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

[Nate Duehr]

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).

Hi Dale,

I saw Joe's comments about "give the kid a computer and see what he does 
with it", and I'd agree with those.  At 9 years old, if he's interested 
he'll do things with it, if he's not -- no curriculum or prodding with a 
stick will get him near the machine.

Most of all it has to be FUN and not a chore.  I remember spending hours 
and hours typing programs in line-by-line because of the promise that at 
the end there would be a GAME when I was that age.  I wasn't interested 
in learning programming, per se -- although in later years I found that 
to be much more interesting -- but I wanted that darn game to run.

And of course those printed programs had plenty of typos missed by the 
publisher/editor... so I got some unintended "training" in debugging and 
THAT forced me to figure out what the code was actually doing.

As another (off-topic) possibility for a neat interactive kid-friendly 
techno-hobby, the Boulder Amateur Radio Club runs a GREAT club for kids 
called BARC Jr.  They've been nationally recognized for years as one of 
the "dang we wish we were like that group" type of groups for other 
youth radio hobbiest organizations.

http://www.qsl.net/w0dk/ - BARC website, not much info up there right 
now about BARC Jr.

The kids get to talk on radios to far-flung places, get presentations on 
technology that have been brought down a notch from the usual 
engineering babble we're all so good at after a while, and in general 
from what I hear, they all have a lot of fun.

The "heart" of the group is the couple who founded it years ago, Rip and 
Ellie Van Winkle (yes... Rip Van Winkle... it's a nickname he's gone by 
for years).  They're a wonderful older couple who dedicate a lot of time 
and effort into making sure the kids have a great time, as well as even 
take a van load of kids to the HamVention in Dayton, Ohio every year. 
In past years some of the older kids have had competitions to see who 
would get to speak at HamVention and the event organizers in Dayton are 
happy to give the kids a speaking room and time slot at the convention, 
so they learn some of those "presentation skills" we all end up needing 
later in life too.

And of course, there's always model rocketry -- all kids like to light 
things on fire electrically and watch them go WHOOOOSH into the sky. 
:-)  And they have the energy to go chase the silly things down when 
dad, uncle, or older friend goofs and points the launcher angle 
downwind.  Heh.

Generally if it's fun for the kid, they'll do it.  Good luck on finding 
some good interesting things for your nine-year old nephew.  Uncle Dale 
will be remembered as "the cool uncle" in years to come, I'm sure!  :-)

As far as my techno-kid story I found a local Ham Operator who elmered 
me through a bunch of basic electronics and let me talk on his radios in 
his Ham Shack after I spotted his 40' tower tucked into the trees across 
the street and HAD to know what that huge antenna was for.

Of course, the days of finding a Ham by his tower are probably long gone 
for most curious kids, as the Nazi homeowners associations with their 
forced covenant contracts you have no choice but to sign will eventually 
get rid of all the towers... (sigh).  (Fact: 99.9% of all new homes 
built in the entire State of Colorado in the last four years have 
restrictive antenna covenants... even the rural ones.  Oh, the joy of 
legal boilerplate.  I had to buy a house that has been standing since 
before we landed on the moon to get away from covenants so I could put 
up modest antennas someday.)

Nate, nate at natetech.com (Amateur callsign: WY0X)