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Now you’re going to use a second Blockly tool to make line drawings. This tool is called Turtle.
Now you’re going to use a second Blockly tool to make line drawings. This tool is called Turtle.
In this step, you’ll use code to ‘drive’ the turtle around the screen, and work through a few built-in exercises to familiarise yourself with Turtle. You’ll then make your own drawing using code.
About Blockly Turtle
About Blockly Turtle
Blockly Turtle works like an imaginary robot. You tell it how far to go and how many degrees to turn. It carries a ‘pen’, and when the pen is down, it draws on the screen. When the pen is up, you can move the turtle without it drawing, just like taking the pen off the paper when you draw.
Blockly Turtle works like an imaginary robot. You tell it how far to go and how many degrees to turn. It carries a ‘pen’, and when the pen is down, it draws on the screen. When the pen is up, you can move the turtle without it drawing, just like taking the pen off the paper when you draw.
Most programming languages can be used for a variety of tasks and the same is true of Blockly. You’ve learned how Blockly works in Maze. Now you’ll do something very different with it in Turtle. Even though the output is very different, the principles of Blockly still apply. You’ll use some of the same structures as before – notably, loops – and you’ll slot blocks together as before. However, you’ll have some new blocks too (as in the image below). Some are specifically related to the turtle; others are new operations in code, or new control structures.
Most programming languages can be used for a variety of tasks and the same is true of Blockly. You’ve learned how Blockly works in Maze. Now you’ll do something very different with it in Turtle. Even though the output is very different, the principles of Blockly still apply. You’ll use some of the same structures as before – notably, loops – and you’ll slot blocks together as before. However, you’ll have some new blocks too (as in the image below). Some are specifically related to the turtle; others are new operations in code, or new control structures.
As you’ll see when you learn to control Turtle, computer graphics code inevitably ends up involving a little maths. Don’t worry if you aren’t confident with maths; you’ll be given assistance with the maths required.
Turtle has a long history in computing and education. It was a key part of LOGO, a programming language invented in the 1960s at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a tool for teaching and learning. Turtles were originally physical robots that drew on paper on the floor. Later, they moved onto the computer screen.
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