[GLLUG] intro to programming

[Clay Dowling]

Michael George wrote:
> We homeschool our children, and the oldest are old enough that I think
> they are ready for an intro to programming.  I would like a book that can
> hold their hands and help them learn logic and programming, but do so at a
> 5-7th grade level and using open-source languages.
>
> I know some on this list are students and some are teachers, so I am
> hoping there might be some experience-based recommendations.  I'll take
> what I can get, though.

There's always the venerable LOGO, which I find very fun to play with. 
You need to take into account your own programming ability though.

A fun choice might be one of the languages designed for writing text
adventure games.  I'm partial to TADS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TADS),
but a lot of people have done excellent work with Inform
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inform), which produces output compatible
with the old Zork games from Infocom.

Both include good tutorials and sample programs.  I've had a lot of fun
playing with them.  Current versions of TADS also offer the capability to
use graphics and sound in the games, which some people have demonstrated
to good effect.

Clay
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