> On Dec 6, 2018, at 8:16 AM, Matt Jadud <m...@jadud.com> wrote: > > Hi all, > > The context for my recent messages to the list is that I'm thinking about > courses for next year, and I'm thinking about the intersections of data > analysis/visualization, modeling, and HtDP-ish introductions to programming. > > I like NetLogo (https://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/ > <https://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/>). I don't want to introduce students > to programming in NetLogo. While it is easy to attach (say) a slider to a > variable in a simulation, and it is easy to plot (say) the population of an > agent in the microworld, it is hard to then analyze that data. > > There's an R extension that embeds a headless NetLogo in R. I have even less > desire to introduce students to R, let alone the complex amalgamation of the > two. > > Racket has all the tools I need. The Universe/Big Bang model seems like > there's already an infrastructure in place for supporting a functional > miroworld-style animation. (Or, I could go down the Processing path and hide > things behind a setup/draw, or I could go down the Greenfoot path, and have > student objects inherit from a base class that is microworld/animation > ready.). There's ample support for data representation, analysis, and > visualization. Every language abstraction I could want is somewhere in the > box. > > I know it is a classic mistake to reinvent things that exist, but I feel like > the tools I want for an environment for introducing programming in a > principled way, and allowing students to engage in microworld simulations and > their analysis, are all here and within reach. I thought I'd float it to this > list, however, so that if there's any "we tried that," or "you might look at" > type suggestions, I could get those before I start sinking time into this > exploration.
Thanks for floating. In a sense, Racket as a programmable programming language (*) is *the* vehicle for creating (an assembly line for) microworlds. But admittedly, we have the low level infrastructure but not the support needed for teachers in the trenches to create such worlds with a “few keystrokes.” One day, so funding will, we will get there. — Matthias (*) https://www2.ccs.neu.edu/racket/pubs/#fffkbmt-cacm18 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Racket Users" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to racket-users+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
