Children's Software Revue & Squeak

Kim Rose Kim.Rose at viewpointsresearch.org
Fri Jun 7 10:40:19 PDT 2002


-- 
Hi, folks -

I read a magazine called "Children's Software Revue", edited by 
Warren Buckleitner and others. It is published in both a print and 
online version:  http://www.childrenssoftware.com/

This letter appears in the current issue:

Dear CSR,
My son, who is going into the seventh grade, is interested in 
learning how to create game programs. I want to encourage him, but I 
don't know where
to start. What programming language is used to create games? Are 
there any books at his level on the subject? I was a programmer 
before he was born, so I may be able to help him. Then again...
   -- Janine Clark, Heritage Hall School

Here is the reply she received from the editors:

Dear Janine,
The first step is to start with a computer-related product like LEGO 
MINDSTORMS, a terrific robot construction and programming kit. It is 
a wonderful way to introduce concepts like routines and subroutines, 
loops, and so on. It works very well with middle schoolers. Your son 
can also benefit from programming with tools like HyperStudio and 
Microsoft PowerPoint, which are great for introducing concepts like 
hyperlinks, screen transitions, incorporating digital photography, 
video and so on. For pure programming, try StageCast 2.0 
(www.stagecast.com), a limited but interesting programming experience 
designed especially for children. The latest news in this area is 
Squeak (described below) which we'll be reviewing soon in CSR.

If your son is serious, start him on "real" programming tools, 
including Macromedia Director, Shockwave and Flash. These are 
expensive, but powerful. There are dozens of "how to" books that are 
fairly easy to understand that you can follow together. These 
applications can take your child in a number of different directions. 
Your son will soon learn why designing a videogame costs millions of 
dollars and takes teams of artists and programmers!

----
When I first read the letter in the print version of the magazine, I 
took the liberty of writing to Warren (whom I met years ago when we 
were at Apple).  In response to my note, he's sent this:

".... There has been a hole in this category... Stagecast has not 
lived up to it's expectations and LOGO... That's another email. So 
I'll post your letter/link online immediately if its OK with you...."

and now he's added this to "mailbag section" of their online magazine:

NOTE -- THE FOLLOWING COPY IS FROM THE PUBLISHER: What is Squeak? 
Squeak is a new wide spectrum personal computing authoring 
environment for many kinds of users: from children around age 6, to 
teenagers, to parents and teachers, to media artists, to 
expertcomputer scientists.

The authoring is done by direct manipulation and through scripting. 
There is one basic scripting language for all users, and three 
different authoring
environments: children, omniusers, and experts. Squeak can run with 
or without local operating systems, as a plugin or standalone, as a 
client or server on more than 20 platforms "bit-identically." It is 
small enough to fit on PDAs, and fast enough to do a wide range of 
applications. See http://squeak.org for the expert site and 
http://www.squeakland.org to see the site for children, parents and 
teachers.

http://www.childrenssoftware.com/mbarchive/mailbag

Warren also just invited Alan to do a keynote address for an 
international conference they will sponsor next Spring......it is 
clear that good tools are lacking to help kids learn and think in 
this creative domain -- HyperStudio and PowerPoint (!?) just don't 
quite do it -- do they?

  -- Kim



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