Sense (programming)
| Sense | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Paradigm | object-oriented, educational, event-driven |
| Designed by | The Open University |
| Developer | The Open University Sense at the Open University |
| First appeared | 2008 |
| Stable release | Build 136
|
| Typing discipline | None, uses a drag-and-drop interface |
| Implementation language | Squeak |
| OS | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| Filename extensions | .sb |
| Website | sense |
| Major implementations | |
| Scratch | |
| Influenced by | |
| Scratch | |
Sense is an educational programming environment created by The Open University in the UK.[1][2] It uses a drag-and-drop programming environment designed to teach students the fundamentals of programming languages, using different shape and colour "blocks" selected from a palette of available commands, meaning that the student needs to have no previous experience of programming nor do they need to learn a syntax. It is based on the Scratch programming language developed by the MIT Media Lab, and uses .sb files like Scratch but the two pieces of software cannot use each others files.
The Sense programming environment is designed to work in conjunction with the SenseBoard, a specialised piece of hardware which connects to a users computer via a USB connection. The SenseBoard has different input types such as a infrared sensor, light sensor, microphone and thermometer as well as outputs such as a motor & LEDs.
Sense and the SenseBoard are primarily used as part of the OU's My Digital Life (TU100) module but is also used to a lesser degree on other modules. Sense will also be trialed in London schools in late 2012.
References
- ^ Flaherty, Adam (14 June 2011). "Hands-on Learning with The SenseBoard Ubiquitous Computing Device". MAKE Blog. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
- ^ Geere, Duncan (14 June 2011). "Technology Open University offers up hardware to coding students". Wired.co.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2012.