Month: June 2013

Processing 2.0 Released

Overview. A short introduction to the Processing software and projects from the community.

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of Processing 2.0—the latest incarnation of the programming language, development environment, and online community that has grown dramatically since its debut in 2001. This new release builds on the versions of Processing that have been downloaded almost two million times. We invite you to download Processing 2.0 from www.processing.org. The Processing software is free and open source, and runs on the Mac, Windows, and GNU/Linux platforms.

For the past twelve years, Processing has promoted software literacy, particularly within the visual arts, and visual literacy within technology. Initially created to serve as a software sketchbook and to teach programming fundamentals within a visual context, Processing has also evolved into a development tool for professionals. We stand by our mission statement:

Processing seeks to ruin the careers of talented designers by tempting them away from their usual tools and into the world of programming and computation. Similarly, the project is designed to turn engineers and computer scientists to less gainful employment as artists and designers.

continue reading:  Overview \ Processing.org.

CS4HS (Computer Science for High School)

CS4HS (Computer Science for High School) is an initiative sponsored by Google to promote Computer Science and Computational Thinking in high school and middle school curriculum. With a gift from Google’s Education Group, universities develop 2-3 day workshops for local high school and middle school CS teachers. These workshops incorporate informational talks by industry leaders, and discussions on new and emerging CS curricula at the high school and middle school level. On this site, you’ll find information on how to apply for a CS4HS grant, information for workshop attendees and partners, and other helpful resources. We currently offer CS4HS funding in the US, Canada, Europe, Middle East, Africa, China, New Zealand, and Australia.

via Google.

AgentSheets – AgentCubes in a Box

We are pleased to announce the National Center for Women in Information Technology (NCWIT) is now offering “AgentCubes in a Box” – a complete example curriculum that introduces Computational Thinking with our Scalable Game Design process! Students use the freely downloadable version of AgentCubes program to make a working 3D Maze Craze game. This easily-downloadable guide takes you through all the steps!

via AgentSheets.

How smart developers generate lousy code | ITworld

By Esther Schindler

May 31, 2013, 10:03 AM

Most experienced developers can think of a time when they worked on a team with other accomplished programmers. Yet the code quality was anywhere from “eh” to “oh god you didn’t actually ship that did you?!” Here’s how this can happen, and what to do to minimize the chances it’ll happen to you.

Sarah Mei spoke about a time she worked on a team with really expert developers. Every one of them was someone whom you’d admire, who had previous written code that you and I would boast to have created. Yet, these smart people created modules that didn’t talk to each other. And its quality was, to be kind, on the rotten side.

You’ve probably encountered something like this at some point in your own programming career. Instead of the team creating more than the sum of its parts, the end result looked like something created by a novice developer. If not like crayon sketches from an untalented 6-year-old.

continue reading-  How smart developers generate lousy code | ITworld.

OPINION: Learning to Code Isn’t Enough | EdSurge News

Shuchi Grover

The 2020 Science report released in 2005 observed that science was changing in a subtle but fundamental way–from the use of computing to support scientific work, to integrating Computer Science (CS) concepts and tools into the very fabric of science. One only has to look at how data science played a role in the Obama win in 2012, or what movie-making has become today, to realize that the science of computing is changing the face of many fields in equally dramatic, if not quite as fundamental, ways.

continue reading- OPINION: Learning to Code Isn’t Enough | EdSurge News.

The coding movement: Resources for computer science education | eSchool News

In the middle of a resounding push for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education is a growing movement to expose children to computer science education and skills, also known as computer programming or coding.

According to Code.org statistics, computer science is the highest-paid college degree, and jobs in computer programming are growing at two times the national average–but despite that, fewer than 2.4 percent of college students graduate with a degree in computer science.

Conitnue reading: The coding movement: Resources for computer science education | eSchool News.