Google Computer Science for High School

Curiosity should be encouraged

While an introduction to CS concepts at earlier ages encourages more diversity among scholars and practitioners in the field, there are not enough instructors prepared to guide our next generation of innovators.Through annual grants, CS4HS supports colleges and universities dedicated to CS education in their efforts to provide professional development training for local high school and middle school teachers. These teachers develop their own CS curriculum using real-world applications to engage young adults and spark curiosity for what is possible.

via Google Computer Science for High School.

Learn To Program TV

LearnToProgram Media is a leading publisher of web, mobile, and game development courses that are used by over 125,000 people in 65 countries. LearnToProgram’s valuable network of technical resources includes content on YouTube, iTunes, and Roku, as well as books, free tutorials, and online courses. The company is based outside of Hartford, Connecticut.

via About Us.

About the Project | Dronecode

The Dronecode Project is an open source, collaborative project that brings together existing and future open source drone projects under a nonprofit structure governed by The Linux Foundation. The result will be a common, shared open source platform for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles UAVs.

Dronecode will encourage the development of open source consumer and commercial UAV software by building and supporting a community of developers and providing them the resources and tools to help them innovate. The ultimate goal is to maximize adoption of the project’s code for the benefit of users with cheaper, better, and more reliable UAV software. The platform has already been adopted by many of the organizations on the forefront of drone technology, including HobbyKing, PrecisionHawk, Walkera, among others.

Dronecode creates a neutral and transparent body that will leverage a contribution-based meritocracy that allows other parties and developers to influence and participate in the development and direction of the software. The project will provide coordination and prioritize funding for initiatives. Dronecode serves as a trusted and neutral home to become the de facto standard platform for drone/robotics open projects. By partnering with The Linux Foundation, the Dronecode community will have access to collaboration best practices and resources to spread the reach of collaboratively-developed and open software.

via About the Project | Dronecode.

15 Colleges Revamping Computer Sci Programs To Appeal to Women and Minorities — Campus Technology

By Dian Schaffhauser10/14/14

An organization that runs programs to advance women in computing and a college that has seen success in its own efforts to woo non-traditional students to computing has launched a new program intended to help 15 American institutions increase the percentage of their undergraduate majors who are female or students of color. The Anita Borg Institute and Harvey Mudd College will be working with the undergraduate computer science departments at schools that include Missouri University of Science and Technology, the University of North Texas and Villanova University to pursue a broad set of students through multiple approaches.

via 15 Colleges Revamping Computer Sci Programs To Appeal to Women and Minorities — Campus Technology.

Teaching computer science — without touching a computer | The Hechinger Report

ByAnnie Murphy Paul

A group of children on a playground, each kid clutching a slip of paper with a number on it, moves along a line drawn in chalk, comparing numbers as they go and sorting themselves into ascending order from one to ten.

Another group of children, sitting in a circle, passes pieces of fruit — an apple, an orange — from hand to hand until the color of the fruit they’re holding matches the color of the T-shirt they’re wearing.

via Teaching computer science — without touching a computer | The Hechinger Report.

Hack ‘n’ Slash

INTRODUCING HACK ‘N’ SLASH

Howdy!

I’m Brandon Dillon, the project lead on Hack ‘n’ Slash, Double Fine’s upcoming puzzle adventure game about hacking and reverse engineering.

When I was a kid, I watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on betamax over and over and over again. I still think there’s more romanticism in the occupation of “treasure hunter” than just about anything else.

I’ve always loved games with lots of secrets in them, and when I first discovered a hex editor in an emulator, it dawned on me that I could be a kind of digital treasure hunter – no game could keep even its deepest secrets from me if I adventured log enough in its code and memory.

Hack ‘n’ Slash is a game about that mystery and romanticism. It’s rich in secrets, but with a bit of cleverness, you’ll be able to hack and slash your way to the heart of all of them.

Developing the full version of the game has been very rewarding because we’ve been able to take the hacking mechanics and make them real. You’ll mess with the game’s actual variables and dismantle the game’s actual code. We can’t wait to put it in your hands and see where you take it.

via Hack ‘n’ Slash.

Three Video Games That Teach Programming Through Play | MindShift

August 27, 2014

By Tanner Higgin, Graphite

The push to get kids to code has been such a hot topic these past few years you might be sick of hearing about it. There are those that see code as a critical skill — like learning a second language – which all kids need to learn. Others question whether programming is as important as critical thinking, or if code literacy is more or less important than traditional textual/numerical literacy. While this controversy continues to circulate, most people can agree that a basic understanding of code and coders is an increasingly important part of being a critical thinker in a world that’s full of screens and data.

Since digital games are both coded objects and systems that can be critiqued and better understood, they sit nicely between the evangelistic and tempered supporters of code literacy. Games build critical thinking skills and teach code literacy, offering authentic experiences that let kids experiment with how code works. They’re solid platforms to begin exploring programming.

via Three Video Games That Teach Programming Through Play | MindShift.

Online Code Editor – Codeanywhere

Codeanywhere is cloud based code editor that enables users to develop, maintain and collaborate on their web sites and application from any device, anywhere in the world.At Codeanywhere people keep up with their projects, edit their web sites and the like – without having to drag their computer along.Enjoy the freedom of traveling light and the security of knowing that if you need to, you can log on to Codeanywhere from any device and get to work! Think of it as Google Docs for developers.

via Online Code Editor – Codeanywhere.