The development of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills is of great importance in education today.  Unfortunately, most of the efforts to date focus on science and math, and true technology skills are largely ignored.

Computer skills move way beyond knowing how to use browsers, word processors, etc.  The include knowing how to create programs to make computers do things the student wants them to do, even if they have never done these things before.  This makes programming a powerful skill to acquire at just about any grade level.  There are languages that let third graders create programs, and languages designed for older students to use.  Central to any of the languages explored on this page is that they help students develop and implement solid problem-solving methods that apply beyond the world of programming itself.

As this page is developed, we will be adding links to various languages and projects, and even show some examples of the kinds of programs students can build on their own.

If you ever wanted to "lift the hood" and take a look at the workings of software, the tools on this page are a great starting point for your effort!

• Scratch is a programming language created at MIT's Medialab that is easy to learn, yet quite powerful.  Unlike Squeak and its parent, Smalltalk, Scratch is easy to master by everyone from children to adults, and has the feature of reinforcing good programming practices through its use of programming elements that can be clicked together.  The Windows and Mac versions can be found at the MIT site, and, with their help, I assembled a Linux version found here that works pretty well.  MIT will have an official Linux release at the end of 2007, at which point you won't need mine any more.
• Stagecast Creator is a tool that supports "programming by demonstration" and is geared to the creation of programs where actors on the screen move in accordance to user-defined rules.  Simple programs can be created by very young children, and the same tool can be used to build quite complex models.
• NetLogo is a free version of a very powerful implementation of the Logo programming language originally specified by Seymour Papert many years ago.  Unlike early versions of Logo, NetLogo not only suppports the creation of simple programs, it supports the building of complex models in just about any domain of interest.  NetLogo comes with a library of finished programs that illustrate the scope and power of this language developed at Northwestern University.
• more tools coming soon!