[CLUE-Talk] Teaching Linux and/or programming to kids

[Sean LeBlanc]

On 11-19 08:48, Dale K. Hawkins wrote:
> 
> Hello.  I am trying to teach my nephew how to use Linux and/or how to
> do some simple programming.  I am fishing for suggestions.  I have
> investigated logo on the programming side, but I am not a big logo fan
> (though I should not let me own bias cloud the issue).
> 
> What I am really seeking is a curriculum which would be appropriate
> for a nine-year-old boy.  He is bright, but has the attention span of
> a typical nine-year-old.  I have done a little searching on the net,
> but have not stumbled upon much that I like.
> 
> Ideally, I think a step-by-step recipe might work best.  There needs
> to be some gratification along the way.  I am trying to instill in him
> the idea of delayed gratification, but he needs goals along the way or
> he will become disinterested.


Check this out:

http://robocode.alphaworks.ibm.com/home/home.html

It might be a bit much to expect multithreading or neural networks to be
done by him any time soon, but you don't have to start with that. :) But
it's nice to know that you CAN do it if you choose to. Best of all, it's
using a real language used in everyday applications.

Here's a page that talks about this, too:
http://www.developer.com/java/article.php/941681

I haven't used this yet, but a co-worker was telling me about this a few
weeks back.


Something that's not really programming, but has similar types of planning,
creativity, parameters, etc., are games that let you construct stuff and
then play the game using your creation. Back in my days of being a youngun,
it was a game like Electronic Arts Racing Destruction Set on the C-64. Lots
of games do this now - Doom seemed to raise the bar quite a bit on that.

Anyway, I noticed in Kolf (on the Knoppix disc) that it lets you make your
own mini-golf courses. Not very high-level stuff, I know, but I thought it
was cool. 


Also, does Radio Shack still make stuff that interacts with computers on
ports? I never had one of those. (I did have one of those ###-in-1 kits -
I'm sure a lot of folks remember those - you know, those things with the
wires and you thread up stuff sort of like a breadboard.) If they still make
the stuff that interacts with PCs, that might provide something interesting
to do.

Cheers,

-- 
Sean LeBlanc:seanleblanc at americanisp.net  
http://users.americanisp.net/~seanleblanc/
Get MLAC at: http://sourceforge.net/projects/mlac/
Moderation is good, but boring.