Pencil Code is an educational programming language and website. It allows programming using Scratch-style block coding or CoffeeScript. [1] [2] Code runs directly in the web browser and can be shared with others. The language centers on a model of a pencil programmatically drawing on a 2-dimensional screen, with the pencil cursor visually depicted as a turtle.
A 2019 study by Deng et al. in an eight-week teaching intervention comparing text-based and block-based environments found that students learning in a mixed environment had improved confidence and computational thinking. [3]
Pencil Code was created by David Bau and his son in 2013. It was inspired by Logo, the 1967 programming language for drawing on a screen using a Lisp-like programming language. [4] Google has funded improvements to Pencil Code via Google Summer of Code projects. [5]
Pencil Code is an educational programming language and website. It allows programming using Scratch-style block coding or CoffeeScript. [1] [2] Code runs directly in the web browser and can be shared with others. The language centers on a model of a pencil programmatically drawing on a 2-dimensional screen, with the pencil cursor visually depicted as a turtle.
A 2019 study by Deng et al. in an eight-week teaching intervention comparing text-based and block-based environments found that students learning in a mixed environment had improved confidence and computational thinking. [3]
Pencil Code was created by David Bau and his son in 2013. It was inspired by Logo, the 1967 programming language for drawing on a screen using a Lisp-like programming language. [4] Google has funded improvements to Pencil Code via Google Summer of Code projects. [5]