[Edu-sig] the Python Visual Sandbox

[Simon Burton]

>From the PyCon abstracts:

 #21. Intuition and Python Programming - the Python Visual Sandbox

Michael Weigend / Holzkamp-Gesamtschule Witten, Germany

When you write a Python program, search for semantic errors, proof the correctness of a function or just talk about programming, you use intuitive models of information processing. An intuitive model is a mental concept which is simple and self evident and needs no further explanation. Usually these concepts can be visualized. Intuitive models can be useful or they can be misleading. Sometimes they are unconscious. The Python Visual Sandbox (PVS) is a collection of interactive multimedia applications ñ usually games, especially designed for programming novices. They contain more than a hundred animations which represent intuitive models including typical misconceptions. The purpose of the PVS is two fold. First of all it is a research tool to find out, what intuitive concepts Python programmers use in different contexts. Secondly it is a learning device which can be integrated in lesson plans. This contribution focuses on the learning/teaching aspect. 

holy cow!

Simon.

-- 
Simon Burton, B.Sc.
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