I think my worry is that with the prevalence of locked down device that are now on the market, trying to even purchase a general purpose computer might become difficult.
Yes, if you are inclined you can buy a Raspberry Pi, but equally your kids could go from cradle to grave, never having touched a general purpose computer.
I see this as a problem. How do we inspire even a few kids in each generation to take up programming, if the only computer they've ever used is un-programmable.
I've blogged about this somewhere but I forget the link.
Let's not rely on nostalgia to inform our concerns. I remember what it was like to grow up with a general purpose computer. It ran closed-source software and there were no programming environments, resources, or classes easily available to a kid.
It's true that some kids learned to program on their home computers. They did so against incredible odds.
Today's kids are surrounded by cheap, plentiful, powerful computers, and awash in information about programming on the Internet and in bookstores and libraries and schools. It has never been easier for a kid to learn to program, if they want to.
> How do we inspire even a few kids in each generation to take up programming, if the only computer they've ever used is un-programmable.
This is like asking how do we inspire kids to be writers if none of the books they've ever read have been typewriters. There is more inspiration for kid programmers today than there ever has been in the history of the world, because they are immersed in more computing than any previous generation.
>How do we inspire even a few kids in each generation to take up programming, if the only computer they've ever used is un-programmable.
I think for most users, the experiences of using a programmable v.s. non-programmable device are about even in terms of inspiration. An iPad is just as likely to spawn an interest in games as a regular PC (perhaps more, as it's more approachable). The biggest problem is that locked down devices are poor programming platforms, but getting a basic platform to program is pretty cheap and easy, so I don't see that as a big problem.
>but getting a basic platform to program is pretty cheap and easy, so I don't see that as a big problem.
A basic platform to program with is pretty cheap, but it'll _probably_ only run programs on a general purpose computer. I'm pretty sure you can't build iOS apps on a RPi.
I guess my big problem is that you can't build an iOS app on an iOS device. I see this as a problem given the prevalence of locked down devices now on the market.
Yes, if you are inclined you can buy a Raspberry Pi, but equally your kids could go from cradle to grave, never having touched a general purpose computer.
I see this as a problem. How do we inspire even a few kids in each generation to take up programming, if the only computer they've ever used is un-programmable.
I've blogged about this somewhere but I forget the link.