I have never programmed before. Which do you suggest I learn, Modkit or RobotC? It looks like RobotC has some good tutorials online that I can use to help me learn on my own. What do you suggest? Thanks!
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You have a lot more control in RobotC and you have 3 levels to use. I gave up on Modkit but have had RobotC for some years.
If you have looked at some RobotC tutorials and they kind of make sense, RobotC is definitively the way to go. When you start to do serious programs, you will not be limited by RobotC. Also what you learn with RobotC will be transferable to other programming languages that you or your students learn in the future. Since RobotC is a variant of the C language, you can also learn the basics not only from the RobotC tutorials but also standard C programming books or web tutorials. The way motors and sensors are hooked into the program is unique to RobotC and makes this aspect of programming very easy.
Robot C, no question. Modkit is a nice idea but you will run out of usefulness quickly. Regardless of your primary focus I believe Robot C will give you better results. Robot C is almost mandatory for competition. You simply won’t be competitive without it. From an educational perspective RC will provide a more “real world” educational experience as we’ll. Any “visual learning” benefit of Modkit is negated by RC’s newest versions which now include a visual programming mode.
I have to ask what age are the children? 4th and 5th graders and even 6th graders by in large don’t do well being introduced to RobotC. Modkit gets kids up and running very quickly and does not have the fairly steep earning curve that RobotC does. I introduce RobotC to kids in 6th grade for those who have robotics experience. Younger than that and most kids don’t do well.
Modkit is a very powerful language. I haven’t found anything I can’t do in it. I have used Modkit since last September teaching approximately 200 4th-6th grade kids. I really like it. It gets kids introduced into the right way to think and is far superior to Lego NXT flow control programming. The transition from Modkit to RobotC is much easier when the kids are ready to move up.
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I have been using Modkit with 6 to 8 year olds and we have yet to run into any limitations. For those more experienced, I would live to know the limitations.
I am thinking about when to transition these kids to RobotC. I just got a windows computer to try and use RobotC. One of the reasons why also started on Modkit was because it ran on macOS.
Just want to point out, this is a 5 year old topic, things have changed quite a bit since 2014. It’s best not to revive these, start a new topic next time.
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It is 5 years old, but RobotC is still my favorite… One of those things that has stood up against the sands of time.
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Yea, that is kind of old, I will take my reply down.
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RobotC and ModKit are pretty different, I’ll try to outline the advantages of each.
ModKit’s advantages:
- Easier to learn & use
- Distance measurements are more precise
- Can be run from certain mobile devices
- Programs are quicker to make
RobotC’s advantages:
- Functions more like an actual programming language so learning other programming languages after RobotC will be easier
- Less limited in many senses / allows more customization and precise control
- Has quite a few good docs and tutorials online
So, I guess it kinda depends on what you want. For younger students ModKit will probably better since it’s easier to learn and use, and programs are generally faster to make so results can be seen quicker. For older students, RobotC is probably better since it contains a lot of features and customization options that ModKit simply doesn’t have (functions with parameters, local variables, etc).
The age-old argument of whether graphical or text-based programming languages are better is relevant here. See Graphical vs Text-Based Coding for Kids | Tech Age Kids | Technology for Children, https://www.codingkids.com.au/blog/visual-based-vs-text-based-programming-languages, Visual-based vs. Text-based programming languages for more details.
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