Algorithmic art allows designers to create art automatically by programming what they want drawn and then letting the code execute it. I used Logo as a small child in elementary school, and it has been interesting to go back and try it again as an adult. Of course, the Turtle Art program I used here is a bit more sophisticated and user-friendly than the Logo program I used as a child.
This shape below was deceptively difficult to make. I initially tried to use an if-then statement to alternate the circle’s red and black colors. However, the Turtle Art program didn’t seem to provide an “else” or “else if” option. This meant that I couldn’t just have one if statement after another without them undoing the work of the other. In the end, I realized that the if-then block was wrong for this attempt and decided to take a new approach. Instead I decided to create a “Segment” block that would hold the code for generate each color segment, and then just ran that code twice in the same loop to produce the desired effect.
I also tried applying the random block to the code that I created of the circle that replaced the gray and red with random colors.
In an earlier attempt, I used the random block to create an animated program that would endlessly create hexagons with random orientations and randomized colors for each side.
My overall impression is that this program could be useful to introduce children to the logic of programming. Some of the programs I have seen create rather ornate images, but I think that children may find the simplistic designs of Turtle Art a bit understimulating.