Programming without a Computer: A New Interface for Children under Eight

• Authors: Peta Wyeth;Helen C. Purchase
• Venue: AUIC '00 Proceedings of the First Australasian User Interface Conference
• Year: 2000

Electronic Blocks are a new programming interface, designed for children aged between three and eight years. The Electronic Blocks programming environment includes sensor blocks, action blocks and logic blocks. By connecting these blocks children can program structures that interact with the environment. The Electronic Block programming interface design is based on principles of developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood education. As a result the blocks provide young children with a programming environment that allows them to explore quite complex programming principles. The simple syntax of the blocks provides opportunities for young children unavailable through the use of traditional programming languages. The blocks allow children to create and use simple code structures. The Electronic Block environment provides a developmentally appropriate environment for planning overall strategies for solving a problem, breaking a strategy down into manageable units, and systematically determining the weakness of the solution. Electronic Blocks are the physical embodiment of computer programming. They have the unique dynamic and programmable properties of a computer minus its complexity.