Flashing my knickers in public

[richmond62]

I have just got this in my inbox:
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and replied:
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Anyone who wants to lob me some ideas . . . Please, please do.
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https://helloworld.raspberrypi.org/

[Newbie4]

Here are some rough ideas of short simple projects that you could do every few days

You could do the following:
Teach them buttons - (mouse up) and write programs
- that play different sounds (download free sound effects for them to use)
- that change background colors
- that changes images (dog, cat, etc)
- that answers questions on the screen
- that moves an object left/right/in a square/random (move ... to the points of...)


Have them write a program using just dialog boxes (answer, answer with, ask, etc)
examples:
- greeting program, then one that asks their name
- Program that asks riddles, or tells jokes
- guess my number?
- ask what year they were born, then tell them their age

Teach the if statement, then have programs to
- greet them with "Mr" or "Miss"
- Stump me!

Teach Get and Put then have them write a program to
- ask, then greet them by name
- a math practice game, where they give a math problem (12+12=) and checks the answer
- a program that calculates the area of a square/rectangle if you type in the sides

Teach them about cards and gotos, then write a
- greeting card program - (happy birthday, open the card to see my greeting...)

Teach them show/hide/set the property of..to .. (size/color/visible/etc), then write programs to
- make things appear/disappear
- have them grow/shrink/move
- change a frog to a princess

each them grab, mouseMove and Intersect, then write programs
- educational match games (match colors, shapes, etc )

Teach them timers (put the seconds into tStart, put the seconds into tEnd, you took tEnd-tStart seconds..), then write programs
- time some activity (hold your breath, count to 100, clap 10 times,...)
- time some reaction - clicking buttons, etc (use ticks instead of seconds)
- who can click first?

Teach them revSpeak, and changing the pitch and speed, then write programs to
- tell jokes
- tell jokes at different speeds or pitches

I am sure that you can adjust the programs to the level of the students and come up with more creative programs/challenges for them to do.On your piece that you send to the magazine, you can discuss the programming concepts taught with each project. Keep them simple based on the age but allow for better students to add enhancements.

Hope this helps...

[richmond62]

We met in Edinburgh about 12 years ago, and I still recall the wonderful impression you made on me.

Thank you so much.

HOWEVER that seems to be a list of what I can do in my upcoming classes and NOT what I should be writing about in that article.

[Newbie4]

Thank you for your nice words. I never cease to be amazed of what you are doing in your classes and the cool projects that you come up with.

I should think that she wants you to explain the concepts and skills that you will be teaching them and how you do it.

Take her up on her offer to send you guidance documents and a template.

Good job,
Thanks

[SparkOut]

I am not an educator, I can only surmise, but from my viewpoint I would suggest focusing on a very basic intro to the LiveCode syntax paradigm and moving on to WHY LiveCode would be of value to this stage of learning cohort.

In my view the structure of the language introduces [mathematical/programming/data processing] concepts in an easily digested way, reducing barriers to understanding what/how/why the computer is performing operations. BUT it is not JUST an entry-level language, dumbed-down for kids to start off with.

LiveCode is not outgrown. As you become more proficient in its syntax, you also become more proficient in cognitive task analysis. It CAN lead to a higher-speed conversion into other more well known and popular languages, as you have already reported often. However, it is also a valuable RAD tool that can produce professional level software, in a fraction of the time that dev teams might require in other languages [citation needed, I am sure Richard has some examples].

If a student is engaged with LiveCode at an early stage, it can spark a progression into "programming" and give students "an advantage" in C++ or Python or Javascript courses. A student need not "progress" away from LiveCode to take advantage of the skills learnt. One may also continue to use LiveCode for genuinely productive software, but also anyone who has used LiveCode but doesn't continue onto a programming path will take away cognitive and analytical skills that are useful in any career direction, without having been "forced" into a more alien programming knowledge.

[SparkOut]

Code: Select all

get the width of field "myField"
put it into myVar
subtract 20 from myVar
set the width of field "myField" to myVar

shows the easy introduction to the language (verbose)

Code: Select all

set the width of field "myField" to the width of field "myField" - 20

shows the same natural language concept but more condensed. It's not more "advanced" but you can see a streamlining. I guess that's not a really helpful example but maybe you can pick something and show how "beginner" concepts are not "beginner" as in no-code Scratch style environments are, but they are "beginner - easy" to pick up.

[richmond62]

easy introduction

That may be easy to the likes of Thee, but the 'Hello World' magazine is aimed at the type of School teachers
who wonder how a computer can work without Windows and their charges at state schools where standards both
of what is "taught" in classrooms and children vary considerably.
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Took part in a video conference with types like that about 5 years ago, and was explaining that in my school the computers
run Linux, to which a lead "Computers and IT" teacher asked, "Which type of Windows is that?"

I can assure you that "Computers and IT" as it is implemented in a lot of schools
means "How to write an email to Granny, using a Paint program, using MS Word and SFA."

The magazine is mind-blowingly short on Developmental Psychology and how one might cope with the undisputed fact that
a 9 year old cannot wrap his/her head round abstract concepts.

[richmond62]

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