Logo Environment
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Logo Turtle Graphics is a classic programming environment where pupils control a turtle on screen by giving it commands: moving it forward, turning it, and drawing as it goes. Originally developed in the 1960s as an educational tool, Logo has long been used to make geometry tangible and interactive. This modern web app version requires no installation and works on any device, making it ideal for classroom use.
The geometry connection is direct and powerful: to draw a square, pupils must understand that four equal sides and four right-angle turns of 90° close a shape. To draw a regular pentagon, they need to figure out that the exterior angle is 360° ÷ 5 = 72°. Every shape becomes a problem to reason through rather than just copy.
- Editor mode with syntax highlighting, line numbers, and a reference panel. Ideal for individual or paired work on a computer
- IWB mode with large tap-friendly command buttons designed for whole-class teaching on an interactive whiteboard
- Built-in examples covering squares, triangles, stars, spirals, fractals and more
- Step-through mode to execute code one command at a time, making the link between instruction and outcome explicit
- Challenges at varying difficulty levels, from right angles to procedures and Spirographs
- REPEAT loops make the exterior angle rule for regular polygons a natural discovery — change the angle, change the shape
- Procedures (TO … END) introduce the idea of defining reusable shapes, connecting to algebraic thinking with parameters
- Pen colour and width controls (SETPC, SETPW) for creative and cross-curricular extension work
- Speed control to slow animation right down for class discussion or run instantly for exploration
- Export as PNG and share via URL to save and share pupils' work
The tool covers a natural progression from basic angle facts and properties of polygons through to interior/exterior angle relationships, rotational symmetry, and recursive patterns, with the added benefit that pupils must articulate geometry precisely as code in order to make it work.
