A visual Java "programming" environment and framework aimed at inspiring kids to code.
Raspberry Explorer aims to be an "interface" between the world of programmers, and the world of kids. It presents an interface called Module, which programmers can use to write blocks that perform a certain task. For example, you could write a block that calculates the sum of two numbers. You could also write a block that controls a compute cluster. These blocks are presented on the screen, so that kids can interact with them.
The name "Raspberry Explorer" comes from the program's original intended purpose: to be a visual programming environment for a Raspberry Pi based robot.
In the future, Raspberry Explorer will support touch screen interfaces, which will allow easier interaction. It will also support loadable plugins, to make development of Modules a bit easier.
Here are some examples of modules you might write for Raspberry Explorer: *An RMI based interface for a robot controlled by a Raspberry Pi *A Random Walk implementation for said robot *Client and Server modules, that allow kids to assemble an instant messaging application
The goal of interaction in this way is not necessarily to teach programming concepts, but merely to inspire curiosity. Learning anything takes motivation, and the easiest way to motivate kids to learn is to inspire them by giving them just enough to play around with concepts on an intuitive level, but not so much that they get overwhelmed. That is the goal behind Raspberry Explorer.