BASIC stands for Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instructional Code. Although it was inherently designed for beginners, you run out of usefulness relatively quickly, and it doesn't promote good programming techniques. Don't pollute their minds with VB or any other Microsoft product. If Microsoft knew how to teach good programming techniques would we there be any of these VB viruses still running around??? If the kids are very young, Logo is a good way to get them motivated about computers and geometry. If they are junior-high schoolers, Pascal is a good language to start in, but only if you can find interesting programs for them to work on. Many times people get frustrated if they do not instantly see results that seem fun. If they are interested in the web, why not start with Java or Perl? Personally I started with Logo, then BASIC (cringe), then Pascal, and then with C. Unlearning the BASIC wasn't a big deal for me, but I know it is for many students. I am a teaching assistant for an freshman engineering programming course, and it's the perfect example of people with no programming experience. They come in with nothing, and leave w/ a good rudimentary knowledge of C and FORTRAN. We come up w/ things that deal with what they are working on in their other classes, so they can see how programming can help them. Teaching a good high-level language such as C teaches people how to relate math and science with algorithms, which will help their problem solving skills. Do you want your kids to be assimilated by Microsoft?
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BASIC stands for Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instructional Code. Although it was inherently designed for beginners, you run out of usefulness relatively quickly, and it doesn't promote good programming techniques. Don't pollute their minds with VB or any other Microsoft product. If Microsoft knew how to teach good programming techniques would we there be any of these VB viruses still running around??? If the kids are very young, Logo is a good way to get them motivated about computers and geometry. If they are junior-high schoolers, Pascal is a good language to start in, but only if you can find interesting programs for them to work on. Many times people get frustrated if they do not instantly see results that seem fun. If they are interested in the web, why not start with Java or Perl? Personally I started with Logo, then BASIC (cringe), then Pascal, and then with C. Unlearning the BASIC wasn't a big deal for me, but I know it is for many students. I am a teaching assistant for an freshman engineering programming course, and it's the perfect example of people with no programming experience. They come in with nothing, and leave w/ a good rudimentary knowledge of C and FORTRAN. We come up w/ things that deal with what they are working on in their other classes, so they can see how programming can help them. Teaching a good high-level language such as C teaches people how to relate math and science with algorithms, which will help their problem solving skills. Do you want your kids to be assimilated by Microsoft?