Educational Mobile Applications on Computational Thinking and Programming for Children Under 8 Years Old

Mobile technology has the ability to change the way education incorporates computers in the teaching process. Mobile devices have distinct features compared to computers, such as portability, touchscreen and a variety of sensors that makes them more suited for young children. Computational thinking is an essential skill in teaching children how to code but it is also a universal problem-solving technique. In this paper we present mobile applications as educational resources that teach young children under 8 years old how to code and advance their computational thinking abilities. We also study whether these applications have proven their educational effectiveness in the classroom based on related scientific research. Finally, we propose characteristics that should be incorporated in mobile applications in order to improve their educational value.