I wish there was something like repl.it but with an even more basic UI (but which still allowed saving and sharing of programs). Super-beginners don't need version control or a debugger, and I worry that extra visual noise draws away brain power when you're starting out.

We use Trinket.io at my Girls Who Code club (or did before Coronavirus mayhem shut it down). It has the simpler interface, but one huge flaw—the free version is some kind of weird hybrid interpreter that will attempt to run both python 2 and python 3 code (in the same program, even).

Repl.it CEO here, I'm curious which noise are you talking about? Here is how the empty python environment looks like (editor, console, and a huge green run button): https://answer-on-hn.amasad.repl.co/python.png

We continue to test with kids and they intuitively get it with little instructions. If you want to make the environment even simpler just add "?lite=1" to the url and it will look like this: https://answer-on-hn.amasad.repl.co/lite.png

Thank you! What I really want is that left sidebar gone (Files, Version Control, Packages, Debugger, Settings). Kids starting out don't need any of it.

Oh ok. I'll think about that. Slightly off topic but I just made a BASIC environment designed for kids learning to code. The theory is BASIC is still one of the best way languages to start with. Let me know if you try it:

- https://repl.it/languages/basic

- docs: https://docs.repl.it/misc/basic

I must admit that I had heard of repl.it in the past, but never gave it a thought.

I tend to use Jupyter because it's easy to sho, relatively easy to use, and I can distribute its documents. But installing it gives newcomers a lot of trouble, which is a shame.

I'll look more at repl.it! I'm not sure if/when/how I'll use it, but knowing about additional, newbie-friendly tools is crucial in my line of work, and helps me to improve my classes.

Absolutely -- one of the tools I wish more classrooms used.

Even in a CS program, its surprising how difficult it is for many students to provision the correct software.