Is Python The New Basic? ("Python For Kids")
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Is Python The New Basic? ("Python For Kids")
1–10 of 53 posts
Re: Is Python The New Basic? ("Python For Kids")
#2Javascript is.
Re: Is Python The New Basic? ("Python For Kids")
#3Nothing is, that's the problem.
Re: Is Python The New Basic? ("Python For Kids")
#4I'd rather take Lua as "The new Basic", since it has a syntax closer to Basic, and it's a simpler language.
Re: Is Python The New Basic? ("Python For Kids")
#5I didn't realize there were people who still didn't know that.
Python is a language for people who don't program, and want to call themselves programmers but don't actually want to be a programmer.
Re: Is Python The New Basic? ("Python For Kids")
#6Nothing is, that's the problem.
Yes... At least for non-technical people.
Last year I did a small project with Excel/VBA and I realized VBA is even more difficult than C#. String manipulation is overly complex and nearly everything seems really difficult.
Re: Is Python The New Basic? ("Python For Kids")
#7[deleted]
Re: Is Python The New Basic? ("Python For Kids")
#8I started with BASIC when in school and now I am in the process of introducing Python to my 11 year old. Anything that makes learning fun will gets kids to try out something new!
Last summer together we did codeacademy's introduction to Python.
This site has a list of books and online resources for just the purpose http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=6...
Re: Is Python The New Basic? ("Python For Kids")
#9For someone who already knows how to program, Python seems to be very easy to pick up. It's still a tremendously more complex language than BASIC.
I help teach an after-school programming class for middle schoolers. Last year, we tried using Python. While some students got the hang of it, many seemed confused and demotivated.
This year, I wrote a simple TinyBASIC REPL from scratch[1], aiming to produce the simplest subset of the language that made it possible to do interesting things and illustrate concepts like looping, branching, variables, etc. It was a big hit with the kids, and the whole class has been extremely engaged. As a next step, I've built a Logo[2] implementation so that we can move into writing modular, reusable procedures and play with graphics.
Learning to program is almost entirely orthogonal to learning a language, and I think that starting with very small "toy" languages is a good way to approach teaching core concepts without getting lost in the quirks and complex features of popular "real" languages. BASIC is small, Python will never be.
[1]https://github.com/JohnEarnest/Mako/tree/master/demos/Masica
[2]https://github.com/JohnEarnest/Mako/tree/master/demos/LokoRe: Is Python The New Basic? ("Python For Kids")
#10I wish SmallBASIC (there are two of them! [0] [1]) would catch on (become a household name). Very easy, approachable, and has the same charm as normal BASIC/QBASIC - with regards to the development environment. Perfect for children.
[0]: http://smallbasic.com/ (Microsoft SmallBASIC)
[1]: http://smallbasic.sourceforge.net/ (SmallBASIC - One more basic)