[Edu-sig] More pipeline developments

[kirby urner]

> The .exe is just a self-extracting zip-archive. You can run the .image
> included with squeaks VM on Linux as well. If you use the archives
> directory-structure as is, the only thing not working is the
> fullscreen-presentation-mode.
>
> Three or four weeks from now I'm going to use Scratch with my 7th-graders
> at a German Gymnasium as starting point to teach them algorithmic
> thinking, which I consider it a _really_ good tool for. I don't have to
> care about syntax or typewriting and am able to focus on the core
> concepts from the very beginning.
>
> Markus

Thank you Markus.

Yes, I think the ability to drag an instruction
(like a puzzle piece) then click on it to see
immediate sprite behavior (like a command line),
then combine it with other instructions and
feeding these chunks to yellow control structure
puzzle pieces  (e.g. "forever") including event
triggers (when green flagged, when clicked) is
both brilliantly conceived (yes, there's lineage
behind it) and cleanly implemented.  Thank
you MIT.

I think with toyz like this it's important to
emphasize to kids what they're learning (e.g.
"about control structures" like you said), or
they might think they're being patronized, as
the resulting sprite dances aren't really ready
for prime time in a film making sense, nor is
this an easily sharable medium, ala the omni-
present Flash and/or Shockwave.

But the point isn't film making.  You'd use a multi-
track editor for that.  This is more for thinking in
terms of objects and their source code internals,
without having to type a lot.

And speaking of objects, there is a sense of
economy that's violated, seeing the exact same
code duplicated to sprite after sprite.  The little
OO ego within me cries out for a more centralized
respository of class definitions with each sprite
getting a hook thereto, plus a scratch pad for
local memories -- for an environment more like
Python's in other words, with a greater sense of
economy and efficiency.

Kirby