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I must be missing something. Why would a kid get excited about making a 5x5 array of LEDs to blink when they can easily program a ~2000x1000 array of lights (th

by viubui 10y ago

I must be missing something. Why would a kid get excited about making a 5x5 array of LEDs to blink when they can easily program a ~2000x1000 array of lights (their laptop/phone/tablet screen) using their browser ?

stinos 10y ago
they can easily program a ~2000x1000 array of lights Easy for you doesn't mean easy for a 6 year old. Is there really easy pixel-by-pixel programming on any of the devices you mention? As simple as entering few lines of python code and pressing 1 single button? Let alone with direct full-screen access? (I'm really curious, maybe there is). Also check the example: like 15 lines of Python which make the device play a tone based on the compass. Again: I'm really curious if there are alternatives which achieve this is such an easy way (IIRC even the simplest Arduino style boards I tried required installing an IDE, fiddling with some settings, and the code wasn't nearly as easy as Python). And I'm also not sure if laptop/phone would be amongst those alternatives.
abritinthebay 10y ago
You certainly are missing many things. What you describe is several orders of magnitude more complex to do for a child. It's like saying "why would they build a 2d game with Scratch when they could build a 3D FPS in C++?"
- viubui 10y ago
  actually I was going to suggest Scratch as the sensible alternative! Or Logo or Smalltalk but is drawing shapes with Canvas or SVG really more difficult than blinking an LED with Python ?
  - TheOtherHobbes 10y ago
    Yes. Much. I have some experience of trying to teach kids how to use a Pi, and even simple Python part can be a nightmare. SVG is a non-starter. Also, don't underestimate the fact that the LEDs feel physical while a screen feels virtual. The journey from a single light to an array of lights to shapes shown on the array to shapes shown on a screen is intuitive and fairly obvious. If you start kids on a screen, even with a turtle, they miss the basics.

by viubui 10y ago

stinos 10y ago

they can easily program a ~2000x1000 array of lights Easy for you doesn't mean easy for a 6 year old. Is there really easy pixel-by-pixel programming on any of the devices you mention? As simple as entering few lines of python code and pressing 1 single button? Let alone with direct full-screen access? (I'm really curious, maybe there is). Also check the example: like 15 lines of Python which make the device play a tone based on the compass. Again: I'm really curious if there are alternatives which achieve this is such an easy way (IIRC even the simplest Arduino style boards I tried required installing an IDE, fiddling with some settings, and the code wasn't nearly as easy as Python). And I'm also not sure if laptop/phone would be amongst those alternatives.

abritinthebay 10y ago

You certainly are missing many things. What you describe is several orders of magnitude more complex to do for a child. It's like saying "why would they build a 2d game with Scratch when they could build a 3D FPS in C++?"

viubui 10y ago
actually I was going to suggest Scratch as the sensible alternative! Or Logo or Smalltalk but is drawing shapes with Canvas or SVG really more difficult than blinking an LED with Python ?
- TheOtherHobbes 10y ago
  Yes. Much. I have some experience of trying to teach kids how to use a Pi, and even simple Python part can be a nightmare. SVG is a non-starter. Also, don't underestimate the fact that the LEDs feel physical while a screen feels virtual. The journey from a single light to an array of lights to shapes shown on the array to shapes shown on a screen is intuitive and fairly obvious. If you start kids on a screen, even with a turtle, they miss the basics.