I got I asked my class to play LightBothttp://armorgames.com/play/2205/light-bot 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 herehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLPVCJjTNgk .
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