For young students in fifth through eighth grades, the most fun, educational, and motivational use of microcomputers is learning to program in QBasic. Unlike using educational software, programming puts students and computers in their proper relationship, with humans in command of computers rather than the reverse. Additionally, programming develops skills in creativity, logical thinking, and problem solving that can later be applied not only to programming in other computer languages but also to a wide variety of other activities. Unlike most educational software, the tools needed for programming come free with the computer's operating system. QBasic provides learning that transfers to other curricular areas.
Students learn about the physics of sound by programming actual frequencies of notes on a scale.
Students may learn to read musical notes on a scale, but they are required only to use the scale as a reference if they do not wish to learn to read musical notation. They learn to plot graphics on an x,y coordinate system, a skill that will be valuable in their math classes. Students learn to follow precisely the prescribed structure of a programming language, and they learn to debug errors that prevent their programs from running as planned. They learn that contrast, color, and line are important aspects of computer graphics just as they are with any work of art. The purpose is to give students a taste of the empowerment they feel from learning less than 30 very carefully selected keywords.