AgentCubes facts for kids
rule based visual programming
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| Paradigm | object-oriented, educational, Conversational Programming |
|---|---|
| Designed by | Alexander Repenning |
| First appeared | 2006 |
| Stable release |
3.0 / 18 March 2020
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| Platform | HTML5 |
| License | proprietary |
| Influenced by | |
| AgentSheets, Lisp, Logo, Smalltalk | |
| Influenced | |
| Scratch | |
AgentCubes is a special educational programming language designed for kids and teens. It helps you create your own 3D and 2D games and simulations online. It's a great tool for learning computational thinking, which means learning how to solve problems like a computer scientist. You learn by designing games and simulations using the Scalable Game Design curriculum.
Imagine a giant grid, like a spreadsheet, but in 3D! That's kind of how AgentCubes works. It uses a grid system with rows, columns, and layers. Inside this grid, you can place "agents." These agents are like tiny programmable characters or objects. They can have their own 3D shapes, do math, move around, change how they look, play sounds, animate themselves, and even talk to each other! This grid setup is perfect for making all sorts of projects, from old-school arcade games like Pac-Man to more complex 3D games and simple agent-based models.
AgentCubes was created with help from the National Science Foundation. Researchers wanted to see if students could learn computational thinking skills by designing games. They also wanted to know if these skills could help students later with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) projects.
How AgentCubes Started
AgentCubes was inspired by another program called AgentSheets. AgentSheets was famous for introducing easy-to-use drag-and-drop programming blocks way back in 1995. AgentCubes took this idea and added 3D design. It has a cool 3D modeling tool called Inflatable Icons that makes creating 3D shapes super easy.
Both AgentSheets and AgentCubes have roots in a very early project for kids. This project explored how to make many computer processes run at the same time, like a supercomputer. AgentCubes kept this idea of many things happening at once, but without needing a huge, powerful computer.
- AgentCubes Desktop (2006): The very first version of AgentCubes was a program you could install on your Mac or Windows computer.
- AgentCubes Online (2012): This version looks similar to the desktop one but was completely rebuilt for the internet. It uses web technologies like HTML5, JavaScript, and WebGL, so you can use it right in your web browser.
AgentCubes Online has been used in big projects to train teachers across the U.S. and in other countries like Mexico and Switzerland. By 2017, over 1 million projects had been created using AgentCubes Online! It's now available in English, Spanish, German, Italian, and French.
AgentCubes for Computational Thinking
The main goal of AgentCubes is to help you become a computational thinker, not just a programmer. This means learning how to think through problems in a logical, step-by-step way, like a computer. AgentCubes helps make computer science education fun and practical for students by combining tools that help with programming and tools that boost creativity.
- Programming Support Tools: These tools do more than just help you with the basic rules of coding. They also help you understand what your programs mean and how to fix mistakes. For example, AgentCubes helps you see what your programs are doing in different situations, which makes debugging easier.
- Creativity Support Tools: Research shows that students are more motivated to code when they can create their own designs. AgentCubes takes this further by offering tools that make 3D modeling simple. You can even create objects that can be 3D printed!
Programming in AgentCubes uses a system of "IF/THEN" rules that run at the same time. You can put together lists of conditions (IF something is true) and actions (THEN do this). These rules can be grouped into bigger blocks called "methods" that other rules can use. Because it's designed for computational thinking, you can often create games and simulations with just a few rules. For example, a full Pac-Man-like game, even with smart ghosts that work together, can be made with only about 10 rules! Other tools that use similar rule-based ideas include ToonTalk and Microsoft's Kodu.
