Pencil Code (programming language)

{{for|the Fortran library for solving partial differential equations|Pencil Code}}

Pencil Code is an educational programming language and website. It allows programming using Scratch-style block coding or CoffeeScript.{{Cite book |last1=Bau |first1=David |last2=Bau |first2=D. Anthony |last3=Dawson |first3=Mathew |last4=Pickens |first4=C. Sydney |chapter=Pencil code: Block code for a text world |date=2015-06-21 |title=Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children |chapter-url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2771839.2771875 |language=en |publisher=ACM |pages=445–448 |doi=10.1145/2771839.2771875 |isbn=978-1-4503-3590-4}}{{Cite web |last=Edwards |first=Luke |date=2023-06-29 |title=What is Pencil Code and How Can It Be Used for Teaching? Tips & Tricks |url=https://www.techlearning.com/how-to/what-is-pencil-code-and-how-can-it-be-used-for-teaching-tips-and-tricks |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=TechLearningMagazine |language=en}} Code runs directly in the web browser and can be shared with others. The language centers on a model of a pencil programmatically drawing on a 2-dimensional screen, with the pencil cursor visually depicted as a turtle.

A 2019 study by Deng et al. in an eight-week teaching intervention comparing text-based and block-based environments found that students learning in a mixed environment had improved confidence and computational thinking.{{Cite journal |last1=Deng |first1=Wenbo |last2=Pi |first2=Zhongling |last3=Lei |first3=Weina |last4=Zhou |first4=Qingguo |last5=Zhang |first5=Wenlan |date=2019-10-17 |title=Pencil Code improves learners' computational thinking and computer learning attitude |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cae.22177 |journal=Computer Applications in Engineering Education |language=en |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=90–104 |doi=10.1002/cae.22177 |issn=1061-3773}}