Impressions on B1 Machine

[Simon Schampijer]

Hi Yoshiki,

Yoshiki Ohshima wrote:
>   Hi, Simon,
>
>   
>> the memory game started as a proof of concept and a demo tool in the 
>> first place since it involves sound, graphics and the networking. I took 
>> the latter out for btest1 since there were some network issues but I 
>> count on having it back in btest2. It was also meant to have a demo for 
>> showing sharing/joining of activities.
>>     
>
>   Yes, I understand that part, but for having it as a top-level
> accessible icon, it would be nice to have an answer for the question:
> "what kind of educational value does it provide".
>
>   

1) I think there is an educational value in finding matching pairs.

2) This app will be different from the regular memory since it provides 
sound facilities as well.
Future modes will be:
 - pictures only
 - sound only
 - pics and sounds

3) The sound part will be a good exercise to have the kids train there 
musician-ship to some extent - providing sounds with similar rhythmic 
patterns, differences in timbre and pitch will be interesting.

4) Another part is the creation of digital content for the game (camera, 
mic-in).

5) Fun - sharing with friends :)

6) Remember, there are kids who have not been in contact with a lot of 
technology and we need simple tools as well to overcome some early 
barriers in interaction.



>> I agree that in the end we want to have the kids developing those apps 
>> themselves but there should be different layers of interacting in my 
>> opinion. Some kids are happy to just play the game, some may want to use 
>> a "create your game" tool where modules are provided like networking, 
>> sound etc and some want to start from scratch and do some python coding.
>>     
>
>   Ah, how would you evaluate Etoys for that purpose (for example)?  It
> sure let you network collaborative game with sound in a very, very
> accessible programming system.  (I see downsides, but the exercise is
> left for readers^^)
>
>   

I will have a look :)

>> I think an environment to create a game would be nice. I have not had a 
>> deep look but pygame might be too complex and not adopted to our 
>> environment (please correct me if I am wrong). Maybe it would be good to 
>> come up with a new environment adopted to our needs of 
>> sharing/announcement and connecting to the sound facilities etc.
>>     
>
>   I didn't exactly mean to have a game creation environment.  Rather a
> "generaller-purpose" construction environment.  For learning math and
> science for example, creating simulations would be helpful.  Games can
> be made as by-product or spare time activity in such an environment, I
> hope.
>
>  

I think creating games is a very important step in the education of a 
child. When I remember my childhood it was quite important to me and 
when I see kids - they all do it. Maybe we do not need a special 
environment for that but some tool should at least provide facilities 
for that kind of activity.

Cheers,
   Simon