"Drive a Car" happens to be the entry level project in use right now, but

that doesn't mean it's the best way to get started. It presents a lot of

tools and concepts very quickly, which is good news for some and maybe bad

news for others. Some novices might enjoy starting with projects that

encourage more messing around with fewer tools. For instance, what about a

project that somehow invites one to play around with those numbers?

One of the problems with computer environments is that the space and the

tools are not familar in the way that pencils and paper and scissors and

cardboard tubes and hammers and table tops are familiar. About all these

latter things even very young humans have some reliable intuitions. But if

you're trying to use a computer to do something, you first have to learn

what "stuff" is there and where it is stored and what it does and how to

get it to do that, and then you have to figure out how to use the "stuff"

to do whatever it is you're trying to do. (Of course you don't have to

learn everything right away, but neither can you simply turn on the

computer and start being creative--despite what manufacturers would have us

believe!) I really like the points about classroom culture as carrier of

much of this information. So far Squeak seems to lessen the difficulty of

learning about the computer "stuff" so that a user can quickly get on with

using the stuff to some other purpose. I'll be interested to see what kinds

of projects and environments people develop to help with the process of

learning Squeak's possibilities.

I'm also curious about what kinds of projects and scaffolding would help

solitary users--for instance, kids who might download Squeak and use it on

their own. How might they be helped in their explorations of the system?