[Edu-sig] About myself

[Jason Cunliffe]

From: "Roman Suzi" <rnd@onego.ru>
> Well. I was asked to introduce myself and here is my informal
> self-introduction in the aspect of this SIG. As I hope
> to stay (at least lurk) here for long.

Hi Roman

Thanks for the intro..

I hope you stick around. You seem to be grappling with familiar problems.

> However, I was always interested in the teaching programming and it always
> intrigues me how one become a programmer. Yesterday you can't program, and
> today you feel, that you can!

I feel that several times every day! Seriously.

> But one thing I am very strong about: if we need to teach somebody
> programming, the Python is the choice No. 1. (Well, probably it depends on
> the age.  For little-ones Logo is probably the choice or some special
> adopted environment). But for those who want to learn programming Python
> is very-very useful.

We all agree Python is great andlove it.
But I question anyone who implies xyz god/tool/method is the #1.
Everything and everybody has a context, needs, a past, a  present and
future.

This raises some interesing isseus about 'suitability' of programming
languages for kids [we are all kids] and how to get them going...

CASE STUDY: 12-year old want to learn 'programming'

WHY:
- He's curious
- Wants to impress his friends - it's the new rock'n'roll
- Dreams of controlling everything in his home with wireless magic embdeded
cyberware
- Likes Flash animations/games and computer games and would like to
'program' some of his own
- He's surrounded by a culture of MegaBudget 'computer' graphics Hollywood
movies, and dreams of making a succesful career as independent computer
whiz, and at the same time showing anyone [teachers especially] who ever
doubted him: "See how smart I really was/am/will_be ?!"

My nephew is 12 and really keen to get started on programming. His parents
and school know next to nothign about any of this. So he's own except for
the beautiful deep ocean of the Internet. I wanted to say PythonPythonPython
to him, but he already had eyes for REALBasic [he hs an iMac since 1 year].
Last summer he asked me what I thought he should learn and what I thought
about REALBasic.  I said something to the effect of:

"Languages and technologies come and go. 50% of why you select XYZ should be
based on the vitality and quality if its community. Pay attention to the age
of something. If it is dying..probably best not to invest much effort unless
you are very confident. If it is too young, this is exciting but 'bleeding
edge' is also very time consuming and can be frustrating to get things done.
For beginners, best to find something which has been around for some time,
is well supported and still very much growing. Like a healthy mature fruit
tree..etc"

Then we went on the web together and browsed around the REALBasic sites,
looking at list archives, contributions, reviews etc. I showed them that the
first thing you have want to know whenever you read a nice review is the
truth behind it. So we looked at the mailing list. We scanned the subject
headers tree to get a feel for what kind of dialogue, what depth of detail
and support, what kind of problems people were having, and if they were
gettign satisfactory answers. Look at some contributions.

Anywy , after looking at REALBasic for a while, I came away pretty
impressed.

I said: "Yes this is not a bad place to start. Looks like fun. What you will
learn here will be helpful. Later you will probably want to explore other
types of programming and langauges. The most importnat thing is how to
describe what you want, naming things, how to analyze problems, and match
that with whatever tools you have. Know your tools and how to pick them and
combine them well."

The langauge environemnts I recommended were ActionScript in Flash5  [he's
keen on Flash] , Lego Mindstorms  [he's loves the idea of robotics], and of
course Python.

An important issues here is also that REALBasic is something he found out
about for himself, and wants to try. This proabably comes from reading some
enthusiatic reviews in a Macintosh Magazine.

I showed him Jasonic Trick #T for quickly assessing any technology:
http://www.google.com
search for
trouble <name of your perfect technology here>
for example: trouble RealBasic or trouble Python or trouble outlook
Try again with similar keys like "troubleshooting", 'Help!"


I suggested wait a year till ActionScript has stabilized and the books and
How-Tos are avaiable.  [Summer 2001 this is now true. The new OReilly book
*just* published.
See some samples quotes at end of this email. I think Colin Moock writes a
great introduction to programming. What do you think ..?]

Lego Mindstorms is very cool but probably best tackled after getting
comfortable with other prgoramming liek REALBasic or Python.

He asked me what's Python. So we looked at Python together - in Pythonwin,
and browsed online etc. I could see he was not ready for it and I was afraid
I was going to lose him fast...

All that Unix culture oozing through the cracks, mysterious intros that
mention environment variables withuot explaing what the fuck they are and
how to set them, dubious Mac support [getting better again with MacOSX coudl
be much more Python friendly] no simple one-click executables without diving
through lots in clever READMEs. This kids wants to progam something and end
up with soemthnig which will work. A single binary object he can put on his
desktop, a disk or email to friend, show his doubting teachers. Python does
not encourage this, though it is becoming more and more possible.

If it were bundled and installed everywhere on all systems, life would be
different [and better]. Yes it is usually easy to download and install when
you know how, but CP4E needs to figure the distribution politics better.


============================================================================


> (It's hard to switch from it to other languages, though ;-) But in schools
> we do not need to prepare programmers. It's all about development in the
> minds...

Yes

> In today's school we are drifting more and more toward "user skills"
> (worsprocessing and such mouse-moving behaviour). This is what bothers me
> too, as I think those who is capable of programming need to have tools to
> learn and get successful results. This raises their IQ ;-) and improves
> understanding of life, whereever they will work.

Yes.

> Still I do not see what can be done to the situation except with promoting
> Python to the advanced users and teachers. Unfortunately, I am no more in
> position where I can influence this process here (I worked in the
> teacher's retraining institute's IT center), so probably my presence
> here will not be too visible (I do not have much time to do something
> real, usually I just generate lots of ideas ;-)

Well I believe Kirby's curriculum strategy is an essential step.
http://www.inetarena.com/~pdx4d/ocn/

Even if everyone got hit by a very special RCrumb meatball today or next
Tuesday, and said "OK! Wow - Let's start using nothing but Python for all
our teaching from now on"
Then they would have job #1 - figuring out how what and when and lack of
curriculum.

Countries who have embraced Linux as national OS policy and have ambitious
plans active for computer education and network infsractucture are likely to
be the move Python in the classrom from enlightened experiment to reality.
South Korea for example.

> (I am also a participant of Seul/EDU (Simple End User Linux,
> educational aspect. Python Edu-SIG /\ Seul-EDU != [].
>
> And a moderator of relcom.education newsgroup.

Don't follow that. Thanks I'll look

> So, if there are some need to communicate some
> ideas/offers/questions/queries with the later, you can ask me. I will try
> to translate it into Russian and put it into there.

Great.

> In fact, in the near future I want to prepare an "advertizement" of Python
> (and free software) for relcom.education. That is why I also want to
> listen here.

cheers
./Jason


REFERENCE READING for REALBasic and Actionscript
============================================================================

http://www.realbasic.com/

REALbasic : The Definitive Guide
by Matt Neuburg
Paperback - 660 pages 1 Ed edition (October 1999)
O'Reilly & Associates; ISBN: 1565926579
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1565926579/ref%3Dpd%5Fsim%5Felt%5Fl1/
107-4909741-5694943


============================================================================
http://www.moock.org/asdg/
sample chapters:

What do you think of this as style/content for beginners?

<quote>
Chapter 1 - A Gentle Introduction for Non-Programmers

I'm going to teach you to talk to Flash.

Not just to program Flash but to say things to it and to listen to what it
has to say in return. This is not a metaphor or simply a rhetorical device.
It's a philosophical approach to programming.

Programming languages are used to send information to and receive
information from computers. They are collections of vocabulary and grammar
used to communicate, just like human languages. Using a programming language
we tell a computer what to do or ask it for information. It listens, tries
to perform the requested actions, and gives responses. So while you may
think you are reading this book in order to "learn to program" you are
actually learning to communicate with Flash. But of course, Flash doesn't
speak English, French, German, or Cantonese. Flash's native language is
ActionScript, and you're going to learn to speak it.
Learning to speak a computer language is sometimes considered synonymous
with learning to program. But there is more to programming than learning a
language's syntax. What would it be like if Flash could speak English-if we
didn't need to learn ActionScript in order to communicate with it?

What would happen if we were to say, "Flash, make a ball bounce around the
screen?"
Flash couldn't fulfill our request because it doesn't know what a "ball" is.
Okay, okay, that's just a matter of semantics. What Flash expects us to
describe is the objects in the world it knows: movie clips, buttons, frames,
etc. So, let's rephrase our request in terms Flash recognizes and see what
happens: "Flash, make the movie clip named ball_one bounce around the
screen."

Flash still can't fulfill our request without more information. How big
should the ball be? Where should it be placed? In which direction should it
begin travelling? How fast should it go? Around which part of the screen
should it bounce? For how long? In two dimensions or three? Hmm...we weren't
expecting all these questions. In reality, Flash doesn't ask us these
questions. Instead, when Flash can't understand us, it just doesn't do what
we want it to, or it yields an error message. For now, we'll pretend Flash
asked us for more explicit instructions, and reformulate our request as a
series of steps.

1. A ball is a circular movie clip symbol named ball.
2. A square is a four-sided movie clip symbol named square.
3. Make a new green ball 50 pixels in diameter.
4. Call the new ball ball_one.
5. Make a new black square 300 pixels wide and place it in the middle of the
Stage.
6. Place ball_one somewhere on top of the square.
7. Move ball_one in a random direction at 75 pixels per second.
8. If ball_one hits one of the sides of the square, make it bounce.
9. Do this until I tell you to stop.

Even though we gave our instructions in English, we still had to work
through all the logic that governs our bouncing ball in order for Flash to
understand us. Obviously there's more to programming than merely the syntax
of programming languages. Just as in English, knowing lots of words doesn't
necessarily mean you're a great communicator.

Our hypothetical English-speaking-Flash example exposes four important
aspects of programming:

· No matter what the language, the art of programming lies in the
formulation of logical steps.

· Before you try to say something in a computer language, it usually helps
to say it in English.

· A conversation in one language translated into a different language is
still made up of the same basic statements.

· Computers aren't very good at making assumptions. They also have a very
limited vocabulary.

Most programming has nothing to do with writing code. Before you write even
a single line of ActionScript, think through exactly what you want to do and
write out your system's functionality as a flowchart or a blueprint. Once
your program has been described sufficiently at the conceptual level, you
can translate it into ActionScript.

In programming-as in love, politics, and business-effective communication is
the key to success. For Flash to understand your ActionScript, you have to
get your syntax absolutely correct down to the last quote, equal sign, and
semicolon. And to assure that Flash knows what you're talking about, you
must only refer to the world it knows in terms it recognizes. What may be
obvious to you is not obvious to a computer. Think of programming a computer
like talking to a child: take nothing for granted, be explicit in every
detail, and list every step that's necessary to complete a task. But
remember that unlike children, Flash will do precisely what you tell it to
do and nothing that you don't tell it do.

Some Basic Phrases
On the first day of any language school you'd expect to learn a few basic
phrases ("Good day," "How are you," etc). Even if you're just memorizing a
phrase and don't know what each word means, you can learn the effect of the
phrase and can repeat it to produce that effect. Then, once you've learned
the rules of grammar, expanded your vocabulary, and used the words from your
memorized phrases in multiple contexts, you can reassess your early phrases
and understand them in a richer way. The rest of this chapter will be much
like that first day of language school-you'll see bits and pieces of code,
and you'll be introduced to some fundamental programming grammar. The rest
of the book will build on that foundation. You may want to come back to this
chapter when you've finished the book to see just how far you've traveled.
<quote>

...fast forward to ...
excerpt from chapter sample online at:

<quote>
The "Objectness" of Movie Clips
As of Flash 5, movie clips can be manipulated like the objects we learned
about in Chapter 12, Objects and Classes. We may retrieve and set the
properties of a clip, and we may invoke built-in or custom methods on a
clip. Unlike other objects, an operation performed on a clip may have a
visible or audible result in the Player.

Movie clips are not truly a type of object; there is no MovieClip class or
constructor, nor can we use an object literal to instantiate a movie clip in
our code. So what, then, are movie clips if not objects? They are members of
their very own object-like datatype, called movieclip (we can prove it by
executing typeof on a movie clip, which returns the string "movieclip"). The
main difference between movie clips and true objects is how they are
allocated (created) and deallocated (disposed of, or freed). For details,
see Chapter 15, Advanced Topics. Despite this technicality, however, we
nearly always treat movie clips exactly like objects.

So how does the "objectness" of movie clips affect our use of them in
ActionScript? Most notably, it dictates the way we control clips and examine
their properties. Movie clips can be controlled directly through built-in
methods. For example:

eyes.play(  );

We can retrieve and set a movie clip's properties using the dot operator,
just as we would access the properties of any object:

ball._xscale = 90;
var radius = ball._width / 2;

A variable in a movie clip is simply a property of that clip, and we can use
the dot operator to set and retrieve variable values:

myClip.myVariable = 14;
x = myClip.myVariable;

Submovie clips can be treated as object properties of their parent movie
clips. We therefore use the dot operator to access "nested" clips:

clipA.clipB.clipC.play(  );

and we use the reserved _ parent property to refer to the clip containing
the current clip:

_ parent.clipC.play(  );

Treating clips as objects affords us all the luxuries of convenient syntax
and flexible playback control. But our use of clips as objects also lets us
manage clips as data; we can store a movie clip in an array element or a
variable and even pass a clip reference to a function as an argument! Here,
for example, is a function that moves a clip to a particular location on the
screen:

function moveClip (clip, x, y) {
  clip._x = x;
  clip._y = y;
}
moveClip(ball, 14, 399);

Throughout the rest of this chapter, we'll learn the specifics of
referencing, controlling, and manipulating movie clips as data objects.
</quote>

============================================================================

___________________________________________________________
Jason CUNLIFFE = NOMADICS['Interactive Art and Technology']