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> The sheer explorative value of a quick interpretive language like BASIC cannot be understated. I think that's the first time I've seen 'quick' and BASIC in t
by guenthert 2y ago
> The sheer explorative value of a quick interpretive language like BASIC cannot be understated.
I think that's the first time I've seen 'quick' and BASIC in the same sentence.
Gosh, yes, I, like many of my generation, started out with BASIC. No reason to impose that on the next. We don't teach slide rulers in school either anymore.
Something interactive, fairly save and not too mind wrecking would be nice. I'm no educator, but my best guess would be something like Racket.
- vunderba 2y agoI don't think anyone is imposing anything - if a child is having fun, there's no need to force them into any specific language or framework. I was referring more to "quick" in the sense of quick to get started, no installation, since it was "bundled" with the vast majority of systems. And since a lot of computer is booted directly to some version of basic in the ROM, it was pretty frictionless. Heh I don't think slide rules are a very relevant comparison - since you don't really build things with slide rules. A better analogy would be building with Legos versus building with Minecraft. It comes down to what you want to teach as an educator, most kids are obviously going to be happier with something that's visual and interactive, whereas the teacher wants to emphasize concepts like logic and flow control. A happy medium might be something like scratch.