Children are growing up with technology and often find it far more intuitive than many adults do using every-day applications. However with the benefit of using seemingly easy applications and devices, children often miss the complexity that lies behind it. Some teenagers show an interest in technology and want to start coding their own websites and finding out how things work, but for others there is no interest there. Mockup tools could be a useful resource to ignite this interest. By bringing mockup tools into the classroom, teachers can encourage children to plan applications complete with basic simulations and then go through the steps of how to code in HTML.
The benefits of using a mockup tool is that it both limits the children from planning applications with extremely complex interactions and also gives them a diverse range of UI elements to choose from. Mockup tools are quick and easy to use, which means that children of all abilities should be able to put a couple of pages together without difficulty. With this as a basis to work from, the children can then begin to learn the basics of HTML. Even if the goal of the exercise is not to learn programming, with mockup tools, children can learn the basics of the structure of a website and the importance of user experience design. All this should lead to a deeper interest in technology, web design and the processes behind this. There are many mockup tools out there that are available freely for educational purposes.
