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Transcript

Vicki Davis (00:02)
So at current I’m so excited. We’re talking with Felienne Hermans. She has a Ph.D. in software program program engineering, nonetheless we’re really talking about this glorious open-source free software program that she has created, and many of educators and programmers hold all around the world. It’s in 50 languages and teaches children 10 and up text-based programming.

Vicki Davis (00:31)
It is called Hedy, H -E -D -Y dot O -R -G. Thanks for approaching the current at current, Feline. So, initially, I will ask the question all folks will ask. Why do you title it Hedy?

Why the Program is nNmed Hedy

Felienne Hermans (00:37)
I’m fully glad to be proper right here. It’s actually named after Hedy Lamarr. Most people know that she was a well known movie actress, nonetheless she was moreover {{an electrical}} engineer. She invented an algorithm referred to as frequency hopping, which will also be in your Wi-Fi router. If a certain frequency will get full, then the neighborhood switches hops to a novel neighborhood.

After which if you take a look at footage of her, if children ask me, why is it named Hedy? I current them a picture after which they’re like, oh, she doesn’t seem like an engineer. She doesn’t seem like an inventor. And it’s so method again and nonetheless we’re battling these stereotypes. I personally moreover get this question like, oh, you don’t seem like a computer science professor. Oh, did you make a programming language? And it’s merely attributable to my gender. So we merely should protect breaking these stereotypes. And attributable to this truth I assumed she was merely an excellent place model.

Why We Should Educate Youthful Children Programming

Vicki Davis (01:14)
Talk about why you are obsessive about educating youthful children programming.

Felienne Hermans (01:39)
Software program program is everywhere, correct? Apps in your cellphone, children throughout the digital world regularly, GPT is everywhere in faculties. Nonetheless what I see is that youngsters are solely customers throughout the digital world. They take a look at films, they take a look at TikTok, they take a look at Instagram, nonetheless they’re certainly not creators. So that they…

Vicki Davis (01:54)
Mm.

Felienne Hermans (01:59)
they don’t actually really feel, oh, on this digital world, I can also make one factor. Whereas we do want children to be creators. We wish them to put in writing down tales to draw drawings and make songs. So why does this digital world that is so large and perpetual everywhere for youngsters? Why don’t we allow them to create there? So that’s what I really suppose is critical. And these things moreover from the true world throughout the digital world are doable to create in Hedy. So it is best to use Hedy to create songs.

drawings and interactive fiction all these things we want children to do nonetheless then digitally.

The Approach ahead for Citizen Programming

Vicki Davis (02:35)
That’s thrilling on account of computational pondering is so crucial on account of, principally, just like we’re in a position to make clear art work or we’re in a position to make clear what we wish written, and AI may assist us. We’re reaching the aim of citizen programming the place we’re in a position to describe a program we want. I indicate, I’ll inform you, I found this unbelievable Airtable GPT.

Felienne Hermans (02:50)
Certain.

Vicki Davis (02:59)
I make the most of Airtable to run this podcast. And it helped me write all these scripts that when this current goes dwell, I will change this to complete and it’s routinely going to ship you an electronic message. Like that’s really cool programming. And I do know enough about programming to check out that script and know what it means. So we have to supervise AI. It is not enough to solely inform AI we want this. We have to have the power to oversee it, correct?

Felienne Hermans (03:13)
Yeah, fully, and I imagine you moreover had a very key degree there, saying I do know just a little bit bit about programming as shortly as you acknowledge just a little bit bit, you’ll be able to too know what to ask the computer, nonetheless if in case you don’t have any thought, like typically I let my faculty college students moreover work along with AI, and they also really say like

Vicki Davis (03:36)
Mm -hmm.

Felienne Hermans (03:41)
Make me an app for this. Nonetheless that isn’t detailed enough. It is necessary to know what the parts are. I would really like a database. I would really like a button. And if in case you could have this little bit of information, then AI may make you further extremely efficient. However if you have no idea one thing, it moreover can’t really help.

The Group Throughout the Hedy Software program program

Vicki Davis (03:56)
Okay, so let’s focus on just a little bit bit regarding the response you’re seeing. Like you might have a bunch of people working with out value translating,

Felienne Hermans (04:01)
Yeah, this has been such a shock for me. So I created Hedy for my very personal seventh graders to utilize as this problem. I assumed, oh, it may very well be satisfying if that that they had their very personal programming language. Why not? After which considered one of many core parts of the success of Hedy was this localization that we talked about. I constructed it in English and Dutch, which is my native language initially. After which as quickly as we had Dutch people started in order so as to add French and Spanish and German, merely random people on the internet talked about, oh, nonetheless I moreover want to have a programming language.

in my very personal pure language on account of it’s easier for youngsters to be taught. It feels further like their language will also be part of the digital world. After which, merely slowly, it started rising, and we acquired more and more languages, and we acquired lecturers excited as properly. So, a number of our initiatives are normally not practically empowering faculty college students to be taught programming however as well as empowering lecturers. So, on our platform, lecturers can create their very personal lesson plans to permit them to make use of our lesson plans, which are moreover free. Each little factor’s free.

Vicki Davis (05:00)
Mm.

Felienne Hermans (05:03)
However once they want to, they’re going to add their very personal courses. After which they’re going to say, I like my lesson, and I donate it to Hedy. After which completely different people can also use the teachings from the lecturers, and they also get just a little bit counter seeing that people are using it. So from the start, I imagine it was really created as a system on account of it’s open provide, the place people may participate and help. And these translators, that’s moreover one factor I didn’t actually matter on, nonetheless the translators then turn into native advocates.

Vicki Davis (05:10)
No.

Felienne Hermans (05:31)
If any person has accomplished the entire work to translate it into Farsi or Czech, then they’re going to ship all their coach mates an electronic message saying, hey, I made this. Now you moreover use it. So, this group then helps unfold the phrase. So yeah, I didn’t, in spite of everything, ever suppose that some small issue that I made for myself may need a number of of 1000’s of consumers every month.

Vicki Davis (05:31)
Hmm.

Yeah.

Correctly, and what I like is that you simply simply prepare middle faculty and use this with middle faculty sooner or later per week, and also you then’re a faculty professor 4 days per week. And that’s an attention-grabbing model on account of the perfect school professors I’ve ever acknowledged unquestionably actually make time to spend in a classroom. That’s merely what they do. They normally hold really close to children. So, in case you work with

Vicki Davis (06:15)
Your age 12 children, and likewise you are educating them programming. What are among the many challenges that you simply simply uncover as you are trying to point out them the methods of programming?

How Programming is Completely completely different from Totally different Subjects

Felienne Hermans (06:23)
Yeah, so what’s really exhausting about programming is the unreasonable preciseness of the machine. And Python has that one factor like C, or if people comprehend it, it has all these curly brackets and semicolons. Python is already just a little bit bit nearer to pure language, nonetheless nonetheless, if you overlook a bracket in any other case you overlook a comma, then a coach can take a look at one factor and suppose, oh, that’s practically proper, like half elements for that. Nonetheless a machine will say, “beep -bop”.

Vicki Davis (06:43)
Yup.

Felienne Hermans (06:53)
No closing brackets. And I imagine that is really exhausting for youngsters that they want to quickly assemble one factor really cool. They normally suppose, “oh, in programming class in three weeks, we are able to have our private app.” They normally say, “oh, I want to assemble a sport.” So that they arrive in with all this enthusiasm, nonetheless then establishing a sport actually means writing 1000’s of traces of a cryptic language that it is a should to watch like a second language, like Spanish or French for English audio system.

Vicki Davis (06:54)
Yeah.

Felienne Hermans (07:21)
And there may be a number of observe involved. After which this preliminary enthusiasm that they’ve for the topic, it’s typically really exhausting to take care of that on account of the work is so exhausting. After which 12 -year -olds have restricted cognitive stamina. So after 10 minutes, they’re like, that’s exhausting. That’s boring. Certain, I have not acquired a better reply. It may be thrilling. in spite of everything.

Vicki Davis (07:32)
Yeah.

It might be, it may be thrilling. As I work with my seniors and tenth graders on AP Laptop computer Science concepts, You’ve got acquired acquired to have the power to debate to people who don’t do programming. There are so many points that happen in case you prepare programming that may’t happen another methodology in another subject.

Vicki Davis (07:59)
incorporating educating some type of programming.

Felienne Hermans (08:01)
Certain, yeah, on account of as quickly as they get it, as quickly as they’re over this hub, then they’re like, oh, nonetheless now that I do know this, I can also try this. At one degree, we prepare capabilities as a strategy to group quite a lot of traces of code after which you can repeat the group. So you might make, for example, a flower. That’s actually considered one of our examples the place you draw one petal of the flower and also you then flip quite a lot of ranges and also you then do one different petal, petal, petal, petal. After which, with a very small amount of code, you can create…

Felienne Hermans (08:31)
pretty colored flowers, after which children are like, oh this was really exhausting to be taught, nonetheless now that I do comprehend it, I’m like a wizard

Vicki Davis (08:41)
it’s fairly a bit like the academic pit that James Nottingham talks about. I had him on the podcast not too method again. It’s resembling you start and also you then actually really feel resembling you are in a spot and you’re like, “oh, oh dear. There’s a whole lot I have no idea.” And it’s like, climb, climb, climb, climb, climb. After which in case you crest that hill, you acknowledge, the alternative day, the sunshine bulb lastly went on remaining month in my AP class. And we’ve got been talking about one factor, and I was, you acknowledge, merely talking like,

Vicki Davis (09:07)
you may probably discuss collectively along with your school children. You say, oh, it is best to try this and make a parameter proper right here and iterate your guidelines. And I’m merely throwing out all these items. The kid checked out me and talked about, “Ms. Davis, I understood every single issue you talked about.” And I’m like, “certain!” you acknowledge, nonetheless

Computational Contemplating and Programming Impacts Every Topic

Vicki Davis (09:27)
It begins with these little conversations at a youthful age, after which you can assemble, after which you can assemble. Then you can assemble until you get to some extent the place you’re like, okay, whether or not or not I’m going into to be a well being care supplier, or I’m going to be an accountant, or a lawyer, or a faculty professor, or a coach, or regardless of, I can now have a potential that I can apply to make my profession increased.

Vicki Davis (09:54)
on account of this is not about making all folks be a computer science.

particular person, correct?

Yeah.

Felienne Hermans (10:13)
Code may assist in case you want to be a fiction writer. Code may assist. It’d make your life easier and additional attention-grabbing, and it’ll most likely help you create completely different points. OK, so let’s help you give a pen title. We’ve got acquired choices listening to the OTP.

Vicki Davis (10:22)
Okay, so let’s help you give a pep focus on. You got lecturers listening to this who’ve been like, okay, Feline, I have no idea fairly a bit about all these items nonetheless I do know the importance of teaching code. Is that this approachable and usable for lecturers anyplace? And in that case, how do they get started?

Instructing Programming One Step at a Time

Felienne Hermans (10:32)
nonetheless I do know the importance of teaching code. Is that this a…

Certain, fully. Certainly one of many points about Hedy that we have not talked about however, other than it being multilingual, is that it’s gradual, a step-by-step language. So throughout the first stage the place you start, stage one, you might have 5 completely completely different codes. And your children can’t do something. Because you merely talked about Scratch that folk might concentrate on. It’s a block-based programming language. That’s really cool. It allows you to do a number of points. Nonetheless the entire blocks are on a regular basis on the market to children. So then…

30 children that you have, they’re all doing varied issues and it’s great exhausting to maintain up the classroom as a coach. In Hedy, stage one merely has quite a lot of codes. So the children are constrained, and likewise you as a coach, you don’t have to be taught the whole thing straight. You moreover be taught the first few codes, and also you then go to the next stage, after which it’s a little bit bit further. And also you then go to the next stage and it’s a little bit bit further every time we offer a model new thought. And all of the levels moreover embody constructed -in PowerPoint slides that it is best to use after which it…

Concepts are outlined so it is best to use this in case you want to on this classroom-facing educating the place you current the whole thing Step -by -step after which faculty college students do some little bit of labor We have a once more end; moreover as a coach you can log in and likewise you see an abstract of what your faculty college students are doing The place they’re we have built-in quizzes so you can regulate who’s performing and what do they really understand and all of that will also be free and We have a coach group. So if you’re caught

we’re in a position to pair you with one different coach who has just a little bit bit further experience so that you have a buddy that you could be ship an electronic message to. After which people which may be throughout the system, they volunteer as, oh, I want to be a buddy. And also you then may be {{couples}} with help. So we really try to help people get started. So, um, hedy .org? hedy .org.

Vicki Davis (12:07)
Wow.

Wow, that’s superior. So that they merely go to your website, h- e -d -y, hedy .org.

Felienne Hermans (12:27)
There’s a button on the internet website that claims try it now. So that you simply click on on try it now, and you will immediately start programming. After which in case you want to, you can create an account. You merely say I’m a coach and also you then access the entire coach choices, like making a classroom and welcoming your faculty college students into your classroom. And one issue that’s crucial notably for folk in EU, we’re GDPR compliant. So you can create accounts for faculty children with out an electronic message cope with, with out personal data. You title them scholar 12345.

Then it is best to use the platform, and it’s completely GDPR proof. That’s moreover outlined on the internet website nonetheless for you

Vicki Davis (13:02)
Felienne, thanks for approaching the current.

Vicki Davis (13:04)
This seems like a really novel methodology and I’m obsessed with it.

Felienne Hermans (13:04)
Thanks, Vicki.