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JIT Turtle Overview
JIT Turtle offers a fun, intuitive coding platform designed with young learners in mind. The child-friendly interface supports the teaching of computational thinking, programming, and debugging through simple visuals and interactive tools.
Interface and Navigation
Upon opening JIT Turtle, the platform presents a clean interface where learners can:
Add and program sprites
Choose or upload backgrounds
Use a simple or advanced coding mode
Save and revisit their work
Choosing a Background or Template
When the tool opens, the Templates submenu appears automatically. You can choose from seven pre-designed templates, or upload your own background by switching to the Pictures submenu. From there, you can:
Upload from My Files or Shared Files
Search and add an image from the Internet
Use your webcam to snap a live photo directly into the canvas
Adding and Managing Sprites
Sprites are the programmable characters within JIT Turtle.
To add a sprite, click the “+” button and select your preferred sprite (up to 4 can be added).
If using a template, a sprite may be preloaded. You can delete any sprite by clicking the red “X” next to it.
Programming with Algorithms
JIT Turtle offers two programming modes:
Simple Mode: The sprite moves immediately after each instruction is added. This is ideal for early learners to see cause and effect in real time.
Advanced Mode: The sprite remains stationary until the full sequence is programmed and the Play button is pressed—ideal for learners ready to test predictions and sequencing.
To add algorithms:
Click the directional arrows; each instruction appears in the Scripts area.
To delete an instruction, click the “X” beside it.
To rearrange steps, simply drag and drop them into the desired order.
Pen and Path Features
Sprites can draw paths as they move—helpful for visual learners and debugging.
Change pen colour by clicking the pen icon next to the sprite.
Use the “Pen Down” function to begin drawing.
Use the “Pen Up” function to stop drawing.
Debugging Code
Debugging is a key part of learning to code. Learners can:
Identify and correct mistakes by observing sprite paths
Move, delete, or rearrange algorithm steps in the Scripts area
Experiment with different instructions to achieve their goals
Saving Work
To save the project:
Click the Save icon in the top right corner
This saves the code as an editable file in My Files, so it can be re-opened and modified later