I mean, you have to click an icon to open Scratch, but other than that, the Raspberry Pi is what you want.
Ask HN: Is there a modern “power on to basic” computer, for kids to learn on?
91–100 of 340 posts
Re: Ask HN: Is there a modern “power on to basic” computer, for kids to learn on?
#92Raspberry PI cab be said to be evolved from a ~ power-on-to-BASIC computer; to wit: the (BBC) Acorn Archimedes. You can still get RISC OS for it even. Basically, you power on; hit F12; *BASIC >_ and bob's your uncle: you get a nice BBC BASIC prompt at the bottom of your screen. https://www.riscosopen.org/content/downloads/raspberry-pi (that said, why not use pi + python? It's the new BASIC. And it supports turtle gra…
>why not use pi + python? Do you have experience with teaching python to kids? I am afraid to try it with my son because white space is important, I tried only Scratch and making him think as "a machine" is hard enough adding syntax errors on top would make the job much harder, let me know if you have experience with this and if you think I am wrong.
Only the leading space is important and editors take care of it when you hit the tab key.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a modern “power on to basic” computer, for kids to learn on?
#93For those of us who grew up in the 8-bit era, this has a lot of appeal since that's how we got engaged. But for most kids today, is this sort of ab initio approach really the right way to go about it? Based on my experience with a few different types of kids/personalities, I'm skeptical. Dropping them into the command line / IDE of any language / environment is likely to leave them both unimpressed and lost. Neither…
Kids have it too easy today, they don't have to work very hard to get decent computing experiences, and its not like they have to do any programming at all to have fun. It is also super easy to get addicted to just consuming all the time. It is quite depressing.
My kid is still a toddler, but I think I might put a stripped down CLI-only computer in his room when he reaches 5 so he can at least play with it if he wants. It doesn't need to count as dangerous screen time, there is no internet to worry about, and he probably won't get addicted to a CLI at least. I mean, the alternative to that is probably no computer in his room until he is 16.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a modern “power on to basic” computer, for kids to learn on?
#94Hear me out here; Apple's Swift Playgrounds on an iPad. I'm involved in an extracurricular thing in Scotland focused on giving kids an environment they can figure out computers. We've seen a lot of different approaches to the problem of "how can we get kids to code", and Swift Playgrounds is consistently where we see youngfolk making the most progress. It gives you a nice, guided framework to get the very basics of p…
So what if your kid has access to a MacBook Air? Would you still start him/her out on an iPad or is it the same experience starting out on a Mac? Or is it too much/overwhelming to get started on Mac/Xcode from the get-go? Great suggestion, thanks for sharing this.
I think it would come down to if you can get the lesson books in Xcode's Playgrounds (or if they have a separate Playground application) that you can in the iPad app. Those are most of the benefit right there.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a modern “power on to basic” computer, for kids to learn on?
#95For those of us who grew up in the 8-bit era, this has a lot of appeal since that's how we got engaged. But for most kids today, is this sort of ab initio approach really the right way to go about it? Based on my experience with a few different types of kids/personalities, I'm skeptical. Dropping them into the command line / IDE of any language / environment is likely to leave them both unimpressed and lost. Neither…
> they're used to Maybe they're not used to them, because we haven't given them one? Or largely restrict their use? Necessity is the mother of invention for kids.
Only if they don't have friends. I have a family member who tried that and failed miserably: not only are the kids computer illiterate (from not having any positive/useful exposure to technology when they were younger) but now they are hooked video games and social 'stuff' from their friends / school. The parents have now thrown in the towel and use technology as a pacifier for their adolescents. Just because you don't allow it at home, don't assume they're not getting it somewhere else.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a modern “power on to basic” computer, for kids to learn on?
#96For those of us who grew up in the 8-bit era, this has a lot of appeal since that's how we got engaged. But for most kids today, is this sort of ab initio approach really the right way to go about it? Based on my experience with a few different types of kids/personalities, I'm skeptical. Dropping them into the command line / IDE of any language / environment is likely to leave them both unimpressed and lost. Neither…
Truestory. I was and embedded engineer and I still find this stuff pretty dull. I can't imagine a kid caring unless they have a specific project in mind. Especially when everything these days has nice graphics and there are so many options for apps, games, websites etc that are easier and more engaging.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a modern “power on to basic” computer, for kids to learn on?
#97Raspberry PI cab be said to be evolved from a ~ power-on-to-BASIC computer; to wit: the (BBC) Acorn Archimedes. You can still get RISC OS for it even. Basically, you power on; hit F12; *BASIC >_ and bob's your uncle: you get a nice BBC BASIC prompt at the bottom of your screen. https://www.riscosopen.org/content/downloads/raspberry-pi (that said, why not use pi + python? It's the new BASIC. And it supports turtle gra…
>why not use pi + python? Do you have experience with teaching python to kids? I am afraid to try it with my son because white space is important, I tried only Scratch and making him think as "a machine" is hard enough adding syntax errors on top would make the job much harder, let me know if you have experience with this and if you think I am wrong.
If you use a nice text editor, whitespace shouldn't be an issue. Even with any other language, you would want to show them how and why to indent. If it becomes an issue, they may be writing code that's too complicated.
In other words, I think a child will more easily learn about indentation, than handle writing flat code, which can get difficult to understand pretty quick
Re: Ask HN: Is there a modern “power on to basic” computer, for kids to learn on?
#98I would consider something like the BBC MicroBit[0] or Calliope Mini[1]. Similar to an Arduino but much more accessible for first time coders. And, as many have mentioned, the Raspberry Pi series.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a modern “power on to basic” computer, for kids to learn on?
#99Couldn't an old (or a new?) HP graphic calculator do the job? It's not technically basic, but you can do tons of stuff on it in addition to arithmetics and function plotting - including programming games, etc.
Plus, it's organized as a LIFO stack. To do e.g. 2 * (2 + 2) you'd enter: 2, 2, 2, +, *. Which helps train the mind to think far ahead about what you want to calculate and how.
Re: Ask HN: Is there a modern “power on to basic” computer, for kids to learn on?
#100For those of us who grew up in the 8-bit era, this has a lot of appeal since that's how we got engaged. But for most kids today, is this sort of ab initio approach really the right way to go about it? Based on my experience with a few different types of kids/personalities, I'm skeptical. Dropping them into the command line / IDE of any language / environment is likely to leave them both unimpressed and lost. Neither…
Truestory. I was and embedded engineer and I still find this stuff pretty dull. I can't imagine a kid caring unless they have a specific project in mind. Especially when everything these days has nice graphics and there are so many options for apps, games, websites etc that are easier and more engaging.
But did you ever find it interesting/fun or was it always just a job? I suspect that the OP is trying to find a way to convey the fun they experienced getting into tech as a kid... either that or they're sadistic ;-)