Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Microsoft MakeCode

makecode.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 94 posts

Re: Microsoft MakeCode

#11

Post by gwilkes »

mynameisvlad wrote: post #9
gwilkes wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is good news, my only complaint now is that Education Edition has a Mac OS version which is the platform I prefer.

Education Edition is based off Bedrock Edition, which is the console/UWP codebase (as opposed to the Java version available already). You'll have to wait for that to come to macOS first before seeing EE there.

I realize that, actually EE is already on Mac OS, it was there even in the beta of EE. I would like to be able to use the Bedrock Edition on Mac OS but EE and being a school is the only way to do that.

Re: Microsoft MakeCode

#12

Post by mynameisvlad »

gwilkes wrote: post #11
mynameisvlad wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Education Edition is based off Bedrock Edition, which is the console/UWP codebase (as opposed to the Java version available already). You'll have to wait for that to come to macOS first before seeing EE there.

I realize that, actually EE is already on Mac OS, it was there even in the beta of EE. I would like to be able to use the Bedrock Edition on Mac OS but EE and being a school is the only way to do that.

Oh, huh, I didn't even realize. I do wonder how far the two codebases have diverged (especially with the recent "Better Together" update on Bedrock). Kind of a shame MakeCode doesn't work on Java Edition, since that's where I invested my time.

Re: Microsoft MakeCode

#13

Post by gwilkes »

mynameisvlad wrote: post #12
gwilkes wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I realize that, actually EE is already on Mac OS, it was there even in the beta of EE. I would like to be able to use the Bedrock Edition on Mac OS but EE and being a school is the only way to do that.

Oh, huh, I didn't even realize. I do wonder how far the two codebases have diverged (especially with the recent "Better Together" update on Bedrock). Kind of a shame MakeCode doesn't work on Java Edition, since that's where I invested my time.

I know what you mean but Bedrock just has much better performance. The ideal for me would be Bedrock on all the same platforms as Java (including Linux) with a supported way to make mods that didn't break on every version update

Re: Microsoft MakeCode

#14

Post by leggomylibro »

Wow, cool - the 'block editor' looks a lot like Scratch. Is it Scratch? I'm having trouble finding many details about the technical side of it.

I think 'visual programming' has a lot of promise for education, but...jeez, after looking into it for awhile I'm sort of losing hope that it isn't a gimmick or fad.

Has anyone actually made a complex project with these initiatives, and had it spark an interest in computing/electronics that didn't already exist? Have they managed to make the jump from visual interfaces to lines-of-code? Is there any evidence that these programs REALLY help when it comes to engaging a wider group of people?

I'm starting to worry that it's just more cynical grant-grabbing as the projects pile up and the results don't seem to. I hope it isn't, I just worry that this is all starting to sound a little 'magic solution'-y.

The Arduino came out about 15 years ago, for perspective.

Re: Microsoft MakeCode

#15

Post by gw »

The transition between block-based code and JavaScript is implemented better than I expected. If I write something in JS, and switch back to blocks, the equivalent blocks actually appear! Going back to JS shows rewritten code but still readable.

Re: Microsoft MakeCode

#16

Post by dankohn1 »

I was just about to start an every other day programming course for my 9 and 11yo kids. Could anyone help me compare this curriculum with code.org (which they've used through school)?

Re: Microsoft MakeCode

#17

Post by abchatra »

leggomylibro wrote: post #14

Wow, cool - the 'block editor' looks a lot like Scratch. Is it Scratch? I'm having trouble finding many details about the technical side of it. I think 'visual programming' has a lot of promise for education, but...jeez, after looking into it for awhile I'm sort of losing hope that it isn't a gimmick or fad. Has anyone actually made a complex project with these initiatives, and had it spark an interest in computing/e…

There is a toggle between blocks and javascript in MakeCode. You can write code in blocks and switch to javascript or vice versa. This dual modality hopefully helps students to make the jump from blocks to javascript on a long term.

Blocks editor is based on the fork of google blockly(https://developers.google.com/blockly/).

Re: Microsoft MakeCode

#18

Post by tonydiv »

I'm really excited about this project! It seems like it's Google Blockly with a lot more bells and whistles. I'll have to dig into the code more to tell.

At BlockSchool, my online coding school for kids 6-13, we've had a pretty good experience using Blockly. We've managed to hook it up to our own Minecraft-esque world.

If you're interested in what we're doing with kids you can learn more here: https://block.school

Re: Microsoft MakeCode

#19

Post by leggomylibro »

abchatra wrote: post #17
leggomylibro wrote: post #14

Wow, cool - the 'block editor' looks a lot like Scratch. Is it Scratch? I'm having trouble finding many details about the technical side of it. I think 'visual programming' has a lot of promise for education, but...jeez, after looking into it for awhile I'm sort of losing hope that it isn't a gimmick or fad. Has anyone actually made a complex project with these initiatives, and had it spark an interest in computing/e…

There is a toggle between blocks and javascript in MakeCode. You can write code in blocks and switch to javascript or vice versa. This dual modality hopefully helps students to make the jump from blocks to javascript on a long term. Blocks editor is based on the fork of google blockly( https://developers.google.com/blockly/ ).

Cool, thanks for the information!

Re: Microsoft MakeCode

#20

Post by matthewwiese »

abchatra wrote: post #17
leggomylibro wrote: post #14

Wow, cool - the 'block editor' looks a lot like Scratch. Is it Scratch? I'm having trouble finding many details about the technical side of it. I think 'visual programming' has a lot of promise for education, but...jeez, after looking into it for awhile I'm sort of losing hope that it isn't a gimmick or fad. Has anyone actually made a complex project with these initiatives, and had it spark an interest in computing/e…

There is a toggle between blocks and javascript in MakeCode. You can write code in blocks and switch to javascript or vice versa. This dual modality hopefully helps students to make the jump from blocks to javascript on a long term. Blocks editor is based on the fork of google blockly( https://developers.google.com/blockly/ ).

Scratch 3.0 uses Google's Blockly in their new software, for those curious about the similarities. The tech is widely used in many different applications, as evidenced by Microsoft's use of it in MakeCode.

Though I'm not a part of the team and so can't provide much more information beyond an interested outsider, unfortunately. :)

Post reply on HN