Teen Day Class Highlights: Introduction to Programming

For the next few weeks, we will highlight each of our classes to offer a snippet of what is going on at TEEN DAY this year.

An entirely new realm for Teen Day this year, the 2018-2019 offerings include a beginning course on computer programming, led by local tech guru Timothy Weber. The class uses Snap!—a visual, drag-and-drop programming language comprised of a number of pre-written nuggets of code emblazoned on multicolored digital blocks that can be assembled to form coherent lines of instruction.

Check out the code on the right. This is a snapshot of what the pieces of assembled Snap! code look like. The pieces can be assembled in a near-infinite number of ways to produce different results every time. Using the block of code on the right as an example, this code actually creates THIS.

The full title of this class is Intro to Programming: Beauty, Power, and Creative Magic. Instructors select the names for their own courses, knowing far better what they will entail than anyone. But this particular title was pretty mysterious. Computer programming definitely seems practical. It seems marketable. I’d even go so far as to say fun. But beautiful? Creative magic?

However, as the semester wears on, I have become more convinced. The Intro to Programming class submits the following evidence of an aptly named course. You be the judge.