Sense (programming)

Sense

Paradigm(s)	object-oriented, educational, event-driven
Appeared in	2008
Designed by	The Open University
Developer	The Open University Sense at the Open University
Stable release	Build 136
Typing discipline	None, uses a drag-and-drop interface
Major implementations	Scratch
Influenced by	Scratch
Implementation language	Squeak
OS	Windows, Mac, Linux[1]
Usual filename extensions	.sb[2]

Sense is an educational programming environment created by The Open University in the United Kingdom.^[3][4] It uses a drag-and-drop programming environment designed to teach students the fundamentals of programming languages, using different shape and colour "blocks" selected from a palette of available commands, meaning that the student needs to have no previous experience of programming nor do they need to learn a syntax. It is based on the Scratch programming language developed by the MIT Media Lab,^[5] and uses .sb files^[6] like Scratch but the two pieces of software cannot use each other's files.^[7]

The Sense programming environment is designed to work in conjunction with the SenseBoard, a specialised piece of hardware which connects to a user's computer via a USB connection.^[8][9] The SenseBoard has different input types such as a infrared sensor, light sensor, microphone and thermometer as well as outputs such as a motor & LEDs.^[10]

Sense and the SenseBoard are primarily used as part of the OU's My Digital Life (TU100) module,^[11] but is also used to a lesser degree on other modules. Sense will also be trialed in London schools in late 2012.

References