As physical computing devices proliferate, researchers and educators push to make them more engaging to learners. One approach is to make the act of programming them more interactive and responsive via live programming so that program edits are immediately reflected in the behavior of the physical device. To understand the impact of live programming on interactions with physical computing devices, we conducted a comparative study where children ages 11-15 programmed a BBC micro:bit device using either the MicroBlocks live programming environment or MakeCode, the micro:bit default environment. Results show that MicroBlocks users spent more time interacting directly with the physical device while showing different patterns of interaction compared to MakeCode users. We also found variations in the differences between environments related to activity structures. This paper contributes to the growing body of literature on how the design of interfaces---like programming environments---for physical computing devices shapes emerging interaction patterns.

Scratch is a visual programming environment that allows users (primarily ages 8 to 16) to learn computer programming while working on personally meaningful projects such as animated stories and games. A key design goal of Scratch is to support self-directed learning through tinkering and collaboration with peers. This article explores how the Scratch programming language and environment support this goal.

This article distills a discussion about the goals, mechanisms, and effects of three environments which aim to support the acquisition and development of computing concepts (problem solving and programming) in pre-University and non-technical students: Alice, Greenfoot, and Scratch. The conversation started in a special session on the topic at the 2010 ACM SIGCSE Symposium on Computer Science Education and continued during the creation of the resulting Special Issue of the ACM Transactions on Computing Education.

This paper describes Scratch, a visual, block-based programming language designed to facilitate media manipulation for novice programmers. We report on the Scratch programming experiences of urban youth ages 8-18 at a Computer Clubhouse 'an after school center' over an 18-month period. Our analyses of 536 Scratch projects collected during this time documents the learning of key programming concepts even in the absence of instructional interventions or experienced mentors. We discuss the motivations of urban youth who choose to program in Scratch rather than using one of the many other software packages available to them and the implications for introducing programming at after school settings in underserved communities.

Morphic is a user interface construction environment that strives to embody directness and liveness. Directness means a user interface designer can initiate the process of examining or changing the attributes, structure, and behavior of user interface components by pointing at their graphical representations directly. Liveness means the user interface is always active and reactive-+bjects respond to user actions, animations run, layout happens, and information displays update continuously. Four implementation techniques work together to support directness and liveness in Morphic: structural reification, layout reification, ubiquitous animation, and live editing.

This paper describes a new technique for analyzing dynamic file usage patterns based upon classification of file sessions. Afire session Is defined to be the set of operations on a given file from the moment it is opened until the moment it is closed. If file system measurement data is organized into sessions, each session may then be classified by the pattern of file use that it demonstrates. Examination of the overall pattern of file use revealed by this classification leads to valuable insights for file system designers. The technique is Illustrated by applying it to data collected from a UNIX®file system by John Ousterhout at Berkeley [6]. One surprising result was a high incidence of “lock files”.