Month: August 2013

Scratch: Teaching the Difference Between Creating and Remixing | MindShift

Audrey Watters | August 11, 2011

The introductory programming language Scratch is on the cusp of having its 2 millionth project uploaded to its website. That’s an impressive number, and one that points not just to the widespread adoption of Scratch by novice programmers, but to the growth of a vibrant community surrounding the programming language along with the stories and games that are built with it.

For those unfamiliar with Scratch, some background: Developed by the MIT Media Lab, Scratch is a visual programming language for children age 6 and up. Scratch is available free of charge, and the software runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux computers. (Scratch 2.0, which is currently under development, will bring the tool into the Web browser as opposed to being a download.)

continue reading: Scratch: Teaching the Difference Between Creating and Remixing | MindShift.

Code to Joy: The School for Poetic Computation Opens – NYTimes.com

AUGUST 12, 2013, 11:05 AM By AMY O’LEARY

New computer science graduates jumped by nearly 30 percent last year, and a bevy of professionally oriented programming courses have erupted to teach start-up ready skills like, “How to Build a Mobile App.” So it makes sense that programming is widely considered to be this generation’s “Plastics” — a surefire professional skill that can bring success, security and maybe even stock options.

But fewer people talk about how programming and engineering can be used for pleasure, beauty or surprise.

Now, four people with a variety of backgrounds — in computer science, art, math and design — have banded together in Brooklyn to rethink how programming is taught.

Their school, the School for Poetic Computation, is intended to be more passionate, free-spirited and curiosity-driven than other kinds of private coding schools that have cropped up in the last few years, like New York’s Hacker School which is project-based and paid by start-ups to recruit from their student body, or Seattle’s Code Fellows, which offers practical classes with an aim to get their students a job after graduation.

via Code to Joy: The School for Poetic Computation Opens – NYTimes.com.

MIT technology trailblazer is a critic of computerized learning | Hechinger Report

Mitchel Resnick is the LEGO Papert Professor of Learning Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the head of the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab. His research group is best known for inventing two blockbuster educational technologies: the programmable bricks used in the LEGO Mindstorms robotics kits and Scratch, a computer programming language that allows children to create and share interactive stories, games and animations. The Hechinger Report talked to him about whether technology is changing education for better or worse.

Continue Reading: MIT technology trailblazer is a critic of computerized learning | Hechinger Report.

New Visual Tool Teaches Kids How to Code at Home | MindShift

As the conversation about education shifts towards helping students develop useful skills in life beyond the classroom, a new spotlight on computer coding has emerged. Kids are impressing adults with their creativity, with their facility in learning new technologies, and their ability to design challenging video games.

More and more, parents are beginning to see computer science and programming as the key to success for their children. And like other foreign languages, even if the child doesn’t grow up to be a computer programmer, learning to code can yield many other benefits, the thinking goes.

continue reading: New Visual Tool Teaches Kids How to Code at Home | MindShift.

8 iOS Apps That Teach You How to Code | Mac|Life

We’re rapidly heading into a world where those who can’t understand code are left behind. Everyone should try learning at least one programming language, even if it’s just so that they can communicate their needs to tech people. Knowing some code-fu does wonders for your problem-solving and logic, too. Whether you’re aiming for eventual App Store success, dipping your toes into a new hobby, or just trying to learn a new skill, these eight iOS apps will help you distinguish loops from conditionals and provide all the groundwork you need to become a 1337 coder — no matter your age or technical know-how.

via 8 iOS Apps That Teach You How to Code | Mac|Life.

From: Maxwell, Anthony
Sent: Friday, August 09, 2013 1:22 PM
To: Dioguardi, III, J. Edward; Tusch, Erich
Subject: 8 iOS Apps That Teach You How to Code

29 common beginner Python errors on one page | Python for biologists

A few times a year, I have the job of teaching a bunch of people who have never written code before how to program from scratch. The nature of programming being what it is, the same error crop up every time in a very predictable pattern. I usually encourage my students to go through a step-by-step troubleshooting process when trying to fix misbehaving code, in which we go through these common errors one by one and see if they could be causing the problem.  Today, I decided to finally write this troubleshooting process down and turn it into a flowchart in non-threatening colours.

Behold, the “my code isn’t working” step-by-step troubleshooting guide! Follow the arrows to find the likely cause of your problem – if the first thing you reach doesn’t work, then back up and try again.

Click the image for full-size, and click here for a printable PDF. Colour scheme from Luna Rosa.

Update: a couple of viewers have correctly pointed out that one of the examples – using a single equals sign in an if statement – actually generates a SyntaxError in Python. Oops! That example was left over in my brain from my days of teaching Perl! I’ve updated the flowchart and replaced that example with another common error which is dear to my heart – comparing an int with a string representation of an int (for example, read from an input file).

via 29 common beginner Python errors on one page | Python for biologists.