ToonTalk Information

ToonTalk provides a rich computational media that can be mastered by children as young as 6 and yet it provides the depth of a state-of-the-art professional programming language. And because of ToonTalk's game-like playful nature, it is very appealing to most children. This appeal is particularly important to motivate the children before they become sufficiently expert that the challenges and rewards of programming provides its own intrinsic rewards. In what way is the program you developed different from other educational technology? ToonTalk is more flexible and open-ended than most other educational technologies. Most educational software turns a computer into "one thing" - in ToonTalk the student or the teacher can create or modify programs - thereby preserving the fundamental power and flexibility of computers. Compared to other attempts to give students the power of computer programming, ToonTalk turns the abstract notions of computer science into tangible and playful analogs while preserving the generality of programming. This enables much younger children to program than text-based programming languages. Also ToonTalk is unique in providing children a computational medium in which large numbers of different activities, behaviors, and rules can be active simultaneously and yet these parallel activities can easily be coordinated and synchronized. What is the learning model on which it is based? Does the program help in the comprehension of the interface's functions? ToonTalk is based upon a plurality of learning models. It can be approached as pure constructionist software where the learner has complete control and can create and explore without restrictions. Or a learner can choose to solve a sequence of puzzles in specially constrained versions of ToonTalk. Or they can passively watch narrated demos of various features and techniques. They can explore unaided or rely upon the help of animated speaking character named Marty. Marty can give be instructed to describe whatever you are pointing to or ...