P.S.
I vaguely recall that someone did an Etoy model of the Antikythera ... (might be findable on the web somewhere)
Going a little deeper, it would be good for children to think about: Computing is inventing a kind of machine that can carry and manipulate representations of ideas.The machine can be made from physical or symbolic materials. For example, the abacus -- which vastly predates the Antikythera -- is also a computing machine. And so is Algebra ...
Cheers,
Alan
From: Steve Thomas sthomas1@gosargon.com To: squeakland squeakland@squeakland.org; iaep iaep@lists.sugarlabs.org Sent: Friday, July 6, 2012 2:22 PM Subject: [IAEP] Has anyone build a set of gears in Etoys or any other freely available program?
I got I asked my class to play LightBot and then asked them: "How this is like and not like "programming"
This lead into one kids responding its like "mabey small motors and gears" (wish I knew what was going on in her mind, I'll ask in the next class)
So I responded: I was on the Battleship NJ (commissioned in 1943). They had a "computer" on board to calculate the angle and direction of the big guns and could hit a target miles away within a few yards!!! Pretty impressive when you have to consider they had to take into account the ships speed and direction, wind speed, waves and the recoil from the guns firing. The whole "computer" was built using gears which controlled BIG motors to move the gun.
Here's a pop quiz (you will be graded on this and it will go on your PERMANENT record :) What is the oldest computer we know about?
I then asked them to think about and email me an answer to:
What is a computer? I then added the caveat, non-biological computer, as a bunch came back with the answer "the brain".
I found a nice video on a Lego version of the oldest know computer here.
So I want to get them to try and build some adding machines (and I will see if we can find enough lego parts amonst us to do that as it would be best), but in case I can't, and just for fun.
Has anyone build a set of gears in Etoys or any other freely available program?
Thanks, Stephen _______________________________________________ IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep