> Hi, interesting work on BotInc and programming books
> for kids. Thanks for pointing me there.
>
> I looked through the book at:
> http://www.iam.unibe.ch/~ducasse/Web/Books/BotTheRobot.pdf
> and it seems ambitious and richly illustrated.

And I'm working on the copy edit version. It will be coooooler :)

> How old are the kids you have worked with for this book?

11 to 15

> How would you say they cope with syntax errors (typos)
> in the code?

My wife said that this was not a problem
they were lazy and typed x instead of caro

> I guess that using Smalltalk is an advantage
> if you want to really learn Squeak, but I am curious about
> how the kids manage to handle errors.

I was not in the classrooms.
But I got no complain on that side. We got more like
the turtle is boring, some realllllly like that.
Some did mistakes like

square
	2500 timesRepeat: [self turn: 90; go: 100]

and complained that is was slow. So this is why we decoupled the
loops and fun with variables chapter.


> I currently work on a programming tool for children that
> uses comic strips to represent program actions. This tool
> is based on research I made with 10 and 11 year old kids.
> You can read about that here:
> http://www.ida.liu.se/~mikki/comics/index.html

Would like to come to esug to present that during the educator day?
>
> Will make some screenshots of the new tool, and as soon
> as I have a version that I feel is ready for testing I will
> let you know.

OK I have small boys at home too :)

> I also work together with a student that implements a
> visual programming tool that uses predefined behaviours,
> rather than comic strips. This tool is going to be tested
> with children during this Spring. Will make this tool
> available as soon as we have some documentation for it.

Excellent let us know.

> Both these programming tools are intended to enable kids
> (and adults) to make their own interactive worlds and games.
> The primary purpose is not to teach programming/math/thinking,
> but to develop easy to use creative tools.

Ok my objective was programming since this is the only thing I know :)

> Kids have always been able to make their own home made toys
> (dolls, cars, boats, etc). While these toys might not
> look as polished as ready-made toys, I am sure that they
> make their creators proud and satisfied of having made
> something with their own hands.
>
> With computer games this is different. It is too hard to
> program a game for a kid. For me this is a question of
> democracy, kids should not just be passive consumers when
> it comes to interactive software programs, they should
> be able to build their own software worlds.
>
> One big reason I decided to use Squeak is the interest in
> the Squeak community for kids and programming. And Squeak
> is a good tool for developing new kinds of tools.
>
> There are many good programming tools that can be used
> by kids, for example ToonTalk, GameMaker, StageCast Creator,
> BotInc, and eToys. What I hope to contribute with my work
> is an even easier to use programming model that is very
> direct and visual, with a close integration between
> painting and programming, like a programmable painting tool.

I'm eager to see that.

> Another interesting project I am involved in is writing
> a book about ToonTalk for children and families. (This book
> is in Swedish, but if successful it will be translated to
> other languages.)

Good luck since this is a daunting task.

> I think that it is sad that programming is not a mainstream
> activity for kids. There are few books and magazines, and
> few commercial products. Sims is a success, but you can
> not program your Sims. You kind of guide and teach them,
> perhaps this is a model for programming that could be
> explored further? As an example, I recently played Sims
> with a nine year old girl, and she was very skilled at
> making the characters in the game fall in love and kiss
> and so on. She knew exactly which commands to chose, and
> she seemed to greatly enjoy this. I guess the distance
> between her world and the game world is very short, and
> her identification with the characters helps and motivates
> when learning how to play. Perhaps a world like BotInc could
> be expanded with new kinds of characters in addition to robots,
> to give a Sims-like appeal.

Yes but you know I'm doing that the night and now I'm fed up
by it. Seriously. I want to do something else.

> In general, I do not like pre-made content. I think kids
> should make their own content, draw their own characters
> and so on, and use their creativity. But content do have
> a strong appeal, it can be great fun to explore a world
> of characters and objects. A program tool could support
> both making your own characters and a library of predefined
> characters.

I agree now I did not have john maloney to program my idea
and morphic is not simple to program (when you want to do
what I have in mind).

> Lets stay in touch. Is there any particular conference or
> workshop you would recommend to attend? Perhaps we could
> meet there?

ESUG at Brussels contact rita she is the main organizer of the edu event

stef