target age group being neither too babyish for those at the upper end, nor too dull for those at the lower.

What skills does it teach?

Code Land teaches coding foundations, but coding is not just about writing computer programs. Coding includes problem solving, logic, math, creativity and more which is why we were pleased to see that Code Land addresses all of these.

The Code Land app on iOS and Android is full of content relevant to kids at different levels of education in general and coding specifically.

What age is it appropriate for?

Code Land's activities and learning content are suitable for kids aged between 4 and 10.

Is Code Land app easy to use?

Code Land's developers wanted to include young kids who have not developed strong literacy skills. As such, the first phase of learning with the app does not require any reading ability. This is excellent for young learners and kids with Special Educational Needs who have delayed literacy skills but would still like to learn the basics of coding.

As well as being inclusive, Code Land's approach of considering non-readers ensures that using the app has to be intuitive and clear. Kids will soon learn how to use the app. The app explains what kids need to do through visual cues and they interact using easily understood visual elements. 

Kids may have to try a few times to complete a level, and the activities will reward experimentation and repetition. This is by design as that is an intrinsic part of coding.

How will students benefit?

Learning to code, however approached, is a challenge. Coders must build and combine many thinking processes, knowledge, and skills before they feel able to create something. Sadly, many people and kids give up. 

Code Land's game-like challenges and attractive presentation will keep kids interested and provide frequent opportunities to feel successful. 

Educationally, all the skills that kids practise when learning to code are applicable across multiple subjects. Even if kids do not go on to the next step in coding, they'll have an awareness of how coding works and a more mature problem-solving approach.

How will parents benefit?

Most parents don't understand what is involved in coding, so they find it difficult to support kids who want to learn it. Code Land makes providing this help much more straightforward by covering more of the process.

Kids who have used other apps to begin their coding education might need to move on to another app before they are ready for full coding, leaving parents with another confusing decision. Kids who have learned all they can from Code Land will be in a good place to move on to a true coding language.

Good to know

Anyone who has learned one modern coding language will find it much easier to understand new ones. This is because the general principles remain the same, and the building blocks of code differ very little across programming languages other than how they are typed out. 

This is important to understand because Code Land does not leave kids able to code their own programs in a mainstream coding language, but it supports them in building the foundations.

Kids will understand how to break problems into smaller parts. They'll know how to use conditionals (if this, then do that), loop (keep doing this until), and the other foundations taught in Code Land. With this knowledge secured, kids will find those mainstream languages much easier to learn.

How much does Code Land app cost?

Code Land is free to download and comes with a free trial that lasts for seven days. This is ample time to see how much your kids enjoy the app. 

What is included with the free version vs. paid?

However much kids enjoy playing the app and solving the puzzles, there will still be a huge amount of content for them to complete after the seven days are up and more is added regularly. You'll need to subscribe to let your kids continue with the app. 

You can add up to five children to each Code Land account, which makes it especially good value if you have more than one child of an appropriate age. A free account using your email address will allow your kids to play the app across multiple devices.

Is Code Land app safe to use?

Something that could have gone into what we love about Code Land is its unambiguous promises regarding child safety. The app has a privacy policy, but its website has clear statements about what the app does not do:

• It does not collect data
• It does not allow player-to-player communication
• It does not contain advertising

There is a lot of content in this app, but throughout this review of Code Land, the app did not display anything unsuitable for kids. Its commitment to non-gendered content and child safety should reassure of its suitability for kids.

The app protects its settings, other apps, and profile creation pages behind a parental lock. The lock uses a simple arithmetic question, so while it will protect this section from younger children, it will likely be ineffective for those at the older end of the intended age range. 

Overall rating of the app.

Code Land is one of the most well-rounded coding apps we've seen and is extremely versatile. Other apps focus on logic challenges, and other ones introduce coding, but Code Land does both, and it does them very well.

The Code Land experience offers kids a responsive environment where they can choose how they would like to learn in each play session. If they'd like to solve problems, they can try something in Logic Land, if they'd like to make something, they can open up Create Land, and if kids want to push their coding skills, they can do that too.

Code Land feels like a game, so most kids will enjoy using it as they learn. See if this is the case for your kids by trying the seven-day free trial.   This review of Code Land awards it five stars, so we suspect you'll find they do.