It is a good idea to have a standard form to write PIPPIN programs down. This can form the basis of a topic in a lesson. The basic question is: "How do I write a PIPPIN program down so that you can use it later?". There are lots of options: words, words and numbers, straight arrows using different directions for turns, bent arrows for turns, a circle, a drawn clock or the word for pause. As there are lots of possibilities, an agreed standard is a good idea. This is probably more literacy than control but it should be done.

I prefer straight arrows for moves, bent arrows for turns and a circle for a pause. RPT and END are the words, a note symbol for a note and an ellipse with three lines above it for a flash command. However, it is up to the students what they standardise on as long as they standardise!

There is also another possible can of worms about layout of the program. I like sets of boxes with a single command on each line, like this:

There have been many papers written in learned journals about how to lay out the source code for software, so the topic is not necessarily as simple as it appears. This works for me though. There is a pdf of a pair of the record sheets here.

 Date Last Modified: 5/6/06 

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