Here is some information to help you use MotherboardBooks.com products.
MicroWorlds EX Tutorials
Turn on your computer speakers!
1. Drawing
2. Animation
Logo Questions
- Students who are stumped should try their best and then take a look at the answer key.
- Check the troubleshooting in the appendix.
- If necessary, email me: info “at” motherboardbooks.com.
- For Terrapin Logo users, download shapes here. Right-click on this link and save to your computer. Right-click the file name and choose unzip. Unzip to a temporary folder. Highlight all the shape file names and copy (control-c). Then locate this folder: C:/ProgramFiles/Terrapin Logo/ToolBox/Shapes . Paste the shapes in here. Be sure the shapes are added to the folder “shapes.”
FAQ
1. Can I use the Computer Science Pure and Simple curriculum on a Mac?
The books have instructions for using with Mac. They assume you have something like Word and Excel on your computer. There is one lesson in CSPS Book 1 that involves a free download of software that is not available for Mac. It is not an essential lesson; you can either skip it or experiment with different software, as listed in the text.
CSPS Book 2 is fully usable by Mac users who have Word or Excel or something like them on their computers.
The MicroWorlds software which goes with the CSPS books works on Mac just fine.
2. Does the MicroWorlds disk contain lessons or a spreadsheet or word processor?
No. The lessons are in the book. These tell you how to use the disk and other software, which you need to have access to separately.
3. How do I find CoffeeCup software, for a lesson in CSPS Book 1?
Go to the Internet and look at www.coffeecup.com. Download a trial version.
4. Can I use your books with Terrapin Logo instead of MicroWorlds Logo?
No, the two versions of Logo are rather different. I did “translate” one of my books, Logo Adventures, for Terrapin Logo but have no plans to do the same for CSPS. To buy Logo Adventures Terrapin Edition, check with selected retailers or the Terrapin Logo website.
5. According the info available at a retail catalog, the most updated version of Logo Adventures uses Terrapin Logo Version 3, rather than MicroWorlds. Is this correct?
The Terrapin Logo version of Logo Adventures is the SAME but adapted for the different software. There’s no issue of either version of Logo Adventures being more current because there’s no other software used besides the Logo, and it hasn’t changed.
6. How does your curriculum compare to Scratch, another MIT product?
I considered basing a curriculum on Scratch a while back and tested an initial offering but decided not to proceed because Scratch doesn’t have some of the more advanced programming commands that Logo has. The programs in Computer Science Pure and Simple Book 2 cannot be made in Scratch.
7. Does MicroWorlds EX work with recent versions of Windows or Mac?
Yes. It is regularly updated for new versions of Windows and Mac.
Website and HTML Questions
- Students who are stumped should try their best and then take a look at the answer key.
- Check the troubleshooting in the appendix.
- If necessary, email me through the contact page.