Thanks! As we extend Snap!, NetsBlox can be used with any curriculum designed for Snap! (such as The Beauty and Joy of Computing course). This makes it possible to introduce the environment and basic programming concepts just as one would with Snap!.

 

We have found RPCs to be a good way to begin introducing distributed computing in the classroom. Remote Procedure Calls are very simple to use and can be used like any other primitive block. We usually start with the GoogleMaps service and develop an app which includes static map images, such as an interactive weather map. As we explain that we are retrieving the map images from GoogleMaps, we can start introducing the concept of working with other devices to achieve a goal without adding any additional complexity to the student's code.

 

The prerequisite skills for the networking concepts depend upon the specific task or activity. Depending upon the specific RPC, the user may need to understand lists or multi-dimensional lists (if that is the expected return value of the RPC). One example of this is the Geolocation service which allows users to search for nearby places and returns a list of the place results. Each result is a list of keys and values such as ("name", "Starbucks"). The results for this RPC also include latitude, longitude, and category labels.

 

Messages are often used to develop more advanced applications. These include mesh networks, chat rooms, and multiplayer games. There are some distributed applications which are rather simple to implement and discuss (such as chat room applications) and others which are certainly more complex (such as turn based games). Applications like the chat room application require little prerequisite knowledge (they don't even require lists) but can easily introduce concepts such as denial-of-service attacks and encryption. In the classroom, we usually start with some of these simpler applications and then progress into variations requiring more involved protocols and coordination.

We tried the unit from the video (interactive map background with current weather conditions anywhere on Earth) in four 5th grade science classes and it went very well. Here is a step by step description of the unit: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zmb6ya5dw9mxy2b/NetsB...

So far, we used it in week-long summer camp settings between 7th and 11th grade. I am also using it during the first two weeks of my intro programing course for freshmen at Vanderbilt. And we are in the process to adopt the Berkeley BJC course as a new CS1000 course for non-majors at Vanderbilt in the Fall and NetsBlox will be the primary tool. This paper has a three-page summary of the results we saw in the summer camps: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ita0d5tmku13ir9/A-vis...

We have only done week-long studies yet. There, the last day is dedicated for the students to create their own projects. We have seen some innovative ideas; for example, a group decided to add encryption to messaging so that nobody can eavesdrop on their conversation. Ideally, we would like to do longer term studies.