The Vidcode team is delighted to have received the 2020 Parents’ Choice Award.

Vidcode is a website that encourages preteens and teenagers to explore computer programming with JavaScript. Through a series of tutorials, students begin by creating and modifying video and image objects, adding filters, text, and other graphics. As the projects become more complex, the lessons cover all the basics of object-oriented programming, from simple linear programming to complex object properties with user interactions, creating games and simulations. Programming is taught through interactive tasks, requiring minimal parental or teacher preparation and oversight, and teens are encouraged to add their own style and sense of humor to the projects they create. Unlike many introductory programming sites, this successfully targets older youths without either being painfully cute or overcomplicating the coursework. The look and feel are clearly for middle and high school: users can choose from a generic library of images (including, for example, the well-known “Doge” meme star) or even upload their own videos and photos. Completed projects can be saved and shared through the site.