Although visual programming techniques have been used to lower the threshold of programming for end users, they are not sufficient for creating end user programming environments that are both easy to use and powerful. To achieve this, an environment must support the definition of programs that are not just static representations of behavior, but are instead dynamic collections of program objects which can be applied in a number of contexts rather than just a program editor. We describe an approach to end user programming called tactile programming which extends visual techniques with a unified program manipulation paradigm that makes programs easy to comprehend, compose and, most importantly, share over the World Wide Web. Tactile programming's inherent ability to support the social context in which programming takes place along with its ability to ease program comprehension and composition is what differentiates this approach from others. In the context of the Agentsheets programming substrate, we have created an instance of a tactile programming environment called Visual AgenTalk which is used to create interactive simulations.

Abstract-In an educational context, World Wide Web clients such as NCSA Mosaic ® are of limited value because they put learners in the role of information absorbers. Drawing on a museum analogy, learners using Mosaic can be perceived, similar to museum visitors, as passive observers of exhibits. Despite the richness of exhibits in terms of the amount of information as well as the use of multimedia, activity is restricted to navigation through real (museum) or hyper (Mosaic) spaces. More effective learning would include constructive activities that are more engaging than just browsing information spaces. Distance education could be improved by augmenting network media with design environments to create remote exploratoriums that encourage highly interactive, engaged learning experiences. In contrast to classical museums, exploratoriums, such as the one in San Francisco and several children's museums, feature handson learning exhibits that are not only observed but can be actively manipulated. The Agentsheets Remote Exploratorium is a mechanism to facilitate the easy exchange and distribution of interactive educational exhibits through the Internet. Agentsheets is a programming substrate to create design environments. In this paper, we discuss the implications of combining a network medium and a design environment in order to support distance education.

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Currently the use of the computer is limited by the perception of it as a platform with advanced software tools to solve specific problems such as balancing a budget or computing grade point averages. While this is not a bad use of computers it does not fully employ their potential. By expanding our view of computer as tool to computer as medium that facilitates communication and sharing, we can fundamentally change the way we think and learn. This paper discusses the computer as a communication medium to support learning. Specifically, the paper illustrates the benefits of this reconceptualization in the context of having students author and play interactive simulations games and exchange them over the Internet.

Thinking of a computer as an educational tool emphasizes a solitary interaction between the learner and the computer. A tool is something that is applied to an object in order to change it, and this usually implies a single user working on a single object or project. While tools are an important aspect of an educational experience, the tool metaphor can isolate individual learners from each other and from their teachers instead of cultivating a sense of educational community. Reconceptualizing the computer as a constructionist medium increases the computer's educational value, by allowing the development and support of communities of learners. As a medium, the computer is viewed as a collection of tools and capabilities that are used to communicate. This reconceptualization leads to a new class of computer applications that places constructionist activities within a more social context in which computers simultaneously provide opportunities for learning how to communicate as well as for enabling communication to enhance the learning experience. Computers are a particularly interesting educational medium, because not only do they allow communication via more traditional media (e.g. text, pictures and video), but they also enable the communication of ideas through the creation and sharing of computational objects (e.g. agents, simulations and analysis tools). As these computational objects become easier to create, share and combine, the educational opportunities afforded by the computer become more viable and effective.This article describes the AgentSheets system and its use as a constructionist medium in K-12 and university educational settings. Specifically, AgentSheets supports the social creation of SimCity ® -like interactive simulations by providing an environment for the definition and sharing of computational components, called agents, through the World Wide Web. Interactive Demonstrations: Agentsheets, Visual AgenTalk and the associatedBehaviour Exchange are at . The FishTank simulation is embedded as a Java applet (requiring a Java-aware Web browser), and two video clips can be viewed of LEGOsheet applications in use (requiring a QuickTime player).