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Cool! I am wondering if this will help teach programming to the next generation. I learned how to program using BASIC on the Amstrad CPC but back then it was t

by Yuioup 12y ago

Cool! I am wondering if this will help teach programming to the next generation. I learned how to program using BASIC on the Amstrad CPC but back then it was the only computer in the house. Nowadays there are so many programming environments to choose from. So where to start if you want to teach kids nowadays how to program? Will SmileBASIC be a good start?

emsy 12y ago
Unity, Android, XCode. This is already happening. You can take games and start to learn programming top down instead of bottom up. Take a ready made game, make modifications and see what's happening (similar to the turtle exercises where you programatically draw a picture using a predefined API and later learn how to implement the actual drawing API). Apple is currently undergoing an effort to teach programming using Swift and the Swift REPL (http://www.apple.com/swift/ http://www.apple.com/swift/) I think it's much easier to get the current generation interested in programming using games and instant gratification (according to some teachers I talked to, there seems to be a trend for pupils not engaging in challenges, see also http://marshnaylor.kinja.com/my-stepson-plays-video-games-on-easy-1567247724 http://marshnaylor.kinja.com/my-stepson-plays-video-games-on...) When I started learning programming it was really hard to accquire information and no one knew how to program so I couldn't get a mentor. Nowadays it's much easier to get all you need to get started learning programming. Which absolutely good, but there is a life lesson in this difficulty to accquire information that the current generation will probably never learn. I think it will be really hard to engage kids into learning programming bottom up, but YMMV.
- muyuu 12y ago
  I don't think these environments are very amenable to kids or complete n00bs. This other thing is something that is made with that demographic firmly in mind instead of an afterthought.
- Yuioup 12y ago
  I doubt my 8 year old nephew would like to be introduced to Unity, Android or XCode as his first experience with programming.
- dragonbonheur 12y ago
  It takes less than a week to be productive in any modern dialect of BASIC. How long for Unity/XCode/Swift/Android?
  - emsy 12y ago
    It's not about being productive. It's about engaging a younger generation into programming.
    - dragonbonheur 12y ago
      How do you get children engaged into programming if you deny them the chance of finishing their projects fast? Are you actually claiming that the experience that modern versions of BASIC provide cannot be applied to other languages?
TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago
For simple games, something like Game Maker is great. You can start off with simple drag-and-drop commands, and scale up to using the somewhat C-like language, Game Maker Language.

by Yuioup 12y ago

emsy 12y ago

Unity, Android, XCode. This is already happening. You can take games and start to learn programming top down instead of bottom up. Take a ready made game, make modifications and see what's happening (similar to the turtle exercises where you programatically draw a picture using a predefined API and later learn how to implement the actual drawing API). Apple is currently undergoing an effort to teach programming using Swift and the Swift REPL (http://www.apple.com/swift/ http://www.apple.com/swift/) I think it's much easier to get the current generation interested in programming using games and instant gratification (according to some teachers I talked to, there seems to be a trend for pupils not engaging in challenges, see also http://marshnaylor.kinja.com/my-stepson-plays-video-games-on-easy-1567247724 http://marshnaylor.kinja.com/my-stepson-plays-video-games-on...) When I started learning programming it was really hard to accquire information and no one knew how to program so I couldn't get a mentor. Nowadays it's much easier to get all you need to get started learning programming. Which absolutely good, but there is a life lesson in this difficulty to accquire information that the current generation will probably never learn. I think it will be really hard to engage kids into learning programming bottom up, but YMMV.

muyuu 12y ago
I don't think these environments are very amenable to kids or complete n00bs. This other thing is something that is made with that demographic firmly in mind instead of an afterthought.
Yuioup 12y ago
I doubt my 8 year old nephew would like to be introduced to Unity, Android or XCode as his first experience with programming.
dragonbonheur 12y ago
It takes less than a week to be productive in any modern dialect of BASIC. How long for Unity/XCode/Swift/Android?
- emsy 12y ago
  It's not about being productive. It's about engaging a younger generation into programming.
  - dragonbonheur 12y ago
    How do you get children engaged into programming if you deny them the chance of finishing their projects fast? Are you actually claiming that the experience that modern versions of BASIC provide cannot be applied to other languages?

TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago

For simple games, something like Game Maker is great. You can start off with simple drag-and-drop commands, and scale up to using the somewhat C-like language, Game Maker Language.