Fisher-Price DKT39 Think and Learn Code-a-Pillar

Product Information

Our kids technology product reviews are intended to help you work out whether a toy, gadget or kit is a good fit for your child or family. Roby the mBot Meccano robot dog is one of our popular projects and has been with us to lots of events. The leaf-feeding interludes don't tie in smoothly to the coding, though they get more challenging as kids level up.

I wasn’t able to fully remove the cover from the base because there are wires connecting the main device to the lights and the speaker on the underside of the cover. In a way, it's similar to other kid-coding games like ThinkFun's Robot Turtles, and works a little like that old Logo turtle programming game I used in school about a million years ago. For little kids, this is a cute coding activity that doesn't carry any of the pitfalls of so many free apps. Although we’ve only used our Code-a-pillar for a few weeks I can imagine this coding toy can take a bit of a beating. Planning and Sequencing: After twisting the segments a few times, kids will discover that if they plan a path and twist the dials to create the right sequence, they can get Code-a-pillar Twist™ to follow their plan!

Tap and drag commands such as straight, turn right, dig, or dance from the command tray to each empty spot on a maze-like path. Creating these simple routes provides opportunities for students to develop mini-programming concepts!

That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. Preschoolers can twist the dials on the caterpillar’s segments to create a sequence and send their pal along the programmed path with moves like forward, turn right, and turn left.I’m interested in incorporating the Code-a-Pillar into a growing inventory of tangible tech devices that I use to teach coding and robotics concepts to young children through hands-on, collaborative, and developmentally appropriate activities.