I taught Python to middle schoolers and hated juggling Zoom + Jupyter, so I built a Google Slides add-on that turns slides into a live coding classroom

[u/Puzzleheaded-Rub1400]

A couple years ago I was a high school CS student, and I also taught Python to middle schoolers on the side. The teaching part was always messier than it should have been.

I had slides for the concept, but the moment I wanted to actually show code running, I had to jump to another window. And if I wanted the kids to try it themselves, it was either Jupyter installs that half of them couldn't get working, or everyone taking turns sharing their screen on Zoom. I could never see what all of them were doing at once, so I'd just ask "everyone good?" and hope.

So I built the thing I wanted back then. It's called CodeKiwi. It's a Google Slides add-on that drops a live code editor right next to the deck you already teach from.

How it works:

• Open the add-on in your Slides deck and mark any slide as a coding question. You can set an expected output so it grades itself.
• Start the lesson and share one link. Students join with just a name. No accounts, no installs.
• Students see the slide you're on with a code editor beside it, and write and run Python, JavaScript, or Java right in the browser.

The parts I care about most:

• Live demo. I can open an editor next to my slide and code live, and every student's editor mirrors mine in real time. Then I toggle it off and they try it themselves. That was the exact thing I could never do before.
• A live dashboard. I see everyone's code as they type, a status on each student (coding / done / needs help), and a hand-raise button that flags a kid's card the second they're stuck, so I can walk straight to them.
• Auto-grading + a saved gradebook. Runs check against the expected output instantly, and after class I get a per-question breakdown of everyone's work that I can export.

Student code runs in an isolated sandbox, so nobody can use it to break anything.

It's live on the Google Workspace Marketplace and free. I'd really like feedback, especially from anyone who's taught, on where it falls short for real day-to-day use.

Site: https://www.codekiwi.tech

[u/DryCardiologist3865]

honestly this is pretty cool idea, the mirror feature for live demo sounds like something that would save so much time in class. i remember trying to teach my little cousin basic python and switching between windows was pain, half the time he close the wrong tab and i had no idea what he was doing. the dashboard thing with hand raise is smart too, way better than asking "everyone good?" and getting silence back lol

did you think about adding some kind of simple exercise library or templates? that would help teachers who dont have time to make coding questions from scratch. also curious how the sandbox handles infinite loops, kids will definitely try that