Just created another Kodu video, this one a quick guide about how to program terrain and 2 player controlled characters to make a short hide and seek game.

By now, I hope that you've seen the "Programmers are Rockstars" video! At over 8.5 million views, I think they're on to something, and it really makes my heart smile to hear the message, loud and clear, that programming something helps you see the difference we can all make for human kind. That it's as simple as seeing yourself as an inventor, identifying a solution you think interests others, translating it through a vehicle, in this case, your computer and the language that controls it, to make the world a better place. And, the opening Steve Jobs quote sums it up nicely: "Programming teaches you how to think."

And along those lines, take a look at this article from "American Scientist", that encourages us to see our programming tools as musical instruments. And, interestingly, there is a strong correlation between musicianship and programming talent; both worlds involve using symbols and combining these symbols into patterns and re-combining them to get just the right outcome.This is a lengthy excerpt, but I think worth calling out because we need to get the word out that programming is a creative endeavor that you learn through creative play:

"Because video games are dynamic, interactive and controlled by the user yet designed by the developer, they are the perfect medium for representing everyday mathematics, allowing direct access to the mathematics (bypassing the symbols) in the same direct way that a piano provides direct access to the music... [Blogger aside: piano as interface to experiment with vs just looking at sheet music to understand a song]... This is adaptive learning in action, experiencing music through the instrument, not just on a theoretical level.

The piano metaphor can be pursued further. There’s a widespread belief that you first have to master the basic skills to progress in mathematics. That’s total nonsense. It’s like saying you have to master musical notation and the performance of musical scales before you can start to try to play an instrument—a surefire way to put someone off music if ever there was one. Learning to play a musical instrument is much more enjoyable, and progress is much faster, if you pick up—and practice—the basic skills as you go along, as and when they become relevant and important to you. Likewise, for learning mathematics, it’s not that basic skills do not have to be mastered, but rather it’s how the student acquires that mastery that makes the difference.

When a student learning to play the piano is faced with a piece she or he cannot handle, the student (usually of his or her own volition) goes back and practices some more easier pieces before coming back to the harder one. Or perhaps the learner breaks the harder piece into bits, and works on each part, at first more slowly, then working up to the correct tempo. What the player does not do is go back to a simpler piano (one with fewer keys, perhaps?), nor do we design pianos that somehow become easier to play. The piano remains the same; the player adjusts (or adapts) what they do at each stage. The instrument’s design allows use by anyone, from a rank beginner to a concert virtuoso."