Learning programming - 6th grade
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This came from a friend this morning: One son is really interested in learning programming. Do you know of any resources for kids to learn on their own ? Not much offered in the 6th grade in our schools. What languages are most people using these days…..or I should say what appears to be the future trends for development ? What would you recommend for a setup if someone wanted to start in terms of hardware and software to start building code and/or websites ? I would suggest Turbo Pascal but I don't think any computers accept the 5 1/4" floppy that I have it on. :) Seriously though, I haven't given it much thought lately. I even looked at some old posts and articles. I'll send the link that came in the CP e-mail this morning http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10375115-2.html[^] , one or two pieces might be useful. Any other ideas?
SS => Qualified in Submarines "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm". Winston Churchill "Real programmers can write FORTRAN in any language". Unknown
If the kid likes tearing things apart -- and what kid doesn't -- this basic stamp kit[^] from Radio Shack is pretty cool.
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This came from a friend this morning: One son is really interested in learning programming. Do you know of any resources for kids to learn on their own ? Not much offered in the 6th grade in our schools. What languages are most people using these days…..or I should say what appears to be the future trends for development ? What would you recommend for a setup if someone wanted to start in terms of hardware and software to start building code and/or websites ? I would suggest Turbo Pascal but I don't think any computers accept the 5 1/4" floppy that I have it on. :) Seriously though, I haven't given it much thought lately. I even looked at some old posts and articles. I'll send the link that came in the CP e-mail this morning http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10375115-2.html[^] , one or two pieces might be useful. Any other ideas?
SS => Qualified in Submarines "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm". Winston Churchill "Real programmers can write FORTRAN in any language". Unknown
COBOL :laugh:
OMG what's the BFD?
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This came from a friend this morning: One son is really interested in learning programming. Do you know of any resources for kids to learn on their own ? Not much offered in the 6th grade in our schools. What languages are most people using these days…..or I should say what appears to be the future trends for development ? What would you recommend for a setup if someone wanted to start in terms of hardware and software to start building code and/or websites ? I would suggest Turbo Pascal but I don't think any computers accept the 5 1/4" floppy that I have it on. :) Seriously though, I haven't given it much thought lately. I even looked at some old posts and articles. I'll send the link that came in the CP e-mail this morning http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10375115-2.html[^] , one or two pieces might be useful. Any other ideas?
SS => Qualified in Submarines "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm". Winston Churchill "Real programmers can write FORTRAN in any language". Unknown
I've heard DarkBasic and Blitz Basic are pretty good for beginners. Maybe VB.NET or C# for more advanced stuff?
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No, they shouldn't. But that's just human nature; if he doesn't want reprisals (for want of a better word) in one forum, then he shouldn't be posting drivel. There is no innocent party here.
OSDev :)
IF you don't like what I have to say then you can go you know what with yourself. I don't give a damn what people think. I'll do whatever I want, and if you got a problem with that then you are going to have a difficult time for sure.
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I'm with you 100 per cent. He occasionaly does have a valid point.
BDF People don't mind being mean; but they never want to be ridiculous. -- Moliere
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IF you don't like what I have to say then you can go you know what with yourself. I don't give a damn what people think. I'll do whatever I want, and if you got a problem with that then you are going to have a difficult time for sure.
Remarkable. You've completely ignored the fact that I said that you were partially being picked on unjustly, ignored my point that I don't vote your posts down and instead decided to show off your arrogance. Newsflash: No, you can't do "whatever you want". Like it or not, this is someone else's site and it should be patently obvious that by using it you agree to go by their rules.
CaptainSeeSharp wrote:
IF you don't like what I have to say then you can go you know what with yourself
Except that it isn't just me. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe - just maybe - you could try to objectively understand why other people don't like your speech patterns and content? Perhaps you should care what people think. You use their site, you go by their rules.
CaptainSeeSharp wrote:
I'll do whatever I want, and if you got a problem with that then you are going to have a difficult time for sure.
There's the arrogance. Why should people around you have to change because you can't be bothered? Has it ever occurred to you that compromise on two fronts would be a better way to go. And incidentally, I'm hoping that it wasn't you that down-voted two of my posts. It doesn't bother me, merely indicates that you can only make your opinion known by screaming out at the world. If so, then your behaviour is somewhat saddening.
OSDev :)
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He's one of the people who could best enrich the world by leaving it.
The latest nation. Procrastination.
Perhaps. He's not an idiot. If he could learn to "work and play well with others" he might be worth saving.
BDF People don't mind being mean; but they never want to be ridiculous. -- Moliere
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He's one of the people who could best enrich the world by leaving it.
The latest nation. Procrastination.
Dan Neely wrote:
He's one of the people who could best enrich the world by leaving it.
BS! Face up to reality, I'm not going anywhere and there is NOTHING, I repeat, NOTHING you can do about it.
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Remarkable. You've completely ignored the fact that I said that you were partially being picked on unjustly, ignored my point that I don't vote your posts down and instead decided to show off your arrogance. Newsflash: No, you can't do "whatever you want". Like it or not, this is someone else's site and it should be patently obvious that by using it you agree to go by their rules.
CaptainSeeSharp wrote:
IF you don't like what I have to say then you can go you know what with yourself
Except that it isn't just me. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe - just maybe - you could try to objectively understand why other people don't like your speech patterns and content? Perhaps you should care what people think. You use their site, you go by their rules.
CaptainSeeSharp wrote:
I'll do whatever I want, and if you got a problem with that then you are going to have a difficult time for sure.
There's the arrogance. Why should people around you have to change because you can't be bothered? Has it ever occurred to you that compromise on two fronts would be a better way to go. And incidentally, I'm hoping that it wasn't you that down-voted two of my posts. It doesn't bother me, merely indicates that you can only make your opinion known by screaming out at the world. If so, then your behaviour is somewhat saddening.
OSDev :)
It is my nature, accept it.
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Remarkable. You've completely ignored the fact that I said that you were partially being picked on unjustly, ignored my point that I don't vote your posts down and instead decided to show off your arrogance. Newsflash: No, you can't do "whatever you want". Like it or not, this is someone else's site and it should be patently obvious that by using it you agree to go by their rules.
CaptainSeeSharp wrote:
IF you don't like what I have to say then you can go you know what with yourself
Except that it isn't just me. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe - just maybe - you could try to objectively understand why other people don't like your speech patterns and content? Perhaps you should care what people think. You use their site, you go by their rules.
CaptainSeeSharp wrote:
I'll do whatever I want, and if you got a problem with that then you are going to have a difficult time for sure.
There's the arrogance. Why should people around you have to change because you can't be bothered? Has it ever occurred to you that compromise on two fronts would be a better way to go. And incidentally, I'm hoping that it wasn't you that down-voted two of my posts. It doesn't bother me, merely indicates that you can only make your opinion known by screaming out at the world. If so, then your behaviour is somewhat saddening.
OSDev :)
Ugh... Leave it. :)
“Follow your bliss.” – Joseph Campbell
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It is my nature, accept it.
Will you please take your argument to the backroom or are you going to make me feel bad for having shown a little support for you?
“Follow your bliss.” – Joseph Campbell
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Blocked at work; have to wait to get home to look at that :sigh:
SS => Qualified in Submarines "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm". Winston Churchill "Real programmers can write FORTRAN in any language". Unknown
Oh, it's Lightbot; a time-waster that been posted here before.
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I'd recommend Visual Basic .Net. It uses a massive runtime, but it's close enough to real words for him to be able to speak it, and has enough room for him to expand into C# and C++ if he wants.
OSDev :)
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This came from a friend this morning: One son is really interested in learning programming. Do you know of any resources for kids to learn on their own ? Not much offered in the 6th grade in our schools. What languages are most people using these days…..or I should say what appears to be the future trends for development ? What would you recommend for a setup if someone wanted to start in terms of hardware and software to start building code and/or websites ? I would suggest Turbo Pascal but I don't think any computers accept the 5 1/4" floppy that I have it on. :) Seriously though, I haven't given it much thought lately. I even looked at some old posts and articles. I'll send the link that came in the CP e-mail this morning http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10375115-2.html[^] , one or two pieces might be useful. Any other ideas?
SS => Qualified in Submarines "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm". Winston Churchill "Real programmers can write FORTRAN in any language". Unknown
The child could get involved with First Lego League www.usfirst.org and preferrably use RoboLab (LabView) for programming. Outside of FLL they can use NQC (for the RCX) or NXC (for the NXT). Also check out www.alice.org Jay
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This came from a friend this morning: One son is really interested in learning programming. Do you know of any resources for kids to learn on their own ? Not much offered in the 6th grade in our schools. What languages are most people using these days…..or I should say what appears to be the future trends for development ? What would you recommend for a setup if someone wanted to start in terms of hardware and software to start building code and/or websites ? I would suggest Turbo Pascal but I don't think any computers accept the 5 1/4" floppy that I have it on. :) Seriously though, I haven't given it much thought lately. I even looked at some old posts and articles. I'll send the link that came in the CP e-mail this morning http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10375115-2.html[^] , one or two pieces might be useful. Any other ideas?
SS => Qualified in Submarines "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm". Winston Churchill "Real programmers can write FORTRAN in any language". Unknown
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Ugh... Leave it. :)
“Follow your bliss.” – Joseph Campbell
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This came from a friend this morning: One son is really interested in learning programming. Do you know of any resources for kids to learn on their own ? Not much offered in the 6th grade in our schools. What languages are most people using these days…..or I should say what appears to be the future trends for development ? What would you recommend for a setup if someone wanted to start in terms of hardware and software to start building code and/or websites ? I would suggest Turbo Pascal but I don't think any computers accept the 5 1/4" floppy that I have it on. :) Seriously though, I haven't given it much thought lately. I even looked at some old posts and articles. I'll send the link that came in the CP e-mail this morning http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10375115-2.html[^] , one or two pieces might be useful. Any other ideas?
SS => Qualified in Submarines "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm". Winston Churchill "Real programmers can write FORTRAN in any language". Unknown
I would suggest a version of BASIC. I got into programming by learning BASIC (in QBASIC) from a couple of books I found at my elementary school library back in 2nd grade. Ah, old-times... I had my first PC in 1994, running DOS + Win3.11 for Workgroups (does anyone remember that?). On my birthday my dad got me MS Flight Sim 5.1 on floppy disks :-D That got me more interested in programming, and then I found a couple of really cool books at the school library. One was blue and thin and it was about writing BASIC programs - but with a storyline that you are stuck on Mars in a spaceship and writing the programs to help you out of your predicament. The other was yellow, with a plastic cover, and thick, and had all kinds of goodies, including programs in which you made a "rocket" on the screen by printing out empty lines to make ASCII-art go up, and other programs that were more like riddles or novels with questions that the "user" answered. I also learned to use QBASIC's built-in help system. One of the first programs I wrote on my own was a simple adder that helped me cheat on my math homework. Then in 5th grade, one day, my dad got me a Java book, Teach Yourself Java in 21-days. I was hooked immediately and even read it by hiding it in my desk during classes at school :-D Soon afterwards I got the book Black Art of Java Game Programming. Ah, good times! That's how I found out about C. The Java book mentioned it. So then we got a book called "Windows Programming for Dummies" and that's how I got into programming with C. I also got a book that came with a Visual C++ 1.0 CD, and another about Windows Game Programming that taught how to use WinG ;) After that, I got interested in graphics and 3D graphics and did lots of little experiments with graphics mode 13h and BIOS keyboard functions, VGA registers and palettes and banks, and all that good stuff, by learning stuff off the web. Anyone remember Andre Lamothe? I really learned C and ASM once I got into operating system programming. I learned web programming and some scripting stuff relatively recently. So something like the above "path" might be the way to go...
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This came from a friend this morning: One son is really interested in learning programming. Do you know of any resources for kids to learn on their own ? Not much offered in the 6th grade in our schools. What languages are most people using these days…..or I should say what appears to be the future trends for development ? What would you recommend for a setup if someone wanted to start in terms of hardware and software to start building code and/or websites ? I would suggest Turbo Pascal but I don't think any computers accept the 5 1/4" floppy that I have it on. :) Seriously though, I haven't given it much thought lately. I even looked at some old posts and articles. I'll send the link that came in the CP e-mail this morning http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10375115-2.html[^] , one or two pieces might be useful. Any other ideas?
SS => Qualified in Submarines "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm". Winston Churchill "Real programmers can write FORTRAN in any language". Unknown
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This came from a friend this morning: One son is really interested in learning programming. Do you know of any resources for kids to learn on their own ? Not much offered in the 6th grade in our schools. What languages are most people using these days…..or I should say what appears to be the future trends for development ? What would you recommend for a setup if someone wanted to start in terms of hardware and software to start building code and/or websites ? I would suggest Turbo Pascal but I don't think any computers accept the 5 1/4" floppy that I have it on. :) Seriously though, I haven't given it much thought lately. I even looked at some old posts and articles. I'll send the link that came in the CP e-mail this morning http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10375115-2.html[^] , one or two pieces might be useful. Any other ideas?
SS => Qualified in Submarines "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm". Winston Churchill "Real programmers can write FORTRAN in any language". Unknown
I would recommend Liberty BASIC, for Windows. It's what got me started on programming in middle school. LB is interesting in that it's BASIC, with a classic BASIC syntax, but it's also got access to the entire Windows API. The only current programming concept it can't teach is Object-Oriented programming, which is not for beginners, anyway. A free version, Just BASIC, is available, but slightly less powerful. http://www.libertybasic.com http://www.justbasic.com
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This came from a friend this morning: One son is really interested in learning programming. Do you know of any resources for kids to learn on their own ? Not much offered in the 6th grade in our schools. What languages are most people using these days…..or I should say what appears to be the future trends for development ? What would you recommend for a setup if someone wanted to start in terms of hardware and software to start building code and/or websites ? I would suggest Turbo Pascal but I don't think any computers accept the 5 1/4" floppy that I have it on. :) Seriously though, I haven't given it much thought lately. I even looked at some old posts and articles. I'll send the link that came in the CP e-mail this morning http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10375115-2.html[^] , one or two pieces might be useful. Any other ideas?
SS => Qualified in Submarines "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm". Winston Churchill "Real programmers can write FORTRAN in any language". Unknown
I would say a version of BASIC is a good place to start. I was programming in basic when I was in 2nd grade though so you may actually want to find something more relevant. By sixth gradeish I was doing C++ and assembly. Its part of the balance of their personality. You don't want them to get frustrated or bored and walk away, but you don't want to make things too easy so they believe real programming is that easy. I think the MOST important part of programming is learning the structure. I was really bad with structure and I don't even think about it when I start writing a small app. The result is I usually miss a key structural element and just do a whole rewrite or two. I'd recommend getting a good flowchart program and encouraging him to plan it out thoroughly before touching the keyboard. Then let him pick what he uses, there are so many free compilers, but the more industry relevant the better I think. Honestly, I use FreeBasic all the time. The runtimes are the fastest I've seen for basic and if I'm just trying to figure out a math concept, I run home to my language mommy. (One of the things I was always interested in but didn't have the money to do till I was older was micro controllers. They have the same gratification as the flashy graphics, but for some reason I always learn more. I think that may be another good place to start learning programming.)