image by Sylvia Martinez
Our Favorite Software
- Turtle Art (program beautiful designs with this block-based Logo microworld that may be exported to cutters) Use this version if the other seems buggy on your computer.
- Turtlestitch (program embroidery with this dialect of Snap!, based on Logo)
- Scratch (popular block-based programming language and community for learning to code)
- Snap! (block-based web-based programming language for serious computing and the Hummingbird Bit)
- Microsoft MakeCode
- microBlocks (ingenius alternative to MakeCode for programming microcontroller development boards like the BBC micro:bit)
- Lynx (Web-based multimedia version of Logo)
- Makers Empire, terrific 3D design software for Mac, PC, Chromebook, and IOS designed for K-8 classrooms
- Beetleblocks (3D Snap! programming that exports to a 3D printer)
Essential Reading For Institute Participants
- A Plethora of Curated Progressive Education Resources by Gary Stager (discussed during fireside chat)
- Twenty Things to Do with a Computer by Cynthia Solomon and Seymour Papert
- Computer as Material: Messing About with Time by Seymour Papert and George Franz
- Logo History
- What’s the Big Idea? Toward a Pedagogy of Idea Power by Seymour Papert
- What is Logo? And Who Needs It? By Seymour Papert
- Constructing Modern Knowledge – Uncompromising Constructionism for Teacher Development (This article describes the method behind our institute approach.)
- Invention Literacy by Jay Silver
Art and Textiles Resources
Turtle Art Materials
- Get Turtle Art (main website)
- Browser-based TurtleArt (beta)
- TurtleArt for the iPad
- Gary Stager’s Early Turtle Art activities
- Turtle Art Activity Cards
- Thinking About Tricky Pattern Blocks in Turtle Art
- Variables and Scale in Turtle Art
- Mr. Nobody in Turtle Art
- Turtle Art Quilt Project Starter
Free Turtle Geometry E-Books
Turtlestitch Materials
- Turtlestitch Tutorial Videos
- Turtlestitch “Manual Cards”
- Project and Skill Cards by University of Warwick, Manufacturing Group
- Jennifer Lin’s Turtlestitch Blog
- Aesthetic conversations about digital embroidery
- Exploring Coding Stitching Culture (a slide deck containing lovely Turtlestitch project examples from around the world)
- Making Face Masks with Turtlestitch Embroidery
- Computers in Education Society of Ireland Turtlestitch examples
- Inkscape, Inkstitch and Turtlestitch
Inkscape is open source and free software for vector drawing – it is a viable alternative for Adobe Illustrator.
Inkstitch is an extension / add on for Inkscape, which converts vector drawings to embroidery files.
Turtlestitch has the ability to export drawings in SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) which is the native format for Inkscape. It is not uncommon to make a Turtlestitch drawing that is too large for the embroidery machine to use, but Inkscape can be used to scale such drawings and then Inkstitch can make a file that can be used.
Micro:Bit Materials
- Curated collection of micro:bit resources
- Four Take Home Makerspaces for Under $100
- Programming Neopixels with MakeCode and the BBC micro:bit
- New micro:bit released November 2020. Same price, more features including on board speaker and mic.
Snap! Reference Materials
Turtlestitch is a dialect of Snap!
- Snap! Reference Manual
- Learning Modules for Beginners by SAP Young Thinkers
- Computer Science with Snap!, by Eckart Modrow
Snap! MOOCS And Online Courses
- Get Coding with Snap! at openSAP
- From Media Computation to Data Science at openSAP
- The Beauty and Joy of Computing
- Introduction to Computer Science at TEALS
Physical Computing with the BBC micro:bit and Hummingbird Bit Robotics Kit
Micro:Bit Getting Started
- Handout: Micro:bit getting started with MakeCode plus connecting external motors, LEDs, & speakers/headphones (PDF)
- Gary Stager’s micro:bit project starter Ideas
- Programming Neopixels with MakeCode and the BBC micro:bit
- Super collection of Scratch and micro:bit activity cards and project ideas. (2021)
Micro:Bit Software Options
- Microsoft MakeCode programming environment for all devices
- Using micro:bits with Scratch instructions (including necessary Scratch Link software for Bluetooth Mac/Windows)
- Firmware (.HEX file) for using the micro:bit with Scratch
- New programming environments for learning (Fall 2020)
Other Stuff To Buy (For Our Workshops & Beyond)
More Micro:Bit Resources
- Code Club Micro:bit Project Ideas
- micro:bit Foundation Lessons, Project Ideas, Activities
- micro:mag, the magazine of the micro:bit community
- Books, projects, magazines, tutorials, and other programming languages
A New Block-Based Programming Environment (Alpha Version – Try It Out!)
- MicroBlocks programming environment
The Circuit Playground Express
Micro:Bit And Micro:Bit Add-On Board Suppliers And Vendors
- Sparkfun Electronics – Specializes in hobbyist electronic components, tools, and kits. Sparkfun micro:bit boards and add-ons. Ask for educator discounts.
- Adafruit – Unique and Fun DIY Electronics and Kits. Check the Young Engineers section for selections that are whimsical and fun. Ask for educator discounts.
- Robotshop – All your robot needs in one place. Robots for home, school, and professional use, plus drones, wearable technology, kits, toys, parts, and apps.
- PiMoroni – “Tech Treasures” abound from this UK based vendor for Raspberry Pi, micro:bit, and other microcontrollers, plus kits, accessories, and tools. The name? It stands for Pirate-Monkey-Robot-Ninja, of course.
- Kitronik – Makes and sells electronic project kits for micro:bit, e-textiles, robotics, and other maker needs. UK-based.
- (Australia) Education Technology Specialists. Micro:bits, add-on boards, and related products.
Hummingbird Bit Robotics
- Hummingbird Bit Web Site
- The Invent to Learn Quickstart Guide to the Hummingbird Bit Robotics Kit
- Super cool Hummingbird Bit mechanism and robot construction ideas
- Hummingbird Bit Curricular Project Ideas
Software for Hummingbird Bit
- Tutorials for using the Hummingbird Bit with MakeCode
- Microsoft MakeCode for the Hummingbird Bit (direct link – otherwise add Hummingbird via Extensions)
- Tutorials for using Snap! with the Hummingbird Bit
Download The Bluebird Connector
Hummingbird Project Ideas
Tutorials for using multiple Hummingbird Bits or micro:bits with a Hummingbird Bit, including cool ideas for a rover and calibrating the compass.
Related Materials
- Why we love the Hummingbird Bit Robotics Kit
- Program your Own Gameboy! (MakeCode Arcade opportunities)
- Books for creative educators from Constructing Modern Knowledge Press
- The micro:bit Matters – a guide to understanding the micro:bit
- The Invent To Learn Guide to Block Programming
- Complete Invent To Learn Workshop Kit/Handout
- Maker Resources for Educators – All the Invent to Learn workshop handouts, posters, and shopping lists.
Making Games
Steve Dembo’s Making Games Slide Deck from the Chicago 2021 Invent To Learn Institute
- Self-paced lessons for ages 11-16
- Cheat Sheets for educators, from @stulowe80
- MakeCode guided cards, from @CoraEdTech
- Lessons for educators, parents and students from Microsoft Ireland
- Official documentation from Microsoft, including CS Courses
Basic Computer Games books (classic inspiration in pdf form)
- Basic Computer Games (first edition 1973)
- More Basic Computer Games (1980)
Arcade game collections created by Invent To Learn Institute participants (August 2021)
- Http://padlet.com/teach42/chase
- Http://padlet.com/teach42/projectile
- Http://padlet.com/teach42/tilemap
- Http://padlet.com/teach42/platformer
Mathematics, Coding, and Computer Science
Invent To Learn Quickstart Guides
Other Resources
Turtle Art Materials
- Get Turtle Art (main website)
- Browser-based TurtleArt (beta)
- TurtleArt for the iPad
- Gary Stager’s Early Turtle Art activities
- Turtle Art Activity Cards
Micro:Bit
- Curated collection of micro:bit resources
- Four Take Home Makerspaces for Under $100
- Programming Neopixels with MakeCode and the BBC micro:bit
- New micro:bit released November 2020. Same price, more features including on board speaker and microphone.
New Handouts, Prompts, And Project-Starters By Gary Stager
- Making Polygons in Turtle Art
- Playing with Arithmetic in Turtle Art
- Thinking About Tricky Pattern Blocks in Turtle Art
- Variables and Scale in Turtle Art
- Mr. Nobody in Turtle Art
- Turtle Art Quilt Project Starter
- Getting Started with Lynx
- Lynx Quilt Project Starter
- Experimenting with Language in Lynx
- Graph a Mystery Picture in Lynx
- micro:bit Getting Started Prompts
- micro:bit Fireworks Challenge
- micro:bit LED Fun
- Additional micro:bit Challenges
- Flip Your Friend’s Coin with micro:bits
- Graphing Linear Equations in Snap!
- The 3N problem – Explanation and online virtual assistant.
- Download the complete Gary Stager 2018 Math Workshop handout packet
Free Classic Turtle Geometry E-Books
Barry Newell’s books, Turtle Confusion and Turtle Speaks Mathematics
Essential Reading For Institute Participants
- Twenty Things to Do with a Computer by Cynthia Solomon and Seymour Papert
- Computer as Material: Messing About with Time by Seymour Papert and George Franz
- Logo History
- What’s the Big Idea? Toward a Pedagogy of Idea Power by Seymour Papert
- What is Logo? And Who Needs It? By Seymour Papert
- Constructing Modern Knowledge – Uncompromising Constructionism for Teacher Development (This article describes the method behind our institute approach.)
- Invention Literacy by Jay Silver
Invent To Learn Web Sites
The Daily Papert (archives of Papert writing and media)
The Invent To Learn website (oodles of resources)
Constructing Modern Knowledge Press (publisher of books by creative educators for creative educators)
Gary Stager’s blog, Stager-to-Go
Constance Kamii Math Resources
Constance Kamii math videos (multiple videos)
Constance Kamii Direct vs Indirect Ways of Teaching Number Concepts at Ages 4-6
A comprehensive lecture explaining Piagetian ideas showing that although number concepts cannot be taught directly, they can be taught indirectly by encouraging children to think.
Kamii Games for Developing Number Sense
- Arithmetic Games with Playing Cards
- Modifying a Board Game (Sorry) to Foster Kindergartners’ Logico-Mathematical Thinking
- Lining-Up the 5s – A Card Game
- Kamii Game Cards to download and print
- Kamii on Games over Worksheets (article)
- An important paper by Constance Kamii – Selected Standards from the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, Grades K-3: My Reasons for Not Supporting Them
Logo Activities
These activities designed for MicroWorlds EX should be applicable to other programming environments, like Turtle Art, Scratch, Snap!, and especially Lynx. If you translate any of these activities for other languages, please let me know!
- Old-fashioned Quilt Making in an Online Collaborative Setting – Use MicroWorlds EX in this simple open-ended creativity project. (2007)
- Making Aboriginal Dreamtime Designs with MicroWorlds – An interdisciplinary project (2000)
- Gary’s Fraction Software Activity
- 21st Century Logo Quilts – A Twist on a Classic Geometry/Art Activity (1999)
- Build Your Own Virtual Pet with MicroWorlds
Make Your Own Tamagotchi ©1998-99 Adam Smith with a bit of help from Gary Stager - Turning Math Manipulatives Inside Out (1998)
- MicroWorlds Claymation – Create your own Wallace and Gromit with one line of code! (2000)
Software Manuals & Reference Materials
Lynx
- Getting Started with Lynx
- Lynx project guides, activity cards, teacher resources
- List of Lynx Primitives (reference manual)
Snap!
- Snap! Reference Manual
- Learning Modules for Beginners by SAP Young Thinkers
- Computer Science with Snap!, by Eckart Modrow
Snap! MOOCS And Online Courses
- Get Coding with Snap! at openSAP
- From Media Computation to Data Science at openSAP
- The Beauty and Joy of Computing
- Introduction to Computer Science at TEALS
Wolfram Resources
Resources related to Conrad and Stephen Wolfram’s work on math, computation, and programming
Articles About Teaching Programming
- What’s Your Hurry?
- A Modest Proposal (using Scratch books as reading texts)
- Masterclass archived video – Gary Stager’s approach to teaching programming
- Video – Summer Camp Computing or, Nostalgia for the Future
Books And Magazines For Programming Project Ideas
- Recommended resources for many programming languages and books on the Invent to Learn site.
- Hello World – A magazine for teachers and kids about making and computing. Free to download, also free by mail to UK educators.
- HackSpace Magazine – Although published in partnership with the Raspberry Pi Foundation, this magazine offers open source projects for a wide variety of physical computing and fabrication projects. All issues can be downloaded for free.
Basic Computer Games books (pdf form) – great ideas for beginner programming projects.
- Basic Computer Games (first edition 1973)
- More Basic Computer Games (1980)
Programming Slides
