http://manual.pencilcode.net
7.4.2016
                 	
An	Introduction	to	Programming	
                 	
  A	Pencil	Code	Teacher’s	Manual	
                 	
By	Deepa	Muralidhar	
   and	David	Bau	
                                             Foreword
I saw Pencil Code in 2015 SIGCSE. I realized that it was a tool that would be an excellent fit to teach
programming in the high school classroom.
Students find block programming languages a non-intimidating way to start programming; however,
blocks can eventually come in the way of productive learning. Pencil Code has a very nifty ability to
switch between blocks and text code. When it comes to trying try a new concept or to understand the
structure of a program to spot a bug, block code is very useful. But when it is time to write a quick
program to solve a problem, text coding can be the better approach. I could see that the ability to
smoothly transition between block and text mode could reduce the frustration and intimidation that
students encounter while learning to program.