Overview
Tern is a tangible programming language in development at the Tufts University Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Lab. Tern is designed to provide a painless introduction to computer programming for children in classrooms, after school programs, and other learning settings. Tern consists of a collection of wooden blocks shaped like jigsaw puzzle pieces. Children connect these blocks to form physical computer programs that may include action commands, loops, branches, and subroutines. Our current prototype allows children to program the iRobot Create.Boston Museum of Science
We are working with staff members at Cahners ComputerPlace at the Boston Museum of Science to create an interactive exhibit on robotics and computer programming featuring Tern. A prototype exhibit has been on display since July 2007, and has been used by several thousand people. The permanent exhibit will feature a robot playground theme, and museum visitors will be able to program a variety of different robots.Team Members:
- Mike Horn, Tufts
- Erin Solovey, Tufts
- Rob Jacob, Tufts
- Dan Noren, Museum of Science
- Taleen Agulian, Museum of Science
Implementation:
Tern's parts contain no embedded electronics or power supplies. Instead, we use a digital camera and reliable computer vision technology to compile Tern programs into digital code. This allows us to create inexpensive and durable parts that are practical for classroom use. Children work in offline settings, such as on their desks or on the floor, and use a scanning station when they are ready to compile their programs. And, because children no longer need to crowd around a computer screen to write programs, this approach facilitates very different styles of collaboration among students.Tern is designed to eliminate the possibility of language syntax errors. The jigsaw puzzle shape of the blocks provides a physical constraint system that prevent invalid language constructions from being assembled as physical constructions. Tern programs can be compiled in a matter of seconds with the press of a button.
- Quicktime Video (9.45 MB)
- Horn, M.S. and Jacob, R.J.K. Tangible Programming in the Classroom with Tern. Proceedings of CHI'07 ACM Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI Trends Interactivity), ACM Press (2007).
- Horn, M.S., and Jacob, R.J.K., Designing Tangible Programming Languages for Classroom Use. Proceedings of TEI'07 First International Conference on Tangible and Embedded Interaction, (2007).
