Hackers.

Over at Slashdot they’re talking about MIT’s new project Scratch designed to make programming fun for kids. I really dig the idea to make a bit of programming a non-threatening part of grade school education. I think if done right it would really help the stigma against the field and the lack of diversity in the field.

The difficulty is making it cool. Most people around about my age remember watching the film Hackers. My friends at the time all grabbed our dad’s computers and found a copy of qBasic to muck around because it seemed fun and cool. Thing is, initially it was. I’m not sure if Scratch’s efforts will be enough to carry that sense of fun through the initial experience ( I for one didn’t last too long with that first encounter ).

On the other hand, genius and comic extraordinaire Why’s Hackety Hack looks much more promising. Get this in schools, and problem solved. I swear.

It’s certainly a great example of how important it is to design experience properly for your audience.