How To Get Started in 10 steps

Project Ideas

All sorts of open source contributions are welcome.  For example, we are working with code.org and the App Inventor team to investigate how best to integrate our technology with those offerings.  All levels of participation are welcome:

• Share ideas and help out users at the Pencil Code discussion group.
• We love bug reports.  Bugs in the turtle library should be reported here, and bugs in the Pencil Code IDE should be reported here.
• Write or edit documentation on reference.pencilcode.net.
• Create learning activities for activity.pencilcode.net, or instructive examples for guide.pencilcode.net.
• Help improve the turtle library at the jquery-turtle project on github.
• Help improve the Pencil Code IDE at the pencilcode-site project on github.
• Integrate Pencil Code into your tool: Pencil Code can be used as an online component, and it's open-source modules are designed to be usable in other tools.

Project Goals

The goal of Pencil Code: make coding as universally accessible and useful using as a pencil.

• Pencil Code must be simple to use, both for students at home and in a classroom setting.  Students must be up and running immediately, and teachers must be able to apply it in their curricula.
• The coding environment must illustrate and enable sound and modern concepts in computer science and mathematics.
• It must provide a connection to best-of-breed technologies in the real world: students should be able to discover and use networked data, open source libraries, open languages, and open standards.
• The system must reflect the versatility of programming in the real world: it must allow and invite applications in art, music, literature, and social studies as well as science, math, and computer science.
• The tool should be delightful to use: it should be easy to visualize how programs work, and abstract concepts should be beautifully rendered.