| Growing Java Developers as Young as 13 Teaching Java to high-school and college students is now easier than ever thanks to BlueJ and Greenfoot, two easy-to-use Java programming environments. BlueJ is designed specifically for introductory teaching at the college and university levels, while Greenfoot is suitable for students ages 13 and up. Since 1999, BlueJ has been adopted by 1.6 million new users per year, downloaded 2.2 million times, and translated into 18 different languages, including Simplified Chinese, Russian, and Portuguese. Designed for the specific purpose of teaching object orientation with Java, BlueJ provides an intuitive interface and simplified teaching environment that’s ideal for first-year students. Special emphasis is placed on visualization and interaction techniques to create a highly interactive environment that encourages students to experiment and explore. In BlueJ, students interact with classes and objects. They can manipulate class structure graphically and textually. Objects can be created and the methods of any object can be called interactively. Released in 2007, Greenfoot is currently being downloaded 250,000 times a year and has about 230,000 active users in any one year. Like BlueJ, Greenfoot emphasizes visualization, enabling students to create simulations and interactive games. It combines a framework for creating 2D assignments in Java with an integrated development environment suitable for novice programmers. While it supports the full Java language, Greenfoot is especially useful for programming exercises that have a visual element. In Greenfoot, object visualization and object interaction are the key elements. Using Greenfoot, students learn Java in a fun and visually engaging way. In addition to their widespread adoption, both BlueJ and Greenfoot have been recognized for their educational value. In 2000, BlueJ won a software prize from the Smithsonian Institution. Greenfoot was awarded the Duke’s Choice Award in 2007 for extreme innovation of Java technology and in 2010 received the Premier Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Courseware. | 
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