Letting grade schoolers write software that runs on their phones could influence more people to build an interest in computer science, even before they understand exactly what CS is about.
It could be this generation's C-64 equivalent. I have fond memories of whiling away hours of time in C-64's Basic.
I am not sure. I've learned programming on the C64 when I was 12 years old. I used Basic. On the other hand a friend of mine used a so called 'game maker' to create games. His games (which he created without programming) looked much more professional than what I wrote in Basic. In fact he had to configure so much things, that it was overwhelming to me, so he was a king in my eyes. But unfortunatelly he never learned to program and I bacame a software developer. I think a Logo interpreter or something which has something to do with creating algorithms is a better tool for a child to start. A tool like this does not teach what is the most interesting if someone really has affinitiy to programming: algorithmic thinking.
When I watch my niece gleefully play with sand, dirt, and water, I love it because she is as engaged or even more focused then when she is watching some Nick Jr. show.
I think the new Google tools are an important first step from pre-teens mindlessly playing/texting with their mobile devices (consuming) to making something, even if it is a toy app (producing). And maybe they'll get a bit of the ego boost that comes from making something other people like/want. Maybe it will become cool to make your own little apps. Imagine if Seventeen magazine had a monthly contest for best app. This could be more than a technological shift, this could be a shifting of cultural attitudes towards programming / IT at the subsurface, tectonic level.
As for teaching logic, I think it really comes down to how the person is wired internally. Some people just think that way.
It could be this generation's C-64 equivalent. I have fond memories of whiling away hours of time in C-64's Basic.