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When Seymour Papert first introduced turtle geometry through the programming language Logo in 1967, it was intended to assist children ranging in age from 5 to 17 to learn mathematical concepts through programming and the use of words. Rather than programming using codes that were specific to a particular programming language, Papert simplified this by using common instructions to a turtle – which was first a physical robot (Fig. 1) and then later a virtual one that became an icon on a screen. Commands such as “Right 90” to turn 90° to the right or “FORWARD 20” to advance a specific distance in a straight line were used to make the turtle move. As computers were gradually introduced into schools in the 1980s, students were able to experience using a virtual turtle designed for use with Logo systems through a series of commands.
A physical robot – the (Tasmanian) Turtle
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References
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Keane, T. (2020). Robotics in Education. In: Tatnall, A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Education and Information Technologies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10576-1_169
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10576-1_169
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