Programming with Hedy for Indonesian Junior High Schools

Programming is one of the must-have skills for the future digital native generation. However, it is sometimes challenging to learn programming. Many assume that programming is complex and only related to knowledgeable people. Recently, many tools have been available to introduce programming. One is the Hedy programming language, which specializes in gradually helping the younger generation learn programming based on the natural language approach. This research evaluates how the Hedy programming language would help students improve their programming skills. We have inspected two fundamental questions regarding students' performance and challenges that need to be addressed in the future. The eighteen levels of the Hedy programming language are divided into five modules offered in a seven-session format, including one Python introduction session and one project. In each Hedy session, a pre- and post-test will be conducted. Based on the results, we analyze the impact of Hedy in a class setting. Five junior high schools with 351 students were involved in this study. The students showed improvement points, with an average mean of 12.91.