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• Thursday, March 1, 2007 12:32 PM

  Computer Newbies Can Still Learn by Programming

  I thank David Brin for bringing this topic to the fore, and am excited to see it generate some good dialogue. I view the obscurity of programming as a social mobility issue that is part of the bigger issue called the technology gap or digital divide. The Technology Gap is people, largely in chronically disadvantaged segments of society who are loosing ground everyday simply due to lack of connectivity to the Information Super Highway.

  I was a software engineer and BASIC was crucial to my digital maturation. And as it has eroded I have been looking for a plausible replacement, and I believe I have found it.

  I am trying to do it with things that are native to a typical, contemporary personal computer. In particular, most computers have web access through a browser, and most browsers understand HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Together these can enable anyone to create satisfying programs. Technically, we will be creating dynamic web pages (i.e. DHTML), but you won't need a server or any file transferance. You need a web browser, but you don't need to be hooked-up to the web.

  Bob Albrecht, a pioneer in computer education, wrote, "the most personal way to use a computer is to learn how to program it, applying it to interesting problems, and producing useful solutions—your solutions." Following Mr. Albrecht's lead, my project will enable people learn how a web page works, how to express themselves with web programming, and learn how to write dynamic web pages that say what they want them to say, the way they want them to say it, and be able to do the things they want them to do.

  —Gus rettke
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