Google’s new app uses fun games to teach JavaScript

Grasshopper is a newly released app that teaches JavaScript coding through a series of mini-games. The application has been launched by Google’s in-house incubator, Area 120. Currently, over 70 percent of professional developers use JavaScript. The app wants to make coding seem fun and approachable to invite more learners and non-coders to harness the skill that is increasingly becoming necessary. With Grasshopper, one can learn fundamental programming concepts that are not only limited to JavaScript but universal to almost all programming languages. The app wants to make coding seem fun and approachable to invite more learners and non-coders to harness the skill that is increasingly becoming necessary.

Grasshopper begins with the fundamentals of JavaScript that includes calling variables, functions, and strings. The user only needs a Google account to jump right into learning JavaScript. Before proceeding to the exercises, the user is shown basic coding definitions that will help them solve the mini quizzes and puzzles. With each exercise completed successfully, the puzzles will get more complication. Every time, a new concept is introduced by the app, you get a number of exercises to solve and practice. Later exercises also teach animations and how the D3 library can be used for complex functions.

The app also enables the user to set a practice schedule. It then sends daily or weekly reminders to help the learner stay on track. The app also comes with an achievement section where the learner can see their coding streak, number of unlocked concepts and JavaScripts keys used by the coder.

The team is currently working to expand the curriculum and add more lessons to the existing ones. The developers of the app say that they will focus only on JavaScript and do not plan on teaching other languages.

Grasshopper is currently available on Android and iOS for free.