I am not sure. I've learned programming on the C64 when I was 12 years old. I used Basic. On the other hand a friend of mine used a so called 'game maker' to create games. His games (which he created without programming) looked much more professional than what I wrote in Basic. In fact he had to configure so much things, that it was overwhelming to me, so he was a king in my eyes. But unfortunatelly he never learned to program and I bacame a software developer. I think a Logo interpreter or something which has something to do with creating algorithms is a better tool for a child to start. A tool like this does not teach what is the most interesting if someone really has affinitiy to programming: algorithmic thinking.
When I watch my niece gleefully play with sand, dirt, and water, I love it because she is as engaged or even more focused then when she is watching some Nick Jr. show.
I think the new Google tools are an important first step from pre-teens mindlessly playing/texting with their mobile devices (consuming) to making something, even if it is a toy app (producing). And maybe they'll get a bit of the ego boost that comes from making something other people like/want. Maybe it will become cool to make your own little apps. Imagine if Seventeen magazine had a monthly contest for best app. This could be more than a technological shift, this could be a shifting of cultural attitudes towards programming / IT at the subsurface, tectonic level.
As for teaching logic, I think it really comes down to how the person is wired internally. Some people just think that way.
Comments
I am not sure. I've learned programming on the C64 when I was 12 years old. I used Basic. On the other hand a friend of mine used a so called 'game maker' to create games. His games (which he created without programming) looked much more professional than what I wrote in Basic. In fact he had to configure so much things, that it was overwhelming to me, so he was a king in my eyes. But unfortunatelly he never learned to program and I bacame a software developer. I think a Logo interpreter or something which has something to do with creating algorithms is a better tool for a child to start. A tool like this does not teach what is the most interesting if someone really has affinitiy to programming: algorithmic thinking.
When I watch my niece gleefully play with sand, dirt, and water, I love it because she is as engaged or even more focused then when she is watching some Nick Jr. show.
I think the new Google tools are an important first step from pre-teens mindlessly playing/texting with their mobile devices (consuming) to making something, even if it is a toy app (producing). And maybe they'll get a bit of the ego boost that comes from making something other people like/want. Maybe it will become cool to make your own little apps. Imagine if Seventeen magazine had a monthly contest for best app. This could be more than a technological shift, this could be a shifting of cultural attitudes towards programming / IT at the subsurface, tectonic level.
As for teaching logic, I think it really comes down to how the person is wired internally. Some people just think that way.