more complicated behavior is desired, the user can make
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use of any number of Conditional actions.
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An important aspect that we discovered during user
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testing is that children appreciate a lively application with
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colorful icons and audio feedback. Appropriate audio
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feedback serves two purposes. Users can receive
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confirmation that what they expected really happened or
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warnings that they just did something they were not
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supposed to.
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The rule-based approach in LEGOsheets maps nicely
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onto programming artifacts with parallel behavior.
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However, it falls short in cases where the sequencing and
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timing of events is important. Brick Logo, with its
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sequential model, is better suited to handle sequences. A
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simple traffic light with a timed sequence shifting from
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red to green to yellow and back, can be written in a few
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lines of code that are straightforward. However,
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implementing the traffic light in LEGOsheets is more
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difficult, and not so intuitive.
- Conclusion
The gradual transition from manual control to
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programmed control provided by LEGOsheets makes
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learning to program the LEGO Programmable Brick an
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enjoyable experience. It is important to make learning to
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program fun, especially for children. LEGOsheets
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achieves this by continuing to reward the children with
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increasingly powerful abilities while requiring only small
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increases in the skill needed.
Acknowledgments
The research was supported by the National Science
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Foundation under grant No. RED 925-3425, supplement
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to RED 925-3425, the Advanced Research Projects
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Agency under Cooperative Agreement No. CDA-940860,
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and Apple Computer, Inc. Special thanks go to Mitchel
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Resnick, Fred Martin, and numerous other MIT Media
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Lab members for the LEGO Programmable Brick and
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their great support. Scott Dixon, a teacher at the
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Centennial Middle School in Boulder, made all the user
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testing with his wonderful students possible. The people
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at the Center for LifeLong Learning and Design, provided
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essential insights and suggestions.
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Psychology, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1987.
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