When I was in first grade, my parents signed me up for a bunch of summer park district programs: drawing classes, T-ball, and one strange one featuring computers.
I remember thinking that this was another art class, because I was spending so much time figuring how to draw spirals and staircases, like I was operating a super complicated Etch-a-Sketch. Only my pointer was, for some reason, a little turtle instead of an arrow or a blinking cursor. I was super excited because this class coincided with my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle phase. In fact, I’m pretty sure I thought the software was yet another TMNT toy.
I was actually learning LOGO, an early programming language designed to teach children how to operate a command line.
I remember being so proud of the robot I drew, not because it was particularly beautiful but because it was something that was recognizable if it was drawn in all rectangles.
As I dabble in programming now, I realize that LOGO also taught me how computers think. I had to plan ahead to manipulate my little turtle in the spot he needed to be in to perform the next maneuver. And I had to think sequentially. I couldn’t skip around the screen, adding a line over here and another other there.
Do any of you remember playing with LOGO? What did you make? Share your story in the comments!
this turtel freaked me out first time i used it