Hedy is a gradual programming language to make learning programming easier, using different language levels. In level 1, there is hardly any syntax at all, for example printing is done with:

print hello ECOOP!

In every level, new syntax and concepts are added, until kids are doing a subset of Python in level 18 with conditions, loops, variables and lists. The leveled approach means that learners do not have to learn all syntax rules at once. Hedy is aimed at children that want to get started with textual programming languages, but for whom starting with Python might still be too complex.

Hedy is open source, runs in the browser, is free to use, and available in 25 different languages (Including English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and Hindi). Hedy was launched in early 2020 and since then more than 2 million Hedy programs have been created by children worldwide. Try Hedy at hedycode.com.

In this talk, Felienne will dive into the pedagogy behind Hedy, but also discuss the technical aspects of Hedy. For example, a set of increasingly complex grammars, rather than one grammar, poses new challenges for language design, as do localized keywords, especially in non-Latin languages.

Felienne is associate professor at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science at Leiden University, where she heads the Programming Education Research Lab (PERL). Felienne’s work focuses on the question how to best teach programming to kids and students, investigating misconceptions, didactic strategies and programming environments. Felienne is a co-editor of the ACM journal Transactions on Computing Education, and a host at the IEEE podcast SE Radio, one of the most popular software engineering podcasts on the web. She writes a monthly column for Dutch IT magazine AG Connect and she ran the Joy of Coding conference for 6 years. When she is not coding, blogging or teaching, she is probably knitting, running or playing a (board)game.

Felienne blogs at felienne.com