Programming for young children using tangible tiles and camera-enabled handheld devices

Abstract

Schools are trying to teach programming at an earlier age, but there are some difficulties, namely the cost of having enough computer stations for the kids. We present the tangible system Tactode for young students to learn to program in the classroom, using handheld camera devices. The system was tested with a small focus group of students between 10 and 12 years old, that were asked to draw a regular polygon using the Scratch cat. All students completed the required task although some required help. Both students and teachers reported that they thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would like to repeat. In questionaries following the activities, the students declared that they found the language easy to use, with only 14% deeming it somewhat difficult. We consider these early results encouraging as well as informative for future developments.