Squeak ideas for a classroom/clubhouse

[Kim Rose]

Hello, Jahanzeb and welcome to Squeakland!

Alan mentioned me at the conclusion of his recent email -  I have 
been working beside BJ Conn (and other teachers) in an effort to 
create Squeak-based projects children can create to help them deepen 
their understanding of "powerful ideas".
You have asked some great questions in your email.   I will try to 
offer some advice drawing upon our experience over the last couple of 
years working with students ages 8-12.

>
>>
>>1) How does one act as a facilitator in such an open setting with Squeak,
>>so as to allow diverse views of what each wants to do, but still make sure
>>that there is some learning (and not just air guitaring) going on? There is
>>so much you can do with Squeak (no ceiling), but how does one try to nudge
>>it along lines that will lead to good learning -- or is that a
>>contradiction in terms?


Your group of 15 kids sounds ideal!  A "small group", of various 
ages, meeting twice a week sounds like a wonderful way to explore and 
get started.
How to act as facilitator?  I would suggest this:  Give the kids some 
content area/general direction to follow.  While Squeak is open 
ended, with no ceiling, our experience shows it is important to 
"ground" the kids in a certain content area or "challenge" if you 
will. (To leave something totally open ended often leads the learner 
lost and confused..."where do I start?" "What should I do?")  I 
believe any computer project needs to be rooted in something 
meaninful to the creator.   What we've done is come up with a series 
of basic "challenges" for the children.  For instance, how might one 
create a "robotic car" (using feeback) but then leave room so the 
chidren might create the car within a maze, along a track, using 
headlights as sensors, wheels as sensors, etc.  What is fun is that 
the childrens' artwork will vary as will their scripts, and 
their"solutions" to the problem/challenge.  When the children share 
their projects with each other (and this is an important aspect) they 
will see there is no "single answer" and that their projects will 
reflect their individuality. When coming up with your "challenges" 
think of further challenges you might give to a child or group that 
comes up with a solution quickly.  This way children will not get 
bored and can carry on at different paces. This also helps keep older 
children interested as the younger ones might take a bit longer to 
work things out.

Another thing I would suggest is to also give the children plenty 
exploration time.  A teacher in New York asks his students to share 
at the beginning of each session -- i.e., he asks each student to 
come and share "one cool thing they've discovered in Squeak".  They 
are asked to show the other students where they found their "cool 
discovery", and demonstrate how it works.  (One student might find 
and share the sound recorder, another might demonstrate the 
maginfying glass.)  (All objects can be found within categories in 
the "Object Catalog" found in the Supplies bin.) (I trust you are 
using the Squeak PlugIn" as found on the Squeakland.org website....) 
This give and take and sharing takes the responsibility off the 
facilitator and empowers the students as teachers for one another. 
(This also helps the facilitator learn about the myriad objects in 
Squeak(!).)  The students take pride in sharing their discoveries of 
the various objects within Squeak.  It is also great to ask them to 
provide an example of how the object they've discovered might be used 
as part of an "etoy" or simulation.

------------

Your question:
2) How does one introduce the medium as something that is infinitelly
malleable, and that it is ok to add/change something if you don't like it?
For instance, the lack of a 'move sideways' tile (like the 'forward by')
tile means that kids will have to start off controlling their
game-characters with a move forward/backward, turn left/right instruction
set, and so can't start off by making a Pac-Man type game (which needs to
move left/right, and not turn). Should I create a 'move sideways' tile
beforehand, or try to help them make it themselves as they require it?
--------

I think children should be shown some examples of how Squeak can be 
"tailored" for invidual use and encouraged to save their own versions 
if your infrastructure allows.  For instance, if you find you have 
created a small object like a car, and want to use that car in many 
projects, you can choose to add it to your "supplies bin" so that you 
can take an instance (copy) of that car out and use it over and over. 
Children can see how they might add their own unique items to their 
Supplies bin and also create their own.  Perhaps you like your 
"world" to be light blue, instead of the "white/gray" default -- you 
can change it.   I think showing the children examples and modeling 
for them will help them see just how malleable Squeak is.  After all, 
Squeak *is* a design tool.

One thing we've learned is that Squeak helps children think more 
generally and broadly which is a good thing.  Once they see that a 
"rectangle" can be stretched to turn into a field to contain text, or 
used as a building block to build a  bridge, or be used to measure 
the distance between two objects, they begin to understand the power 
of objects and how "everything is made out of something".  The kids 
we've worked with tend to "reify" objects and once something is a 
"car" it is difficult for them to see it as or change it to something 
else.  Squeak can show that "car" is merely an object with a costume 
and it might as easily be "fish" or "bird".

----

I think you'll find that the children will love to share their 
discoveries and help/teach one another.  If you all enter this as 
learners I think you will have a good experience.

I, too, will offer more later, but wanted to send some ideas now.
We are here to help, as we can.   Please share more questions and 
your experience.   We wish you the best in your sessions!

  -- Kim

PS - You inquired about OpenCroquet -- at this time there is not an 
active mailing list; there will likely be one in the next few months.

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