A long time ago there was Logo which allowed users to interact and program a turtle to do certain actions. My predecessor, Rachel Avery wrote books on Logo. Logo still exists although it is now done via MicroWorlds or Terrapin Software. I remember conversations I had with the parents of students in the Lower School who wished I taught students some basic programming as a way to demystify how a computer program works as well as to introduce them to the power of programming languages. I was not successful in this as the schedule was always too tight or there were other skills or topics that needed addressing. Lost in all of this was the chance for students to tinker around with software and programming. I regret that I was not able to accomplish that in the Lower School which is why I am hopeful for the Lego Mindstorms NXT Club that will be starting soon in the Middle School. While still not a mainstream class, it will at least be offered as a club. Small steps still take you on a journey.

I listened to a podcast by Wesley Freyer who also writes a blog at Moving at the Speed of Creativity. He had a interview with his son Alexander who played with using Scratch from MIT. The value of tinkering is not lost on the youth of today. I remember tinkering with my dad’s old cars when I grew up as it was mysterious to me how they worked. I often could not put all of the pieces back which meant it no longer worked. Of course, I never tried this with a working car so there was no real harm done. I learned a lot with these adventures into a V8.

Today, students are able to tinker with all sorts of technology. Scratch is another wonderful tool. Alice is another that I will be exploring in order to bring programming to girls in the Middle School.

So, scratch the programming itch and tinker away.

We will have it installed soon on the computers at school.