4 ms·

Texico: Learn the principles of programming without even touching a computer

227 points by o4c 5mo ago

ivolimmen 5mo ago
This is really nice. I looked at one of the video's and it really speaks to me. I am a software developer and my wife is a teacher in a primary school. I have taught two classes with students that showed an intrest in programming. I used the Elevator Saga for the advanced students. With this I can have a more easier start. I want to do the "make me a sandwich" routine as well :D
- superrobots_edu 5mo ago
  [dead]
Thomashuet 5mo ago
There are some nice ideas but no continuity, it's just random bits put together. ♫ tekisco, tekisco, tekisco ♫
j_french 5mo ago
they had me at the theme tune. very charming, my kids are gonna lap this up
agentultra 5mo ago
There’s a similar program in the UK championed by Simon P Jones, one of the co-creators of Haskell. He’s also the chair of CAS and helped developed a national curriculum: https://www.computingatschool.org.uk/resources/2015/january/simon-peyton-joness-bookmarks/ https://www.computingatschool.org.uk/resources/2015/january/... I think it’s a neat and interesting way to teach programming. Having tried teaching kids of various ages, nieces and nephews and my own children, I find physical puzzles are more captivating and easier to relate to.
gwilikz 5mo ago
[dead]
beklein 5mo ago
Principles of programming: 1. Break things down into small units 2. Think about sequence 3. Find patterns 4. Focus on the important things 5. Visualize sequences in your mind Love the silly music and the way they teach, thanks for sharing this!
ninjin 5mo ago
The Japanese have some wonderful programming along these lines. For preschoolers there is PythagoraSwitch (ピタゴラスイッチ) [1] which features amazing Rube Goldberg machines, geometric reasoning, algorithmic thinking, etc. Sadly, NHK loves to keep their programmes under lock and key, so I could not find anything to share other than the name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PythagoraSwitch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PythagoraSwitch
- WillAdams 5mo ago
  Well, yeah, the first time they made a really big push technology-wise --- making TRON-OS the default OS for their entire educational system --- the US FTC prevailed upon the State Department to inform them that such an endeavour would be viewed as anti-competitive. I really wish that such things would instead be shared and celebrated and translated.
  - woolion 5mo ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRON_project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRON_project I did wonder, reading such a comment, whether it would be a hyperbole, but not only is it documented, it is way worse than that. The free market is only ever enforced in the direction that suits the US, and the vassal states get screwed.
    - WillAdams 5mo ago
      Yeah, the demo where they showed multiple videos being played in separate windows on an 80186 was _amazing_ --- I _really_ wish that using TRON-OS for desktop use on commodity hardware was well-documented --- in particular, it would be _awesome_ for an rPi.
    - _doctor_love 5mo ago
      > The free market is only ever enforced in the direction that suits the US I mean, come on. If it was free in both directions, the US might lose sometimes!! Sigh. It's so sad. Stuff like this is why free-marketeers (and in particular libertarians) earn my ire. There is not a single economy in the world that is an actually free market. Capital can move fairly freely and labor not at all.
qaid 5mo ago
My children (3,5,8) and I absolutely love this show. We’ve been watching one new episode every 1-2 weeks and they’re perfectly happy with rewatching. My eldest is able to understand most of it so we’ll rewatch again in 2 (and 4) years so the younger two can follow along. It’s a real treasure and I’m so thankful it exists (and is translated)
- wky 5mo ago
  As a heads up, NHK tends to remove videos from their site, probably due to contract stuff. It seems Texico starts expiring next year. Sometimes they “rebroadcast,” but for peace of mind make sure to download a personal copy.
  - BoingBoomTschak 5mo ago
    Thankfully, `yt-dlp https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/texico/ https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/texico/` Just Werked^tm.
    - digitalWestie 5mo ago
      huh, doesn't for me :/
bhagyeshsp 5mo ago
Though it looks like it is made for kids, adults can learn a lott from these. Superb resource. Thanks
threethirtytwo 5mo ago
Kids in Japan are really good at English.
- eptityri 5mo ago
  They do study English from primary school now: foreign-language activities in grades 3–4 and English as a subject in grades 5–6. But “they’re really good at English” is a big generalization. Years of English classes don’t necessarily translate into conversational fluency.
gojomo 5mo ago
Compare also 'Wonderblocks' from the Numberblocks people & BBC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderblocks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderblocks
hulitu 5mo ago
They already do that in schools in DE. It doesn't work as intended.

227 points by o4c 5mo ago

This is really nice. I looked at one of the video's and it really speaks to me. I am a software developer and my wife is a teacher in a primary school. I have taught two classes with students that showed an intrest in programming. I used the Elevator Saga for the advanced students. With this I can have a more easier start. I want to do the "make me a sandwich" routine as well :D

superrobots_edu 5mo ago
[dead]

Thomashuet 5mo ago

There are some nice ideas but no continuity, it's just random bits put together. ♫ tekisco, tekisco, tekisco ♫

j_french 5mo ago

they had me at the theme tune. very charming, my kids are gonna lap this up

agentultra 5mo ago

There’s a similar program in the UK championed by Simon P Jones, one of the co-creators of Haskell. He’s also the chair of CAS and helped developed a national curriculum: https://www.computingatschool.org.uk/resources/2015/january/simon-peyton-joness-bookmarks/ https://www.computingatschool.org.uk/resources/2015/january/... I think it’s a neat and interesting way to teach programming. Having tried teaching kids of various ages, nieces and nephews and my own children, I find physical puzzles are more captivating and easier to relate to.

gwilikz 5mo ago

[dead]

beklein 5mo ago

Principles of programming: 1. Break things down into small units 2. Think about sequence 3. Find patterns 4. Focus on the important things 5. Visualize sequences in your mind Love the silly music and the way they teach, thanks for sharing this!

ninjin 5mo ago

The Japanese have some wonderful programming along these lines. For preschoolers there is PythagoraSwitch (ピタゴラスイッチ) [1] which features amazing Rube Goldberg machines, geometric reasoning, algorithmic thinking, etc. Sadly, NHK loves to keep their programmes under lock and key, so I could not find anything to share other than the name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PythagoraSwitch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PythagoraSwitch

WillAdams 5mo ago
Well, yeah, the first time they made a really big push technology-wise --- making TRON-OS the default OS for their entire educational system --- the US FTC prevailed upon the State Department to inform them that such an endeavour would be viewed as anti-competitive. I really wish that such things would instead be shared and celebrated and translated.
- woolion 5mo ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRON_project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRON_project I did wonder, reading such a comment, whether it would be a hyperbole, but not only is it documented, it is way worse than that. The free market is only ever enforced in the direction that suits the US, and the vassal states get screwed.
  - WillAdams 5mo ago
    Yeah, the demo where they showed multiple videos being played in separate windows on an 80186 was _amazing_ --- I _really_ wish that using TRON-OS for desktop use on commodity hardware was well-documented --- in particular, it would be _awesome_ for an rPi.
  - _doctor_love 5mo ago
    > The free market is only ever enforced in the direction that suits the US I mean, come on. If it was free in both directions, the US might lose sometimes!! Sigh. It's so sad. Stuff like this is why free-marketeers (and in particular libertarians) earn my ire. There is not a single economy in the world that is an actually free market. Capital can move fairly freely and labor not at all.

qaid 5mo ago

My children (3,5,8) and I absolutely love this show. We’ve been watching one new episode every 1-2 weeks and they’re perfectly happy with rewatching. My eldest is able to understand most of it so we’ll rewatch again in 2 (and 4) years so the younger two can follow along. It’s a real treasure and I’m so thankful it exists (and is translated)

wky 5mo ago
As a heads up, NHK tends to remove videos from their site, probably due to contract stuff. It seems Texico starts expiring next year. Sometimes they “rebroadcast,” but for peace of mind make sure to download a personal copy.
- BoingBoomTschak 5mo ago
  Thankfully, `yt-dlp https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/texico/ https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/texico/` Just Werked^tm.
  - digitalWestie 5mo ago
    huh, doesn't for me :/

bhagyeshsp 5mo ago

Though it looks like it is made for kids, adults can learn a lott from these. Superb resource. Thanks

threethirtytwo 5mo ago

Kids in Japan are really good at English.

eptityri 5mo ago
They do study English from primary school now: foreign-language activities in grades 3–4 and English as a subject in grades 5–6. But “they’re really good at English” is a big generalization. Years of English classes don’t necessarily translate into conversational fluency.

gojomo 5mo ago

Compare also 'Wonderblocks' from the Numberblocks people & BBC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderblocks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderblocks

hulitu 5mo ago

They already do that in schools in DE. It doesn't work as intended.