[plt-scheme] 3rd-8th Grade

My 3rd grader is sitting right behind me working on a computer, but  
composing music, using Practica Musica.  The editor does some funny  
things (leading to occasional outbursts), so I heartily second Matt's  
recommendation that interactions should be "positive, authentic,  
constructive, fun."

At LL3, Taiichi Yuasa presented "XS: Lisp on Lego MindStorms."  I  
think my kids are at the age where they would enjoy it.  See:  http:// 
ll3.ai.mit.edu/abstracts.html

I mentioned to Tim Hickey that I had some downtime, and he wrote  
back, "I've spoken to many parents that are looking for a way to get  
their kids interested in programming. Building a JScheme tutorial  
especially for kids might fill a need!"

Geoffrey
--
Geoffrey S. Knauth | http://knauth.org/gsk


On Mar 18, 2006, at 12:33, Richard Cleis wrote:

> I dropped in on the fifth meeting of a robot club for children in  
> grades 3 through 8.  The Robots were made from Lego kits and the  
> task was to remove toxic waste barrels (soup cans) from a warehouse  
> (a 4 foot circle).  The programs were 'written' with drag-drop  
> icons and transferred to the independent robots.
>
> It was very encouraging to see how well the children could change  
> the designs to eventually make a successful machine.  It was also  
> illuminating to see them blame the software for everything, just  
> like in an adult laboratory.
>
> I wonder, though, about the 100% drag-drop programming.  I am  
> neither a father nor an educator, so I am asking those who are:  
> shouldn't the children at least see some words that cause the  
> movements, if not be encouraged to type a few?