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Do you have any knowledge whether there's still much of this going on? I remember futzing around with TI Basic and downloading/sharing more complex games from

Do you have any knowledge whether there's still much of this going on? I remember futzing around with TI Basic and downloading/sharing more complex games from others... but we didn't have smartphones then. I just wonder to what extent students still care about that stuff today. I suppose there's still some appeal from the "look like you're doing work" factor if nothing else.

morninglight 4y ago
The Raspberry Pi Pico has opened the door to young experimenters thanks to the MMBasic programming language from Geoff Graham. There are several excellent videos that explain the setup and operation. The Pico is actually available for $4. The software and manual (PDF) are free to download. It is super easy to get started - 5 minutes and you're writing software that can solve problems and control I/O. PicoMite: Running BASIC on a Raspberry Pi Pico https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxmjy1nz6MM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxmjy1nz6MM PicoMiteVGA Raspberry Pi Pico Running BASIC on VGA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIK1ujslHHI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIK1ujslHHI ....
- pfyra 4y ago
  Yes yes, but the pico is a lot harder to program during class while looking like you are doing school work.
BoorishBears 4y ago
It's funny reading this thread where everyone is leaning towards "those dang kids and their smartphones are missing out" while ignoring things like Roblox, where entire economies are being built of the creativity of kids
- morelisp 4y ago
  I don’t want economies, I want kids to have genuine, self-directed creative outlets. At best today Roblox is baby’s first hustle culture.
  - BoorishBears 4y ago
    You're kidding right? Having "Robux" instead of the imaginary karma random forums, or the points different game portals had, or literally just the grind for downloads some people had somehow dashes the incredible stuff kids are inventing for play by other kids? Kids will not somehow be ruined by having an outward reward for the creativity. It doesn't work like that.
- zerocrates 4y ago
  Just to clarify, I don't mean that kids are not programming or making games in whatever form, just that they might not care to do so on a frozen-in-time TI calculator as much as used to be the case, so the "silver lining" of an unnecessarily expensive TI calculator being a child's first programming environment might not really exist anymore. As you say, kids have many other options today.

morninglight 4y ago

The Raspberry Pi Pico has opened the door to young experimenters thanks to the MMBasic programming language from Geoff Graham. There are several excellent videos that explain the setup and operation. The Pico is actually available for $4. The software and manual (PDF) are free to download. It is super easy to get started - 5 minutes and you're writing software that can solve problems and control I/O. PicoMite: Running BASIC on a Raspberry Pi Pico https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxmjy1nz6MM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxmjy1nz6MM PicoMiteVGA Raspberry Pi Pico Running BASIC on VGA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIK1ujslHHI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIK1ujslHHI ....

pfyra 4y ago
Yes yes, but the pico is a lot harder to program during class while looking like you are doing school work.

BoorishBears 4y ago

It's funny reading this thread where everyone is leaning towards "those dang kids and their smartphones are missing out" while ignoring things like Roblox, where entire economies are being built of the creativity of kids

morelisp 4y ago
I don’t want economies, I want kids to have genuine, self-directed creative outlets. At best today Roblox is baby’s first hustle culture.
- BoorishBears 4y ago
  You're kidding right? Having "Robux" instead of the imaginary karma random forums, or the points different game portals had, or literally just the grind for downloads some people had somehow dashes the incredible stuff kids are inventing for play by other kids? Kids will not somehow be ruined by having an outward reward for the creativity. It doesn't work like that.
zerocrates 4y ago
Just to clarify, I don't mean that kids are not programming or making games in whatever form, just that they might not care to do so on a frozen-in-time TI calculator as much as used to be the case, so the "silver lining" of an unnecessarily expensive TI calculator being a child's first programming environment might not really exist anymore. As you say, kids have many other options today.