PRAMONDO

For schools

Middle school coding, in the browser.

Pramondo is middle school coding that runs in the browser. Students need no installs and no accounts. They are never asked for a name or an email.

Every student starts with The Shell. Python opens after its Act 1. Act 1 of each course is free for every student.

How a class works

  1. The teacher signs in at Teachers with an email and a password, and makes a class.
  2. The class gets one code. Students type it in Pramondo.
  3. Each student waits until the teacher accepts them. Accepting is free.
  4. The roster shows each student by codename, with their progress.

Passes

A pass is spent when an accepted student opens Act 2 of any course. It unlocks every later act for that student, for good. A pass is never spent twice on the same student.

The roster shows Near Act 2 when a student is close, and Needs a pass when a student is waiting for one. Checkout is not on sale yet.

What students learn

The Shell teaches the command line: printing text, looking around, moving between folders, making files, variables and input. Python Act 1 covers print, variables, strings and input. Code is checked in the browser against hidden tests. See the courses.

The course is in plain English. Schools outside the UK and the US can use it for coding and English together (CLIL).

In the UK, The Shell and Python Act 1 fit KS3 computing: text-based programming in Python, variables, input and output.

Questions

Do students need an email or a school account?
No. Each student gets a generated codename and a ticket of five words. The ticket opens the same save on another device.
Do we need to install anything?
No. Pramondo runs in a current web browser. Python runs in the browser too.
What does it cost?
Act 1 of The Shell and Act 1 of Python are free. Later acts of both use one pass per student. Checkout is not on sale yet.
What happens if a student loses the ticket?
If a parent email is on the save, from a parent pass, a link to new ticket words can be mailed there. Otherwise the save needs the five words, so ask students to write the ticket down on the first day.
Is Pramondo dyslexia-friendly?
It has easier reading, which helps with reading the text. It puts each of the Architect’s sentences on its own line and adds a little space between letters, words and lines. It turns on by itself when a student misspells the ticket words at a few sign-ins, and nothing on the student’s screen names it. The roster shows it, and the teacher can turn it on or off for any student. It is not a diagnosis.
What data does Pramondo keep?
A codename, progress and a scrambled copy of the ticket words. Nothing that names a student. Read the privacy page.
What age is it for?
Middle school students, about 11 to 14. No coding experience is needed.
Make a class