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For many years, our students[0] have used Logo as an integral part of their math circle-style[1] classes. When we started Wally Feurzeig, one of the creators of

by imb 23d ago

For many years, our students[0] have used Logo as an integral part of their math circle-style[1] classes. When we started Wally Feurzeig, one of the creators of Logo, was instrumental in helping us incorporate ideas from Logo into the kind of non-standard problem solving that we were striving for. Turtle geometry is a particularly helpful "instrument of the mind" for exploring dynamic geometry. Our co-founder, Victor Gutenmacher, wrote an incredible book[2] on "geometry in motion," which gave a completely different perspective on geometry from the one seen in school and which our students could explore with the help of Logo. For many of our students, especially those with math anxiety, Logo was what enabled them to overcome that anxiety and discover the joy of thinking and tinkering. Many programmers today have fond memories of getting into programming via Logo, but I would argue that despite the current blistering pace of progress, it remains one of the best and gentlest introductions to problem solving and computational thinking. [0] https://www.gentleknowledge.com/ https://www.gentleknowledge.com/ [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Math_circle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Math_circle [2] https://www.amazon.com/dp/0817641610 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0817641610

abecedarius 22d ago
Was [2] meant to be https://www.amazon.com/Lines-Curves-Practical-Geometry-Handbook/dp/0817641610/ https://www.amazon.com/Lines-Curves-Practical-Geometry-Handb... ? In my browser your link brought up a page with no book. I found the above by searching for Gutenmacher.
- imb 22d ago
  The original link seems to work for me, but yes, the book is "Lines and Curves: A Practical Geometry Handbook"
princetonpoh98 22d ago
I'm curious! 1. Are your students still using LOGO? (if yes, which one? if no, what did you moved on to?) 2. Given everything you've said about LOGO, including how it transforms the student's relation with math from anxiety to joy of tinkering, do you think that LOGO should be learned by everyone? 3. Hate to be the guy bringing AI into this but, but do you mind expanding on your arguments on why LOGO still has a place admits this blistering pace of progress?
- imb 22d ago
  1. Students with no prior programming experience start with Logo (in-house version). 2. Logo is of course not strictly necessary, but for beginners, especially if they have had no interest in coding or have math/problem solving anxiety it seems like an excellent way to go based on our experience. 3. It's easier to get started coding using Logo than almost any other language/platform. Just a few characters (eg. fd 100) gives you an animation. As AI can now generate extremely complex code, it helps to have an easy to use language that someone can use to learn what coding is all about without getting stuck in (initially) unnecessary details. Logo is also not primarily about programming, but mostly about thinking and problem solving in a relatively simple environment that allows quick feedback to the learner. Logo is, of course, not the right tool for learning how operating systems, databases, CPUs, work.
  - princetonpoh98 22d ago
    Thank you for sharing! Is it possible to try your inhouse LOGO? :)

by imb 23d ago

abecedarius 22d ago

Was [2] meant to be https://www.amazon.com/Lines-Curves-Practical-Geometry-Handbook/dp/0817641610/ https://www.amazon.com/Lines-Curves-Practical-Geometry-Handb... ? In my browser your link brought up a page with no book. I found the above by searching for Gutenmacher.

imb 22d ago
The original link seems to work for me, but yes, the book is "Lines and Curves: A Practical Geometry Handbook"

princetonpoh98 22d ago

I'm curious! 1. Are your students still using LOGO? (if yes, which one? if no, what did you moved on to?) 2. Given everything you've said about LOGO, including how it transforms the student's relation with math from anxiety to joy of tinkering, do you think that LOGO should be learned by everyone? 3. Hate to be the guy bringing AI into this but, but do you mind expanding on your arguments on why LOGO still has a place admits this blistering pace of progress?

imb 22d ago
1. Students with no prior programming experience start with Logo (in-house version). 2. Logo is of course not strictly necessary, but for beginners, especially if they have had no interest in coding or have math/problem solving anxiety it seems like an excellent way to go based on our experience. 3. It's easier to get started coding using Logo than almost any other language/platform. Just a few characters (eg. fd 100) gives you an animation. As AI can now generate extremely complex code, it helps to have an easy to use language that someone can use to learn what coding is all about without getting stuck in (initially) unnecessary details. Logo is also not primarily about programming, but mostly about thinking and problem solving in a relatively simple environment that allows quick feedback to the learner. Logo is, of course, not the right tool for learning how operating systems, databases, CPUs, work.
- princetonpoh98 22d ago
  Thank you for sharing! Is it possible to try your inhouse LOGO? :)