Problem Solving and Communication in a Hypercard Environment
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Problem Solving and Communication in a HyperCard Environment Dave Moursund and Sharon Yoder About the Authors Dr. David Moursund has been teaching and writing in the field of computers in education since 1963. He is a professor in the College of Education at the University of Oregon. Dr. Moursund has authored or coauthored more than 25 books and numerous articles on computers and education. He was the chairman of the department of computer science at the University of Oregon from 1969 to 1975. In 1979 he founded the International Council for Computers in Education (ICCE), which became the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) in 1989 when it merged with the International Association for Computing in Education. Dr. Moursund is currently the executive officer of ISTE. Dr. Sharon Yoder taught mathematics and computer science at the junior high and high school level for 15 years. Her most recent public school experience was as a secondary computer science teacher and a computer coordinator involved in developing system- wide computer curriculum and in planning teacher inservice training. In addition, she has taught mathematics, computer science, and computer education at a number of universities in northeastern Ohio, including Kent State University, the University of Akron, and Cleveland State University. She currently teaches computer education courses at the University of Oregon. For the past several years, Dr. Yoder has conducted workshops and presented papers at national conferences. She has been involved in a number of book-publishing projects, including the Nudges series, An Introduction to Programming in Logo Using LogoWriter, and An Introduction to Programming in Logo Using Logo PLUS. In addition, she has been a frequent contributor to The Computing Teacher. She is currently editor of Logo Exchange. Editing: The Electronic Page Editorial Assistance: Anita Best Production Assistance: Jean Hall Book Cover: Tamara Kidd © International Society for Technology in Education, 1993 1787 Agate Street, Eugene, Oregon 97403-1923 Order Desk: 800/336-5191 Phone: 503/346-4414 Fax: 503/346-5890 CompuServe: 70014,2117 Internet: [email protected] ISBN 1-56484-036-0 Problem Solving and Communication in a HyperCard Environment Dave Moursund and Sharon Yoder © International Society for Technology in Education, 1993 Table of Contents Preface ..................................................................................................................... i Possible Uses of This Book ..................................................................... ii Hardware and Software Needed to Use This Book ........................... iii 1.Chapter 1. Introduction and Overview ..........................................................1 Computers and Computer Programming .............................................1 What Is HyperCard? .................................................................................1 HyperTalk Is a Programming Language ...............................................4 HyperCard Is a Versatile Tool .................................................................5 Reading and Writing Hypermedia .........................................................5 Objects in HyperCard ...............................................................................7 Aids to Problem Solving ..........................................................................7 The Human Mind .....................................................................................8 Educational Uses of HyperCard .............................................................8 How to Use This Book ..............................................................................9 Activities ...................................................................................................10 Chapter 2. What Is Problem Solving? ..............................................................13 Problem Situations ..................................................................................13 Definition of a Formal Problem ............................................................15 A Five-Step Plan for Attacking a Problem ..........................................17 Domain Specificity ..................................................................................18 Transfer of Learning ...............................................................................18 Activities ...................................................................................................19 Chapter 3. Getting Started in HyperCard .......................................................21 A First Look at HyperCard ....................................................................21 Getting Familiar With HyperCard .......................................................22 Problem Solving—A Thought Experiment .........................................24 Why Learn to Create Stacks? .................................................................25 Activities ...................................................................................................26 Chapter 4. Making Cards and Stacks ...............................................................27 Setting the User Level .............................................................................27 Creating a New Stack .............................................................................28 Cards .........................................................................................................29 Creating Additional Cards ....................................................................30 Using the Tool Window .........................................................................30 The Paint Tools ........................................................................................33 Copying and Pasting a Card .................................................................33 Deleting a Card and Cutting a Card ....................................................34 Navigation in a Stack ..............................................................................34 Contents Saving a Stack ..........................................................................................36 The Idea of a Primitive ...........................................................................36 Learning HyperCard ..............................................................................36 Bugs and Debugging ..............................................................................38 Learning in a HyperCard Environment ..............................................38 Chapter 5. Paint Tools ........................................................................................41 The Tool Window ...................................................................................41 Graphical User Interface (GUI) .............................................................43 Using the Paint Tools ..............................................................................43 The Select Tool .............................................................................43 The Lasso Tool .............................................................................44 The Pencil Tool ............................................................................44 The Brush Tool ............................................................................46 The Eraser Tool ............................................................................46 The Line Tool ...............................................................................47 The Spray Can Tool ....................................................................47 The Rectangle Tool ......................................................................48 The Round Rectangle Tool ........................................................49 The Bucket Tool ...........................................................................49 The Oval Tool ..............................................................................50 The Curve Tool ............................................................................50 The Text Tool ...............................................................................51 The Regular Polygon Tool .........................................................52 The Polygon Tool ........................................................................52 Clip Art .....................................................................................................54 Menus .......................................................................................................55 Problem Solving ......................................................................................58 Activities ...................................................................................................58 Chapter 6. Buttons ..............................................................................................61 Creating a Button ....................................................................................61 Button Icons .............................................................................................65 Button Conventions ................................................................................67 Scripting Buttons .....................................................................................68 Visual Effects ...........................................................................................70 Consistency ..............................................................................................71