Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!jarthur!uci-ics!truesdel
From: truesdel@ics.uci.edu (Scott Truesdell)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Just Enough Pascal: good for kids?
Message-ID: <257DAEB4.19886@paris.ics.uci.edu>
Date: 7 Dec 89 00:28:35 GMT
References: <4165@hydra.gatech.EDU>
Lines: 28

gt0818a@prism.gatech.EDU (Paul E. Robichaux) writes:

>I have a fairly bright (compared to me, anyway) 11-year-old brother back home, 
>and I'd like to help him get started in programming. He's an avid mac user
>now, although he mostly plays games and occasionally draws/paints/writes
>stuff with it.

>I use (and love!) Lightspeed Pascal; I was wondering about their "Just Enough
>Pascal" tutorial package. I don't know how appropriate it is for an 11-year-old,
>and I don't know of any other tutorial packages like that available.

I've worked through about half of "Just Enough Pascal" to evaluate it
for beginning programming courses in a university. It is a well put
together product and explains the lessons quite well. I think it is
valuable for teaching programming. I don't know if it's the right 
thing for our school or not, but I think it's great for anyone wanting
to start programming the Mac. 

In the parts I've worked through already, the material has so far been
"old hat" for me so I can't accurately judge how effective a teaching
aide it is. It APPEARS to be fairly effective.  I say if your brother
can point and click, and he can read, and he is motivated, JEP is a
cheap an effective way to get im started.

  --scott

--
Scott Truesdell