Month: March 2013

Tynker

 Tynker is a new computing platform designed specifically to teach children computational learning and programming skills in a fun and imaginative way. Tynker is inspired by Scratch from MIT. It is a completely browser-based implementation written using Open Web standards such as Javascript, HTML5, CSS3 and does not use Flash.

Tynker’s language extensions, built-in physics engine, character editors and other tools make it fun and easy for kids to unleash their creativity. Schools love Tynker because it offers them an easy to use cloud-hosted system for delivering a customized Computer Science course across multiple grades with a ready to use curriculum, classroom management and more. Tynker is the platform of choice at many leading schools – see what educators are saying.

We believe that computational thinking and computer programming should be part of the core curriculum in education. Our goals include:

Provide every child with a solid foundation of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) thinking abilities to prepare them for 21st century degrees and careers.

Enable children to learn Computer Science concepts through discovery, creative activities and experimentation.

via Tynker.

The 25 Best Places To Take Free Online Computer Science Classes | Edudemic

These days, computers dominate our lives, providing the platform by which we work, play, and communicate with others around the world. As such, knowing how to work with and engineer these often quite complicated systems is a pretty solid skill to have in the modern workforce.

read more- The 25 Best Places To Take Free Online Computer Science Classes | Edudemic.

Lua

Lua is a powerful, fast, lightweight, embeddable scripting language.

Lua combines simple procedural syntax with powerful data description constructs based on associative arrays and extensible semantics. Lua is dynamically typed, runs by interpreting bytecode for a register-based virtual machine, and has automatic memory management with incremental garbage collection, making it ideal for configuration, scripting, and rapid prototyping.

via Lua: about.

Making Games in the Classroom with Scratch – ProfHacker – The Chronicle of Higher Education

I’ve discussed the potential value of learning some scripting for any major in the past, and President Obama recently called for more of a focus on making sure students know “how to actually produce stuff” with computers, citing game design as a potential motivation. I’ve been participating in the Learning Creative Learning MOOC from MIT Media Lab, and this week we’ve been working with Scratch. Scratch is certainly a powerful entry point for the type of learning Obama called for. Playing with Scratch reminded me how powerful it is for a language that uses building block code, and made me reconsider it for introducing fundamental programming to some of my non-coders in the classroom. Scratch is a powerful way to support goals like Brian’s of teaching kids to make–but it’s for more than just kids. I grew up with Logo, a highly visual tool where writing simple code “commanded” a turtle to create things on-screen, and I’m amazed by how far we’ve come since then. Scratch provides a platform for anyone to try making animations, interactive experiments, and games. Unlike the tools I’ve looked at so far in this series — Inform 7, Inklewriter, and Twine –Scratch is highly visual and intended to provide a clear introduction to code.
via Making Games in the Classroom with Scratch – ProfHacker – The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Kinect2Scratch

Kinect2Scratch allows data from the Microsoft Kinect controller be sent to Scratch, the programming language for kids from the MIT Media Laboratory.

This means that anyone can write programs with motion control, use gestures, make kinetic games and generally leap about having fun.

All you need is a Kinect with its own power supply (Kinects bundled with an XBox will need a separate cable).

Scratch and Kinect from Stephen Howell on Vimeo.

via Kinect2Scratch 2.5.

ComputerCraft 1.5

ComputerCraft is a Minecraft mod with full multiplayer support that adds in-game Computers. Each Computer has an operating system, a filesystem, a suite of builtin programs including a text editor, a realtime Lua interpreter, and two games), and can be programmed to do anything you want with the easy-to-use Lua programming language. Computers can interact with redstone wiring and bundled cables from the RedPower2 mod, meaning they can be used to fully automate and control your worlds. With peripheral devices, the capabilities of computers can be expanded further, with Disk Drives adding the ability to transfer files between computers and play music, Wireless Modems adding Wireless Networking between machines, Monitors adding external large external displays and Printers adding printing capabilities.

via [1.4.7] ComputerCraft 1.5 – Now with Better Networking! – Minecraft Forum.

Computer Algorithms Rely Increasingly on Human Helpers – NYTimes.com

By STEVE LOHR  Published: March 10, 2013

Trading stocks, targeting ads, steering political campaigns, arranging dates, besting people on “Jeopardy” and even choosing bra sizes: computer algorithms are doing all this work and more.

But increasingly, behind the curtain there is a decidedly retro helper — a human being.

Although algorithms are growing ever more powerful, fast and precise, the computers themselves are literal-minded, and context and nuance often elude them. Capable as these machines are, they are not always up to deciphering the ambiguity of human language and the mystery of reasoning. Yet these days they are being asked to be more humanlike in what they figure out.

“For all their brilliance, computers can be thick as a brick,” said Tom M. Mitchell, a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University.

 

via Computer Algorithms Rely Increasingly on Human Helpers – NYTimes.com.

CoderDojo – CoderDojo

CoderDojo is a movement orientated around running free not-for-profit coding clubs and regular sessions for young people.

At a CoderDojo, young people learn how to code, develop websites, apps, programs, games and more. Dojos are set up, run by and taught at by volunteers. Dojos organise tours of technology companies, bring in guest speakers to talk about their career and what they do, and organise events. In addition to learning to code, members meet like minded people, show off what they’ve been working on and so on. CoderDojo makes development and learning to code a fun, sociable, kick ass experience. CoderDojo also puts a strong emphasis on open source and free software, and has a strong network of members and volunteers globally.

CoderDojo has just one rule: “Above All: Be Cool“, bullying, lying, wasting people’s time and so on is uncool.

To join a CoderDojo, please find your nearest one from this list, or help set one up one!

via About – CoderDojo – CoderDojo.

Processing.js

Processing.js is the sister project of the popular Processing visual programming language, designed for the web. Processing.js makes your data visualizations, digital art, interactive animations, educational graphs, video games, etc. work using web standards and without any plug-ins. You write code using the Processing language, include it in your web page, and Processing.js does the rest. It’s not magic, but almost.

via Processing.js.