It's good to remember that a "productivity tool" and a "learning 
environment" are not coextensive (they overlap, but there are also big 
differences in the final goals, the materials that are supplied, and what 
kinds of work and play are being motivated).

Cheers,

Alan

------
  12:01 AM 2/18/2005, Mikael Kindborg wrote:
>stéphane ducasse wrote:
>>Mike
>>
>>someone told me that you were doing a lot of great stuff. So where
>>can I see that?
>>I'm currently working on editing my forthcoming book so may be you
>>can be interested?
>>http://kilana.unibe.ch:9090/BotInc
>>
>>stef
>
>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.
>
>How old are the kids you have worked with for this book?
>How would you say they cope with syntax errors (typos)
>in the code? 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 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
>
>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.
>
>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.
>
>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.
>
>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.
>
>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.)
>
>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.
>
>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.
>
>Lets stay in touch. Is there any particular conference or
>workshop you would recommend to attend? Perhaps we could
>meet there?
>
>Best, Micke