refametrics.blogg.se

1. Angry bots scripting language how to#
2. Angry bots scripting language software#
3. Angry bots scripting language code#

They actually spend more time on computational thinking and less on keeping the computer happy. Instead of spending ages discovering that they have missed a colon from the end of a line, kids are able to spend more time thinking about the logic of their project. What Scratch does is remove the extraneous details that aren't actually necessary so that kids can quickly get from an idea to running code.

Angry bots scripting language software#

Professional software developers often assume that languages such as Scratch are 'dumbed down' versions of programming.

In my experience this works really well for children who can read. Languages such as Scratch and Blockly use textual labels on graphical elements that can be dragged around. If a child is having to map from a picture to a word in their mind to understand what they're seeing then you've just added additional complexity. Once children can read, an icon-based system need to be very well designed to compete with textual labels. Pictures are often used to enable children who can't yet read to code. Some graphical languages rely on pictorial symbols or icons, for example LEGO Mindstorms uses an icon-based notation in its software. There are efforts to bring the benefits of graphical editing to text-based environments for children (such as Frame-Based Editing.)

Angry bots scripting language code#

I've found that Code Combat is a great way to introduce kids to text-based coding and IDEs, but it's not a generic programming environment. Kids often don't have access to the best tools so end up in situations where they do struggle with syntax errors. (This can be frustrating if you want to swap a repeat for a forever loop for example, but that's not a hard thing to do, it's just work - the tricky thing is made easier.) In Scratch you work directly with a coding concept rather than having to break it down into something you can type. Yes, good editors can help you spot these errors, but even better editors mean that you can't make those mistakes in the first place. Who wants to spend ages working out that they've missed out a colon that should obviously be there, counting brackets or spotting a spelling mistake? Syntax errors are a pain for adults and kids. But the breadth of a typical programming language makes it harder to present the whole language in such an accessible way as in Scratch or a Blockly-based language. A good IDE (integrated development environment) helps with this a lot. Of course, it's possible for a programming environment to help with the ease of learning and remembering for text-based languages.

Angry bots scripting language how to#

In fact, SAM Labs does use text-based coding to go beyond the basics, and I forget how to use it in between sessions when I help my son (the sooner they can move more of that capability up into the graphical layer the better.) If he was using a text-based language to achieve the same thing then I'm sure he would find it harder to pick up where he left off. He can easily go a few weeks between using them and still be able to instantly remember how to connect them up in the graphical editor. My younger son loves to use SAM Labs electronics components to make crazy contraptions. What is a Graphical Language / Text-based Language? You can also make this case for highly able younger children, especially when they have parents who are willing to help them use programming languages they are familiar with but are less motivated to help with children's programming languages. When you're teaching teenagers who are interested in programming, robotics, etc then learning relevant industry skills becomes a factor.