How to learn Xcode

My son created his first app using Xcode.

Although we are not following an unschooling approach, this year the kids have had a lot of say over their education. Because their activities need to be approved, the philosophy is a little more in-line with Montessori if that philosophy were used for older children.

When my son said he wanted to learn Xcode, I was apprehensive because he was entering a territory of information completely beyond my knowledge base. Despite this fact, I was excited because he was following his interests. Since my husband is a computer programmer, he has been my son's primary support system in this endeavor. However, he himself doesn't know how to program using Xcode, so the material my son is learning is also beyond his scope of knowledge.

After a week of persistent effort to get Xcode up and running, my son began creating his first app. Thank goodness we have the INTERNET and TUTORIALS. Because of my husband's experiences, he was able to point my son to the Ray Wenderlich Library of Tutorials for Computer Programmers. Some tutorials are free and some require payment to become active, but my son was able to find a free tutorial to help him get started.

The app my son created is called the "Hit Me" app. Basically it is a simple game where the person playing is given a number and asked to move a slider bar labeled 1-100 closest to the number given. In the photo below, you can see the game being simulated on a phone within the computer screen.

Although the app is mostly finished, it is not quite complete because he is having difficulty getting it transferred to an actual iPhone. It seems lots of developers have had this issue and he is currently searching the internet for different solutions that worked to help others overcome the problem.

I know app development is not for me because these types of issues would frustrate me too much, but these are precisely the types of challenges my son and husband thrive on once they are conquered. It is great to watch my son persevere, research and be self-motivated. He is so proud of his incremental accomplishments and we are both proud of him.

It's amazing how you can help kids to gain knowledge without being familiar with the material yourself.