2. Programming with Henry the Robot Your future is no game.
Eric Krokos
Walter Hutchinson
Naveed Khan
Patricia Sazama

3. Goal
Our Goal: To make learning programming easy and fun
Eric

4. Problem motivation/Problem description
Number of programming courses in high schools have decreased
Programming is notoriously hard to learn
Want to make learning programming more enjoyable
Walter

5. Short review of past solutions to problem
Math Blaster
levels, explicit math problems, Po

6. Short review of past solutions to problem
Alice
drag-and-drop commands, simplified syntax, Po

7. Our Solution Create a video game to teach programming
Fun
Easy
Non-intimidating introduction to programming
Used simplified commands and syntax
Drag and drop
But adding levels and goals Po

8. Tasks Three Tasks: Moving commands into an object
Learning information about a command or visual object
Run the game
Naveed

9. First User Testing Paper Prototype Problems
Didn't know how to move commands
Thought the start command was a start bubble
Didn't know how to get more information about commands
Walter

10. First Prototype
people had trouble dragging and dropping commands, they clicked the program start button, Walter

11. Second User Testing Two Participants Lessons learned
Changed program Start Point icon
Add "Program Running" state notification
Eric

12. Interactive Prototype
Eric

13. Summary and Conclusion
Helps make programming fun by teaching through puzzles
Help spread programming to a wider non- technical audience
More levels
More complicated puzzles
More commands introduced
Eric