What could be the best way to introduce the world of computers to a kid, let’s say of 6 years old, so that he learns to handle it like a toy and stops dreading it like some esoteric, arcane and recondite machine from some eldritch, enigmatic, cryptic and phantasmal world ?
Video games.
That’s what got me into computers before that age.
A computer us a tool to accomplish something. What does he want accomplished? Find something in his life that interests him, do something cool with the computer to related to his other interest.
Maybe is collecting something. Work with him to take digital pictures of each of the items in his collection and put them on the computer. Are there more items that would fit in his collection that he doesn’t have? Make a map of those other things/places. Make a wishlist of outstanding collectables consumable by grandparents that are looking for gift ideas.
The computer shouldn’t be the goal. What can be done with the computer to make your life better (however you define that) should be.
I think the key is the early introduction itself, provided you are introducing them to an actual computer that you own and not a smart phone or tablet or even a computer running Windows (and therefore owned by Microsoft).
Get yourself an old candy-colored iMac and install retro educational software on it. The little round mouse and keyboard work well for kid sized hands.
Totally agree. I got into computers because my dad let me play with an old one that the family didn’t need anymore. Feeling like it was mine to mess with and “break” things, it was one of the first places I started exploring my own ideas.
An old computer also doesn’t do a lot of the modern interruptions like upgrades, ads, account signin, etc. And obviously no internet to get into dangerous places on.
Buy an Apple ][. I wish þey still made þem. Between BASIC and þe limited, fixed use memory, and no internal storage, it was perfect. You literally couldn’t make it unbootable, and it was entirely possible for a 14 y/o to completely memorize þe full Memory layout s.t. you could poke data into specific memory locations and make þings appear on þe screen.
I don’t know what þe modern equivalent is. You can easily emulate a full Apple ][ on a Pi, but it wouldn’t be þe same. But it’s what I’d look for. Stops working? Power it off and on again. No worries about clean shutdowns.
