Using NetRExx as a beginners language

[Dave Woodman]

I have the opportunity to use one day of my work time to “make a difference” so I have decided to give an introduction to programming to some 11 year-olds at my daughter’s primary school.

 

I’m going to use NetRexx to do it too!

 

I’ll be having a good, long  think on how best to use 8 hours of the children’s time to best advantage, and would welcome any input.

 

I would expect to do this sometime after Easter – I’ll use Jedit (Eclipse would be a bit much for the kids) and was wondering if we expect 3.01 by then, and whether the Jedit plugin would be officially updated to support it. I know I can drop the relevant jar into the relevant directory to do an update, but would prefer it to be more official, if possible.

 

No matter what, I am sure that it will be an “interesting” experience. The school nearly ripped my hand off when I offered!

 

Wish me luck,

 

                Dave.

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[Jeff Hennick]

On 1/20/2012 10:48 AM, Dave Woodman wrote:

I have the opportunity to use one day of my work time to “make a difference” so I have decided to give an introduction to programming to some 11 year-olds at my daughter’s primary school.

 ...

Wish me luck,

 

                Dave.

Big LUCK!

And, please, keep us posted as you, and they, progress.  Think about posting a final "curriculum" for others -- in order to "make [the biggest] difference."

Thank you, and again, best luck.



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[Tom Maynard]

On 1/20/2012 9:48 AM, Dave Woodman wrote:

I have decided to give an introduction to programming to some 11 year-olds at my daughter’s primary school.

Without trying to put words in Chip's mouth, he probably has some sage advice on this topic.  From the NetRexx.org website:

This was demonstrated by programming a simple
real-world object (a flashlight) using a simple pseudo-code.  The
flashlight was used to demonstrate the four characteristic features
of OOP: Objects, Encapsulation, Polymorphism, and Inheritance.  The
most complicated instruction in the code was an If-Then-Else.  By the
end of the session, the flashlight had become considerably more
sophisticated, and yet the pseudo-code was still very simple and
obvious.  At that point, I confessed that the pseudo-code was
nothing more than NetRexx.

Chip Davis, presenting for SHARE

He has been there, done that (albeit not exactly for 11 y/o's).  I particularly love the fact that after the presentation comes "the reveal": Oh, and by the way, you can actually compile this pseudo-code into a working Java program. <rimshot>

Tom.

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[Dave Woodman]

Thanks Tom – I have, of course seen this and enjoyed the “reveal” too.

 

I need, however, to start at the very beginning – to absolute programming beginners (application literate, code illiterate) – if I am lucky I might be able to get to something like Chip’s sneaky flashlight (we call them “torches” just to confuse) at the end, but it will be a stretch to get the kids there within 8 hours of teaching time.

 

I do, however, feel that a Rexx, and specifically NetRexx, would fit the bill as the language to be used for this purpose, and should continue to be of use to the students for a long while to come.

 

                Cheers,

 

                                Dave.

 

From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Tom Maynard
Sent: 20 January 2012 16:43
To: IBM Netrexx
Subject: Re: [Ibm-netrexx] Using NetRExx as a beginners language

 

On 1/20/2012 9:48 AM, Dave Woodman wrote:

I have decided to give an introduction to programming to some 11 year-olds at my daughter’s primary school.

Without trying to put words in Chip's mouth, he probably has some sage advice on this topic.  From the NetRexx.org website:

This was demonstrated by programming a simple
real-world object (a flashlight) using a simple pseudo-code.  The
flashlight was used to demonstrate the four characteristic features
of OOP: Objects, Encapsulation, Polymorphism, and Inheritance.  The
most complicated instruction in the code was an If-Then-Else.  By the
end of the session, the flashlight had become considerably more
sophisticated, and yet the pseudo-code was still very simple and
obvious.  At that point, I confessed that the pseudo-code was
nothing more than NetRexx.

Chip Davis, presenting for SHARE

He has been there, done that (albeit not exactly for 11 y/o's).  I particularly love the fact that after the presentation comes "the reveal": Oh, and by the way, you can actually compile this pseudo-code into a working Java program. <rimshot>

Tom.

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[measel]

The kid in me loves scribble.nrx from the Netrexx redbook examples.

 

From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Dave Woodman
Sent: Friday, January 20, 2012 12:17 PM
To: 'IBM Netrexx'
Subject: RE: [Ibm-netrexx] Using NetRExx as a beginners language

 

Thanks Tom – I have, of course seen this and enjoyed the “reveal” too.

 

I need, however, to start at the very beginning – to absolute programming beginners (application literate, code illiterate) – if I am lucky I might be able to get to something like Chip’s sneaky flashlight (we call them “torches” just to confuse) at the end, but it will be a stretch to get the kids there within 8 hours of teaching time.

 

I do, however, feel that a Rexx, and specifically NetRexx, would fit the bill as the language to be used for this purpose, and should continue to be of use to the students for a long while to come.

 

                Cheers,

 

                                Dave.

 

From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Tom Maynard
Sent: 20 January 2012 16:43
To: IBM Netrexx
Subject: Re: [Ibm-netrexx] Using NetRExx as a beginners language

 

On 1/20/2012 9:48 AM, Dave Woodman wrote:

I have decided to give an introduction to programming to some 11 year-olds at my daughter’s primary school.

Without trying to put words in Chip's mouth, he probably has some sage advice on this topic.  From the NetRexx.org website:

This was demonstrated by programming a simple
real-world object (a flashlight) using a simple pseudo-code.  The
flashlight was used to demonstrate the four characteristic features
of OOP: Objects, Encapsulation, Polymorphism, and Inheritance.  The
most complicated instruction in the code was an If-Then-Else.  By the
end of the session, the flashlight had become considerably more
sophisticated, and yet the pseudo-code was still very simple and
obvious.  At that point, I confessed that the pseudo-code was
nothing more than NetRexx.

Chip Davis, presenting for SHARE

He has been there, done that (albeit not exactly for 11 y/o's).  I particularly love the fact that after the presentation comes "the reveal": Oh, and by the way, you can actually compile this pseudo-code into a working Java program. <rimshot>

Tom.

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[Tom Maynard]

On 1/20/2012 12:29 PM, Measel, Mike wrote:

The kid in me loves scribble.nrx from the Netrexx redbook examples.

The subject of teaching kids to program has been an area of academic interest for quite a long time, and numerous approaches exist.  While starting with NetRexx is a laudable goal, I'm not convinced it's the best way to "hook" kids on the idea(s).

Perhaps an approach that engages children almost immediately, and yet leads (gently) to traditional programming -- including NetRexx -- might be a better choice.  You should at least take a look at some of the alternatives, Alice and/or Scratch, in particular.

Scratch: http://scratch.mit.edu/
Alice: http://www.alice.org/

Comparison: http://mcaf.ee/4quv9

These are not the only options!  I used Squeak (http://squeak.org, and in particular http://squeakland.org/) to introduce my own children to programming.  Squeak is based on Smalltalk, though, and doesn't pave the way to NetRexx quite as smoothly as would Alice, particularly due to the tight coupling of Alice with Java: http://www.java.com/en/java_in_action/alice.jsp.

And remember: Free advice is worth exactly what you pay for it.

Tom.

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[Aviatrexx]

On 1/20/12 18:17 Dave Woodman said:
> Thanks Tom – I have, of course seen this and enjoyed the “reveal” too.

I remember that presentation fondly.  It's probably still on my OS/2
ThinkPad and will probably still work if Freelance is still alive.  I
should dust it off and put it up on my website when I get home.

The other popular analogue I used was the vending machine, primarily
to demonstrate collections, but making change was also instructive.

> I need, however, to start at the very beginning – to absolute
> programming beginners (application literate, code illiterate) – if I am
> lucky I might be able to get to something like Chip’s sneaky flashlight
> (we call them “torches” just to confuse) at the end, but it will be a
> stretch to get the kids there within 8 hours of teaching time.

Don't sell them short; they've been using objects since their first
pacifier, and are now programming your smartphone.  A lot depends on
the analogies you draw.  But a lot more depends on keeping their
attention with things that move.  After all, Seymour Papert was
teaching 11-yr-olds Logo in 1970 using a robot turtle.

As you might have surmised, I found greater cognitive transfer by
taking a well-understood mechanism, and piece-wise deconstructing its
behavior.  I have often wished for a Lego Mindstorms set so I could
demonstrate such concepts actively.

> (we call them “torches” just to confuse)

At one point, I illustrated a Class object with a clip-art image of a
factory labeled "Flossum's Universal Flashlights".  That would have
scanned a lot better as "Tossum's Universal Torches" but I don't
recall anyone getting the literary reference in the first place. :-/

> I do, however, feel that a Rexx, and specifically NetRexx, would fit the
> bill as the language to be used for this purpose, and should continue to
> be of use to the students for a long while to come.

I agree, of course.  But I am inclined to also agree with Tom that,
given your time constraints, a pedagogical language like Squeak might
be a safer bet.  The kids won't remember the specifics of the language
after the summer vacation anyway, but the concepts should tie nicely
into a NetRexx-centric follow-on course the next Fall.

> *From:* Tom Maynard
> *Sent:* 20 January 2012 16:43
>
>> On 1/20/2012 9:48 AM, Dave Woodman wrote:
>> I have decided to give an introduction to programming to some 11
>> year-olds at my daughter’s primary school.
>
> Without trying to put words in Chip's mouth, he probably has some sage
> advice on this topic.  From the NetRexx.org website:
>
> This was demonstrated by programming a simple
> real-world object (a flashlight) using a simple pseudo-code.  The
> flashlight was used to demonstrate the four characteristic features
> of OOP: Objects, Encapsulation, Polymorphism, and Inheritance.  The
> most complicated instruction in the code was an If-Then-Else.  By the
> end of the session, the flashlight had become considerably more
> sophisticated, and yet the pseudo-code was still very simple and
> obvious.  At that point, I confessed that the pseudo-code was
> nothing more than NetRexx.
>
> Chip Davis, presenting for SHARE
>
> He has been there, done that (albeit not exactly for 11 y/o's).

A SHARE hall full of middle-aged procedural programmers is a pretty
tough crowd.  Not sure which group would be easier to bring along. ;-)

> I particularly love the fact that after the presentation comes "the
> reveal": Oh, and by the way, you can actually compile this pseudo-code
> into a working Java program. <rimshot>

Yeah, but that was all Mike's brilliance.  I just drew attention to it.

Best of luck with your adventure, Dave!  Keep us posted.

-Chip-


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