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When I was ~9, my parents bought me a book called "Wrote your own adventure programs for your microcomputer" [1] (Well, the Spanish version [2]) I remember read

When I was ~9, my parents bought me a book called "Wrote your own adventure programs for your microcomputer" [1] (Well, the Spanish version [2]) I remember reading and reading and reading it, and not understanding it... I tried to replicate some of the ideas, but I think it was quite dense (and the translation was not very good). The curious thing is that, when I properly started learning programming in college, I remembered that book, and a lot of things started make sense... I say all this for two thing: - I think is brilliant that there are books specifically teaching basic programming to kids, so more of them is great news - Making a good programming book at that age is challenging, so please let it be good This is, IMHO, an entry point, to give a taste of what programming is, so kids can try themselves later in front of a computer. Not sure what the best approach is, and I'm not convinced about the "story" approach, as I am not sure if it's interactive enough (as showing exercises). But, hey, there should be some options, and giving Linda's experience, I guess she has a better knowledge about teaching than me. So I'm sure it will be great So, kudos to Linda... ;-) [1] http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3384/5718165821_2ce65d26fd_z.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3384/5718165821_2ce65d26fd_z.j... [2] http://www.paraquenoseolviden.com/gallery2/v/electronica/programa_aventuras/01.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=1 http://www.paraquenoseolviden.com/gallery2/v/electronica/pro...

Avitas 13y ago
"This is, IMHO, an entry point, to give a taste of what programming is, so kids can try themselves later in front of a computer." - I suspect that this compartmentalized targeting (esp. to younger demographics) really should be explored with other projects... ...Arduino, BSD/Linux/*nix, Py, JS, and so forth.
leoc 13y ago
Those old Usborne programming books were very nicely presented. /Adventure Programs/ http://www.worldcat.org/title/adventure-programs/oclc/10401114 http://www.worldcat.org/title/adventure-programs/oclc/104011... and /Fantasy Games/ http://www.worldcat.org/title/fantasy-games/oclc/12824029 http://www.worldcat.org/title/fantasy-games/oclc/12824029 had a nice balance between luring you with the game and its setting, and drawing you into how it was implemented as a BASIC program. The high-quality art supported both goals too. (You can see a zipped PDF of /Adventure Games/ here: http://www.bombjack.org/commodore/books/pdf/Write_your_own_Adventure_Programs.zip http://www.bombjack.org/commodore/books/pdf/Write_your_own_A... at this site for computer-book abandonware http://www.bombjack.org/commodore/books-generic.htm http://www.bombjack.org/commodore/books-generic.htm .) Still, there was a big old gulf between reading the colour section describing the program and actually trying to understand the big program listing at the back. /Introduction to Computer Programing/ http://www.worldcat.org/title/introduction-to-computer-programming/oclc/20507511 http://www.worldcat.org/title/introduction-to-computer-progr... is better in that respect, but unlike /Fantasy Games/ and /Adventure Games/ it stopped short of presenting any program as complex as a full interactive simulation.
- jlees 13y ago
  Oh my goodness. I learnt to code using that book (Adventure Games)! It wasn't the only one, and as you say the big program at the back is somewhat mystical, but I remember it being instrumental in demystifying how a game was put together.

Avitas 13y ago

"This is, IMHO, an entry point, to give a taste of what programming is, so kids can try themselves later in front of a computer." - I suspect that this compartmentalized targeting (esp. to younger demographics) really should be explored with other projects... ...Arduino, BSD/Linux/*nix, Py, JS, and so forth.

leoc 13y ago

Those old Usborne programming books were very nicely presented. /Adventure Programs/ http://www.worldcat.org/title/adventure-programs/oclc/10401114 http://www.worldcat.org/title/adventure-programs/oclc/104011... and /Fantasy Games/ http://www.worldcat.org/title/fantasy-games/oclc/12824029 http://www.worldcat.org/title/fantasy-games/oclc/12824029 had a nice balance between luring you with the game and its setting, and drawing you into how it was implemented as a BASIC program. The high-quality art supported both goals too. (You can see a zipped PDF of /Adventure Games/ here: http://www.bombjack.org/commodore/books/pdf/Write_your_own_Adventure_Programs.zip http://www.bombjack.org/commodore/books/pdf/Write_your_own_A... at this site for computer-book abandonware http://www.bombjack.org/commodore/books-generic.htm http://www.bombjack.org/commodore/books-generic.htm .) Still, there was a big old gulf between reading the colour section describing the program and actually trying to understand the big program listing at the back. /Introduction to Computer Programing/ http://www.worldcat.org/title/introduction-to-computer-programming/oclc/20507511 http://www.worldcat.org/title/introduction-to-computer-progr... is better in that respect, but unlike /Fantasy Games/ and /Adventure Games/ it stopped short of presenting any program as complex as a full interactive simulation.

jlees 13y ago
Oh my goodness. I learnt to code using that book (Adventure Games)! It wasn't the only one, and as you say the big program at the back is somewhat mystical, but I remember it being instrumental in demystifying how a game was put together.