> There is simply none of this "instant response" type programming anymore, at least for beginners.

This is not true! As an example, Processing is a mature project that aims to be simple to use and fast at providing visual feedback. It is now possible to use Processing with Python (Jython). And novices can reference the online docs.

- (Processing.org)[http://processing.org] - (Love2D)[http://love2d.org]

I'm sure there are more projects out there that can draw circles on a canvas.