{"id":20640,"date":"2023-07-17T08:51:49","date_gmt":"2023-07-17T15:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/?p=20640"},"modified":"2023-09-11T13:19:12","modified_gmt":"2023-09-11T20:19:12","slug":"tynker-toolbox-the-pen-blocks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/tynker-toolbox-the-pen-blocks\/","title":{"rendered":"Tynker Toolbox: The Pen Blocks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Did you know that you can use Tynker to create colorful, original drawings? This complex, spiraling image was created with just a handful of code blocks using Tynker\u2019s Pen. 
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To use the Pen Blocks, you must enable <\/em>them first. You\u2019ve got two options. 
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Option #1: <\/strong>Drag any Pen block in your code, and the extension will automatically be enabled! Search for a Pen command like pen down<\/strong> or set pen size<\/strong> and use it in your code. 
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Option #2: <\/strong>You can also click More <\/strong>at the bottom of the coding palette, then choose Pen <\/strong>and Add<\/strong> to enable the Pen blocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the Pen blocks enabled, as actors move across the Stage, they can draw lines, shapes, and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Tynker\u2019s Pen is inspired by Logo, an educational programming language created in the late 1960s. Logo was used to control robotic turtles (yes, really!) that could draw with pens. In Tynker, we\u2019ll move virtual turtles and draw on the screen instead. The Python<\/a><\/strong> programing language has a similar pen-drawing tool called Turtle Graphics<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This tutorial and the Pen blocks themselves are both inspired by and indebted to Logo and the pioneering computer scientist and educator Seymour Papert. His book Mindstorms<\/a><\/strong> (1980) and video lecture series On Logo<\/a> <\/strong>(1986) are still relevant today. Both are available for free online and recommended reading for computer science educators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Table of Contents<\/p>\n