From: oneil@aio.jsc.nasa.gov (Graham O'Neil)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.logo
Subject: Welcome to comp.lang.logo; Charter and Acknowledgements
Keywords: Charter, focus, microworlds, education, programming, Logo
Date: 24 Jul 1992 14:54:16 GMT
Followup-To: comp.lang.logo
Organization: NASA Johnson Space Center

Welcome to the comp.lang.logo newsgroup!

   Welcome to comp.lang.logo, a newsgroup for the discussion of the Logo
   programming language and its uses in exploration and education.
   Exchange of information, programs and resources is a primary goal.
   Success in this area will lead to establishing an archive for
   programs, code fragments and learning experience units.  The newsgroup
   will also provide a distribution service for Electronic Newsletters
   related to Logo.

CHARTER for the comp.lang.logo newsgroup:
   
   Comp.lang.logo provides a common ground for discussion of the Logo
   language and its variants, questions about language syntax,
   constructs, algorithms, and use of Logo and like languages for
   educational goals.  Experiences, lessons learned and ``What worked for
   me'' stories that are posted to this newsgroup would allow a broad
   range of distribution and provide a knowledgeable group of
   contributors for answering questions.  Exchange of Logo programs would
   be facilitated by posting notices of program archives.
   
   The newsgroup is focused on the Logo approach to education,
   exploration, and programming in Logo.  Areas for discussion include,
   but are not limited to, the following topics:
   
   *  The Logo Language itself, including how to get started,
   programming questions, resources, and reference materials.
   
   *  Logo applications and development information including: design
   issues, utilities, experiences with Logo use, new features or
   capabilities [e.g. LEGO/Logo], and implementation issues for interpreter
   developers.  This area would also serve as a focal point for software
   trading, reviews and requests for available packages.
   
   *  Logo for educational, pedagogical, development or cognitive
   discipline support.
   
   *  General discussion on the uses of the Logo language for
   education, prototyping, exploratory programming, microworld
   development, tooling, AI-Education topics, classroom experiences and
   research results.

   General discussion topics with significant Logo content have a
   logical place in comp.lang.logo.  Examples of these questions
   [previously seen in other newsgroups] include:
   
   *  Why does my school system insist on teaching Logo to only advanced
   students when that was clearly not the goal of the language designers
   and developers? 
   
   *  How can I get my school system to use Logo to replace the
   Electronic Worksheets they are using now? 
   
   *  Anyone want to get a group buy together for LEGO/Logo and see if
   Dacta will give us a group discount? 

   *  Why are there so few microworlds outside the realm of
   mathematics?    
   
   *  How do I get started with Logo for my children at home? 

Acknowledgements:

   Many people offered support during the group discussion period and
   formation process.  The following contributed substantially to
   establishing the group and its charter:
   
   bh@anarres.CS.Berkeley.EDU (Brian Harvey)
   dww@inf.fu-berlin.de (Debora Weber-Wulff)
   David Wright <D.W.Wright@bnr.co.uk>
   Fred G Martin <fredm@media.mit.edu>
   glb@gaia.cs.Virginia.EDU   (Gina and Glen Bull)
   gowj@novavax.nova.edu  (James Gow)
   
   For the record, comp.lang.logo passed its vote for creation on 4 July
   1992 with 243 Yes votes to 7 No votes.  Thanks to all who were
   involved and supported the formation of the newsgroup.  I appreciated
   the encouragement and exchange of information from all the
   correspondents.
   


graham




-- 
Graham O'Neil    oneil@aio.jsc.nasa.gov      GONEIL@nasamail  
Lockheed  2400 NASA RD 1 Houston, TX 77058  (713)333-7197
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