On Sat, 10 Apr 2010 11:23:23 -0500, <edu-sig-requ...@python.org> wrote:
> I humbly disagree that this is the right place to start. I teach > students with diverse backgrounds -- some extremely bright and others > really behind in school and using Python as a calculator is one thing > they would all agree is terrifically boring and not so compelling. > How many students have ever said "man, I really wish I had a trig > table right now?" What kind of things do you think kids would find exciting about programming? I've identified these things: Turtle Graphics Sprite Animations Virtual Robot programming Number crunching Make the computer do your homework In "number crunching" I try to collect all the things that excite students about making the computer show its awesome powers of calculation. I think there is an element of excitement in making a program that makes the computer work a lot to produce results. Maybe, that table falls into this category. I have the impression that using a programming language as a calculator is boring, too. But if we use it to help us solve homework I think it becomes interesting. Thinks like, solve: (x + 2) / 10 = 100 to solve do.while [ make "x random 1000 ] [not (:x + 2) / 10 = 100] print :x end solve 998 Daniel _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
