does anyone know of a visual programming tool that could be adapted for children (kids age 7-12) so that they can generate c programs to control device?
+8
A:
If controlling devices is your ultimate goal, how about LEGO Mindstorms? You can use all sorts of languages with it and they get to play with LEGO! They can start with the default language and once they understand the fundamentals they can start using some of the third-party languages, some of which are C/C-like
Daniel DiPaolo
2010-06-10 18:24:18
Another benefit of this is that instead of typing out code, you drag and drop what amounts to code snippets which avoids syntax errors, etc. and is very useful in teaching code structure. Mindstorms was my first introduction to programming.
Caleb Thompson
2010-06-10 18:26:21
+1 for LEGO Mindstorms especially because it's ideal for the specified age group :)
BoltClock
2010-06-10 18:32:25
A:
I am not sure if my answer is helpful, but you can use arduino IDE to program arduino boards. it is it is visual and running program is just a single click. interface is simple as hell and programming language (C based) is very simple to start with.
although myself, I prefer emacs to program arduino (definitely overkill for kids)
aaa
2010-06-10 18:28:57
A:
I agree with Daniel about the LEGO's but another idea is to try Alice and a class mate of mine from college is trying to start a company with his brother and two sisters working on a project to teach children, or anyone for that matter, how to program. It's called Project Forge I don't know too much about it but I thought you could look into it.
GEShafer
2010-06-10 18:30:18
A:
If your looking for a good way to teach kids programming, take a look at LOGO.
http://www.softronix.com/logo.html
A bonus of learning LOGO, is that it has been used in a variety of robot toys. You don't need to buy these to teach your children to program, the free LOGO version suffices. Of course the robot toys are great fun as well. More information is available online, e.g. the LEGO (Mindstorm series) and Fisher Technic toys.
Jimmy C
2010-06-10 18:31:23
+1
A:
Another interesting language for kids is scratch, from MIT. I don't know if it's possible to use it to control devices
pcent
2010-06-10 18:36:29
A:
It is not C/C++, but Microsoft has a free Small Basic IDE http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/beginner/ff384126.aspx aimed at kids. Also, the EXPRESS editions of Visual Studio are free and do support C in the IDE
edgman
2010-06-10 21:11:13