<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:14pt"><div><span>P.S.</span></div><div><br><span></span></div><div><span>I vaguely recall that someone did an Etoy model of the </span>Antikythera ... (might be findable on the web somewhere)</div><div><br></div><div>Going a little deeper, it would be good for children to think about: <font size="4"><span style="font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Computing is inventing a kind of machine that can carry and manipulate representations of ideas.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> The machine can be made from physical or symbolic materials.</span> </font><style>  </style></div><br>For example, the abacus -- which vastly predates the Antikythera -- is also a computing machine. And so is Algebra ...<br><br>Cheers,<br><br>Alan<br><br><div><blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"> <div style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> <div style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div dir="ltr"> <font face="Arial" size="2"> <hr size="1"> <b><span style="font-weight:bold;">From:</span></b> Steve Thomas <sthomas1@gosargon.com><br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> squeakland <squeakland@squeakland.org>; iaep <iaep@lists.sugarlabs.org> <br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Friday, July 6, 2012 2:22 PM<br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> [IAEP] Has anyone build a set of gears in Etoys or any other freely available program?<br> </font> </div> <br> <div id="yiv1320460050">I got I asked my class to play <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://armorgames.com/play/2205/light-bot">LightBot</a> and then asked them:<blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px;"><div>"<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);">How this is like and not like "programming"</span></div> </blockquote><font color="#222222" face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font><div><font color="#222222" face="arial, sans-serif">This lead into one kids responding its like "</font><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;">mabey small motors and gears" (wish I knew what was going on in her mind, I'll ask in the next class)</span></div> <div><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;">So I responded:</span></div> <blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px;"><div><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);">I was on the Battleship NJ (commissioned in 1943). They had a "computer" on board to calculate the angle and direction of the big guns and could hit a target miles away within a few yards!!! Pretty impressive when you have to consider they had to take into account the ships speed and direction, wind speed, waves and the recoil from the guns firing. The whole "computer" was built using gears which controlled BIG motors to move the gun.</span></div> <div><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);"></div><div><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);"> </div><div><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);">Here's a pop quiz (you will be graded on this and it will go on your PERMANENT record :)</span></div> <div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);margin-left:40px;"><b>What is the oldest computer we know about?</b></div></div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);margin-left:40px;"> <b><br></b></div></blockquote><font color="#222222" face="arial, sans-serif">I then asked them to think about and email me an answer to:</font><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px;"><div><font color="#222222" face="arial, sans-serif"><b>What is a computer?</b></font></div> </blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px;"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial, sans-serif;">I then added the caveat, non-biological computer, as a bunch came back with the answer "the brain".</span></blockquote> <div><font color="#222222" face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font><div><font color="#222222" face="arial, sans-serif">I found a nice video on a Lego version of the oldest know computer <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLPVCJjTNgk">here</a>.</font></div> <div><font color="#222222" face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font color="#222222" face="arial, sans-serif">So I want to get them to try and build some adding machines (and I will see if we can find enough lego parts amonst us to do that as it would be best), but in case I can't, and just for fun.</font></div> <div><font color="#222222" face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><div><font color="#222222" face="arial, sans-serif">Has anyone build a set of gears in Etoys or any other freely available program?</font></div></div> </div><div><font color="#222222" face="arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font color="#222222" face="arial, sans-serif">Thanks,<br>Stephen</font></div> </div><br>_______________________________________________<br>IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)<br><a ymailto="mailto:IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org" href="mailto:IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org">IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org</a><br><a href="http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep" target="_blank">http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep</a><br><br> </div> </div> </blockquote></div> </div></body></html>