You might not realize it, but most of our world runs on computer code. From apps and games to websites, coding is all around us. And, without it, you wouldn’t be able to crush candy, stream funny videos, or generate your own hilarious memes. What kind of a world would that be?! 😉
So, we want to highlight two computer codes that opened up our worlds and made it possible to have fun. These codes showed us how to build our own games! Here’s the two coding languages that are major inspiration behind our own littleBits Code Kit.
One of the first computer programs that started it all in 1978 – and is still used today – is called Hello, World! What is this nifty little program? It’s a computer program that outputs the message, “Hello, World!” to a user (Wikipedia). This is typically the first exercise taught in a coding class to new coders. And, we also paid homage to this program for sign art in our pop-up shop, too!
Photography by Daily Tous Le Jours
From Hello, World!, coding transformed even more in education. With this, Seymour Papert, the mathematician and coding pioneer, developed the programming language Logo.
Image from Wikipedia
Seymour Papert developed the Logo program with Daniel G. Bobrow, Wally Feurzeig, and Cynthia Solomon. It was originally designed to teach coding concepts and was utilized in many schools. Logo is best known for it’s turtle designs, which taught commands for movement and resulted in producing graphics. Personally, I remember coding with Turtle when I was just a small inventor and it immediately got me curious about computers!
Image from Wikipedia
Seymour and the team designed this language to promote constructive learning and to put the creativity and curiosity in the hands of students.
Users could continue to make commands to draw other shapes, designs, and pictures, too. After all, the point of Logo was to create and not have an end game. The curiosity and world of programming is what keeps coders innovating more and more.
And, we’re setting out to to move Seymour’s mission with our littleBits Code Kit. Let’s bring fun into the classroom. Just like how Seymour and other coders wanted to bring curiosity and imagination into the classroom, we are upholding that mission with a new kit that takes building games and imagination to another level by learning how to code.
We can’t wait to see what students do with the future of coding!