Reykjavík Grapevine - 15.07.2011, Qupperneq 14

14
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 10 — 2011
SUPER JEEP & SNOWMOBILE TOURS
Computers | For kids, you know!
When picturing a ‘computer pro-
grammer’ we tend to imagine a
smart, nerdy type spending his days
and nights in the university library,
studying books that are almost un-
readable for the rest of us mortals.
But is it possible to teach children how
to programme in C++ or Java the same
way they learn English at school?
Children have a strong capacity for ac-
quiring new knowledge. Have you ever
seen a child learning a language or to play
an instrument? Compared to adults, their
learning pace is incredibly fast.
So, why don’t we take advantage of this
and start teaching them to programme in
early childhood. That is what Laufey Dís
Ragnarsdóttir and Rakel Sölvadóttir—
computer scientists and psychologists at
the Reykjavík University—thought and
gave rise to ‘Children In The Land of
Computer Games,’ a project that recently
won the “Seed of the year 2011” entrepre-
neurial award from Reykjavík University.
Now in the process of setting up a
research project to measure the effects
of programming education on children,
Laufey took time to answer some ques-
tions about this fascinating project.
What got you started?
We are two software engineers who de-
cided to change directions and study
psychology at Reykjavík University in the
fall of 2009. Last year we were assigned
to make an experiment in developmen-
tal psychology, and we decided to try to
teach our children programming. We
concluded that children as young as six
years old are ready to learn how to pro-
gramme. This also opened our eyes to
the fact that nowadays we have great pro-
gramming environments out there. This
further enhances children’s interest and
motivation to learn about programming.
The assumed problem with previous
attempts to teach children programming
was firstly that programming languages
were too complicated, secondly the as-
signments where uninteresting (e.g.
drawing lines or computing two num-
bers) and thirdly that children didn’t get
enough support and knowledge. With to-
day’s technology, the first two obstacles
are no longer a problem.
PROGRAMMING AS SECOND
LANGUAGE
Isn't it a very specific thing to teach pro-
gramming to young children... it sounds
more like a subject of a bachelor in com-
puting?
The power of programming is not just
for software engineers. If you are going
to be a doctor, journalist or psychologist
for example you need to know what tech-
nology can do for you and how you can
use it. You need to understand technology
to be able to use it for your own benefit
whatever line of work your heart leads you.
Do you believe that programming should
be like learning a second language at
school, like English or Spanish?
Of course. All children should be able to
write as well as to read. Programming is
just like English, Spanish or Icelandic—
you need to be able to read and write.
Children today are getting to be special-
ists in reading computers, but to be able
to understand technology you need to be
able to write it as well.
What do you believe will be the conse-
quences/benefits for the education sys-
tem? And for children?
Studies have shown that teaching chil-
dren how to programme enhances their
logical thinking and their ability to solve
problems. There will also be a benefit in
the long run for our community. Hope-
fully more girls will choose the technol-
ogy field as their career and for others
that don’t choose the technology field it
can widen their opportunity in whatever
career they choose.
SYNTAX ERROR
Programming seems to be a complex
subject for young children: What pro-
gramming language do they learn under
your plan?
Learning a new language comes native
to children. A programming language
is just a new language, specifically for
communication between a man and a
computer. This skill that children have
in learning a new language starts to
diminish after twelve years of age. Our
research showed that children at the age
six and nine are well capable of learning
how to programme and show great inter-
est. We should use this talent and have
all children learn how to programme.
Nowadays there are several program-
ming environments that simplify the
first step of programming. This sum-
mer we are going to host a programming
course for children aged seven to eleven.
Children that attend the course learn to
programme using the Alice 2.2 environ-
ment. Alice is an innovative 3D program-
ming environment that makes it easy to
create an animation for telling a story,
playing an interactive game, or a video
to share on the web. Alice is a free en-
vironment and especially designed to be
a children’s first exposure to program-
ming, and it has an interactive interface.
Children can drag and drop graphic
tiles to create a programme. Alice allows
children to immediately see how their
animation programs run, enabling them
to easily understand the relationship be-
tween the programming statements and
the behaviour of objects in their anima-
tion. And for the computer programmers
reading this article, this includes object
oriented thinking: statements, events,
problem anticipation, all without daunt-
ing syntax errors.
Could you explain your method of teach-
ing programming to children?
We will use a couple of methods to
teach the children how to programme.
For example, we will teach the children
to use mind maps and f lowcharts, this
is to help the children to plan their pro-
gramme. We will not just sit in front of
the computer all the time, but also go
outdoors and play games like orienteer-
ing. We think that outdoor play and all
other playing is also important while you
learn how to programme.
Nappies And Bytes
They are teaching computer programming to kids now! WHAT!?! First off, a few tidbits of un-explored Iceland trivia for
you. In the scheme of Eu-
rope, with 103.000 square
kilometres, Iceland is not a tiny island
in the middle of the North Atlantic. Ice-
land, is, in fact:
more than double the size of Swit-
zerland;
around 25% larger than Ireland;
nearly ten times larger than little
Holland;
and—get this—almost as large as
England, with her 130.395 square
kilometres.
That’s right: England is only 26,2%
larger than Iceland!
Of course this is land-mass-swag-
gering; we all know that Iceland’s
population is smaller than most Euro-
pean countries. Yet it may surprise you
to know that according to the recently
released IMF 2011 Outlook Report,
Iceland still fares well with GDP pur-
chasing parity per capita, coming in at
number 16 worldwide—ahead of the
UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy.
So what’s all the fuss about then?
As we’ve come to notice, quite fre-
quently the foreign media portrays Ice-
land as a piddly little dot in the North
Atlantic, once home to one of the most
successful economies on earth, now
home to a handful of quirky knitters,
farmers and fisherman.
And yes, Iceland is an island nation,
but only in such a way that Ireland,
Britain, or Greenland are island na-
tions.
The thing is, Iceland is still far from
the rest of Europe. Some of you who live
in Europe may have noticed that unless
there’s some kind of volcanic eruption,
Iceland doesn’t even figure on Europe-
an TV stations’ weather reports. As far
as BBC Weather is concerned, Iceland
isn’t even on the European map.
A myth perpetuates because it
sounds romantic and mysterious, and
because the Kunois and Hapag Lloyds
of this world sell Iceland as a forbid-
den, unexplored land. Fact of the mat-
ter is, Iceland needs tourism to survive.
For big tour operators, it pays to make
Iceland the wacky, mysterious volcanic
‘Wunderland.’
Jaded eyes tell no lies?
And how do foreign journalists perpet-
uate this myth? Well here at the Grape-
vine, among others, we’ve tackled the
New Yorker, Harpers and the New York
Times Magazine. Let’s have a gander at
how Philip Reeves, NPR’s ‘Arctic-cor-
respondent’ portrays Iceland in his re-
cent blog post for NPR: “Iceland: Land
of Stark Beauty And, Lately, A Run of
Bad Luck.”
At first, quoting a passage from
Grapevine’s last letters page, Philip
tries his best to distance himself from
what he says the Grapevine calls lazy
journalism, but notes that despite first
impressions often lacking nuance or
being plain wrong, they also “can pro-
vide a refreshing snapshot of a place.
Taken before the eye becomes jaded.”
What in hell’s teeth is he talking
about? Before the eye becomes jaded?
Is he saying that there’s more objec-
tivity in a one-night-stand than a ten-
year marriage? Hmm, maybe he has
something there.
OK, so Reeves does the obvious bit
about the luminous blue pools and the
stark, volcanic lunar landscape—as one
does as a foreign journalist landing in
Iceland for the first time. He mentions
the lack of trains and notes that Reykja-
vík has an ‘Enid Blyton’ toy-town look
with its houses “painted in bright pri-
mary colors.”
And then, of course, since it’s mid-
summer, he finds everyone sipping
brewskis in their shades in outdoor
cafes and bars—even in the late hours
of the evening. He can’t resist slipping
in the fact that the ‘nutty’ Icelandic
government is considering passing a
bill for selling cigarettes on a prescrip-
tion only basis. Sipping a beer all by
his lonesome, he notes: “Judging by
the crowd sitting outside on this sum-
mery evening, the doctors will be pretty
busy.” What he may not realise, is that
more than half of these folks are prob-
ably tourists.
Philip says bars in Reykjavík, cel-
ebrating the evening hours, light can-
dles in ritual preparation of a night that
never arrives. You can’t help but feeling
the tongue in his cheek, as if Icelanders
are about to call out the spirits of Ó!inn
and Freyja.
Where is that pagan dance going
down, anyway?
Something’s missing?
As we read on, we are once again not
surprised to find that Reykjavík is a
brief lay-over, on Reeves’ way to Nuuk,
Greenland. And he says that although
he was hoping to have a nibble on a bit
of smoked puffin or hákarl, he finally
ends up in a [sigh] Asian noodle bar.
What he should have known, of course,
is that hákarl is available in many res-
taurants and supermarkets in Reykja-
vík...
Now, compared to others, Philip’s
little piece is balanced, and moderately
boring, yet, it still smacks of wry irony.
It’s as if nothing can really be taken too
seriously in this medium-sized nation
in the middle of the Atlantic.
You tell me. Is half of the media hul-
labaloo the spawn of foreign spin-doc-
tors? Or, is there something missing in
the marketing mix?
News | Iceland in the International Eye: July
Dem Pesky Foreign
Spin-Doctors
MARC VINCENZ
JOSÉ ÁNGEL HERNÁNDEZ
JULIA STAPLES
“Teaching children
how to programme
enhances their
logical thinking...”
SECRET FUN PRIZETIME WHOO!
If you happen to spot this, and you are among the first five to email us at letters@grapevine.is with the subject
"I HEART CUT/COPY" we'll give you a ticket to Wednesday's Cut/Copy show at NASA! FANCY THAT!