A couple of basic questions...

John Steinmetz johns at cogent.net
Wed Nov 21 19:36:02 PST 2001


Hi, Leo,

In case it's not clear, there are different layers or user interfaces 
within Squeak. One of these is a system for building "e-toys"--it has 
a relatively simple scripting method, with tiles that can be pulled 
out, and lets novices get into programming easily. For example, you 
can paint a picture, which automatically becomes an object, and then 
you can easily create a program to make it do things. Lots of e-toy 
projects are already posted, and I think some of these would be good 
entry points for teenagers.

Squeak itself is a dialect of Smalltalk, which would also be a 
wonderful thing for teenagers to explore. Ths is a powerful 
object-oriented language. I don't know if anyone has yet done a 
Squeak Smalltalk tutorial.

In addition, the 3-D system called Alice is implemented in Squeak, so 
you can use that to make 3-D projects.

And at least one other user interface is under construction.

You'll also find lots of gizmos, tools, and projects hidden away in 
menus, and many of these are fun to tinker with.

	Good luck!

	John



>Hello everyone!
>
>I'm starting to use Squeak at the Computer Clubhouse
>(http://www.computerclubhouse.org/), a network of after school centers where
>kids from 8-18 come to learn about technology, interact with other kids and
>develop personally meaningful projects.
>
>Would you please help me with the following questions?
>
>* How would you present Squeak to teenagers?  How would you describe the tool?
>Is it a programming environment, a multi-media tool, an operating system, a
>make-your-own-game environment, or what?
>
>* Do you have examples of activities that I could develop with teenagers?
>Most of the examples that I've seen so far are either targeted to younger
>kids, or are too centered around school curriculum.  I'm also trying to find
>examples that make creative use of video and photographs.  At the Clubhouse,
>kids play a lot with Director and Photoshop.
>
>* Is there any way to cut, paste and move projects around?  I'd like to
>reorganize my top project.  It's got too many subprojects within it!
>
>* What is the difference between the 'pick up' and 'move' halos?
>
>* Is there any simple way of image snapshots of different components of the
>screen?  I may create some quick reference sheets for Clubhouse members.
>Pictures of Squeak components would be great...
>
>That's all for now.  Thank's a lot for your help!!
>
>Best,
>
>Leo


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