Soon teachers and others began to develop computer programs intended to teach specific lessons. These programs ranged from drill and practice to simulations. Today the situation is very different. Software has become a giant industry, with many choices available in all categories. Another factor in the changing view of programming is the increasing complexity and sophistication of user interfaces.
Kids expect arcade-quality animation and a graphical user interface.
The programs that they can write themselves don't meet that standard. These are the roots of the current conventional wisdom that programming, as an activity for students, is obsolete. People want to program. If you ask most computer users, they'll tell you that they don't want to program. But the people who say they don't want to program are wrong.