> The .exe is just a self-extracting zip-archive. You can run the .image > included with squeaks VM on Linux as well. If you use the archives > directory-structure as is, the only thing not working is the > fullscreen-presentation-mode. > > Three or four weeks from now I'm going to use Scratch with my 7th-graders > at a German Gymnasium as starting point to teach them algorithmic > thinking, which I consider it a _really_ good tool for. I don't have to > care about syntax or typewriting and am able to focus on the core > concepts from the very beginning. > > Markus
Thank you Markus. Yes, I think the ability to drag an instruction (like a puzzle piece) then click on it to see immediate sprite behavior (like a command line), then combine it with other instructions and feeding these chunks to yellow control structure puzzle pieces (e.g. "forever") including event triggers (when green flagged, when clicked) is both brilliantly conceived (yes, there's lineage behind it) and cleanly implemented. Thank you MIT. I think with toyz like this it's important to emphasize to kids what they're learning (e.g. "about control structures" like you said), or they might think they're being patronized, as the resulting sprite dances aren't really ready for prime time in a film making sense, nor is this an easily sharable medium, ala the omni- present Flash and/or Shockwave. But the point isn't film making. You'd use a multi- track editor for that. This is more for thinking in terms of objects and their source code internals, without having to type a lot. And speaking of objects, there is a sense of economy that's violated, seeing the exact same code duplicated to sprite after sprite. The little OO ego within me cries out for a more centralized respository of class definitions with each sprite getting a hook thereto, plus a scratch pad for local memories -- for an environment more like Python's in other words, with a greater sense of economy and efficiency. Kirby _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list [email protected] http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
