Beta!

Beta is a self-organized learning environment optimized for classrooms and workshops

Beta is designed to support self-driven learning. Through their relationship with Beta, students will engage STEM and computer science concepts in a fun way. While Beta can be played alone, it is best experienced in a community! Our ‘Code a Game in a Day’ workshop and curriculum provides educators with the structure needed to unleash the programmer within their students. The Beta Net enables players to instantly communicate, share and connect their work with other players.

Object-Based Programming

Computer Science Terminology

Keyboarding

Game Design

System Design

Core Mathematics

via Beta!.

How Many Lines Of Code Is That? – Edudemic

By Katie Lepi on February 6, 2014

Understanding how to code is a great skill to have. In fact, it is growing to be an important part of a well-rounded education – slowly but surely. With so many careers of the future slated to be STEM based, knowing how to code can be a huge bonus in the job market. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, two of the fastest-growing occupations are in computer science and related fields – expected to grow 53.4% by 2018.There are so many different resources out there to help you learn how to code, and yet so many people still don’t know how, and don’t value the skill a whole lot. Luckily, there are big efforts being made to bring awareness to coding. The Hour Of  Code is probably still the most well known at this point, but look out for more to come!

The handy infographic below takes a look at how many lines of code it takes to create…stuff. From basic iPhone games to entire operating systems for computers, just how much code does it take to make our electronic lives happen? Just a fun, visual way of showing just how much coding is in our daily lives!

How Many Lines Of Code Is That?

100,000 to 999,999 lines of code: iPhone apps, older (80s) versions of software like Photoshop

Between 1 and 5 million lines of code: Photoshop CS6, Hubble Space Telescope, US Military Drone

Between 5 and 10 million lines of code: The latest version of Google Chrome, the Mars Curiosity Rover

Between 10 and 25 million lines of code: Total flight software for a Boeing 787, MySQL, a Chevy Volt

Between 25 and 50 million lines of code: Microsoft Office 2013, Windows 2000

Between 50 and 100 million lines of code: US Army Future Combat System, Large Hadron Collider, Facebook, Mac OSX Tiger

Over 100 million lines of code: Car software for a modern high end car, the US healthcare.gov website (reportedly)

via How Many Lines Of Code Is That? – Edudemic.

Code Racer – Battle it out and learn the code… Brought to you by Treehouse

- About The Team - Battle it out and learn the code... Brought to you by Treehouse

WHAT IS CODE RACER?

Code Racer is a multi-player live coding game that teaches newbies how to code a basic website using HTML and CSS, and tests intermediate and advanced users on their coding speed and agility. Players race against each other and the clock to complete coding challenges, unlocking weapons and rewards along the way.Even if someone has zero experience with building websites, they’ll be able to watch a video tutorial and complete the code challenges that will give them the basic skills to launch a web site.

via – About The Team – Battle it out and learn the code… Brought to you by Treehouse.

TouchDevelop

TouchDevelop makes learning programming exciting! You can write code directly on any device and you can directly use sensors and media via high-level APIs. It’s easy to create games and apps, publish them or tweak those published by others. You write code in our touch-friendly editor where you compose programs by tapping on your screen, yet concepts you learn transfer to traditional languages such as Java or C#. TouchDevelop embraces the “Bring Your Own Device” revolution by providing a unified programming environment everywhere.

via TouchDevelop.

10 Programming Languages You Should Learn in 2014

by Rebecca Hiscott, Jan 21, 2014

The tech sector is booming. If you’ve used a smartphone or logged on to a computer at least once in the last few years, you’ve probably noticed this.

As a result, coding skills are in high demand, with programming jobs paying significantly more than the average position. Even beyond the tech world, an understanding of at least one programming language makes an impressive addition to any resumé.

via 10 Programming Languages You Should Learn in 2014.

The Sound of Sorting – “Audibilization” and Visualization of Sorting Algorithms – panthema.net

by Timo Bingmann at Permlink.

Sorting algorithms are an essential chapter in undergraduate computer science education. Due to their easy to explain nature and fairly straight-forward analysis, this set of algorithms offers a convenient introduction to the methods and techniques of theoretical computer science and algorithm analysis.

This web page presents my own demo program for sortings algorithms, called “The Sound of Sorting”, which both visualizes the algorithms internals and their operations, and generates sound effects from the values being compared. See below for YouTube videos created with the demo.

The demo is implemented using the cross-platform toolkits wxWidgets and SDL, can be executed on Windows, Linux and Mac, and runs in real time.

continue reading  The Sound of Sorting – “Audibilization” and Visualization of Sorting Algorithms – panthema.net.

My BIG List of iPad Coding Apps for Kids! | Jonathan Wylie | Education Technology Consultant

December 9-15, 2013 is Computer Science Education Week, and this year their big push is to get coding incorporated into school curriculums everywhere. There are lots of reasons why kids should be coding, but none more than the fact that there are more resources than ever to help students and teachers get started, regardless of their previous experiences with computer programming. So, in honor of the #HourOfCode project, here is my BIG list of iPad coding apps for kids. There is something here for students of all ages.

via My BIG List of iPad Coding Apps for Kids! | Jonathan Wylie | Education Technology Consultant.

Python for Kids | No Starch Press

Python is a powerful, expressive programming language that’s easy to learn and fun to use! But books about learning to program in Python can be kind of dull, gray, and boring, and that’s no fun for anyone.

Python for Kids brings Python to life and brings you (and your parents) into the world of programming. The ever-patient Jason R. Briggs will guide you through the basics as you experiment with unique (and often hilarious) example programs that feature ravenous monsters, secret agents, thieving ravens, and more. New terms are defined; code is colored, dissected, and explained; and quirky, full-color illustrations keep things on the lighter side.

via Python for Kids | No Starch Press.

RFO BASIC! for Android

RFO BASIC! is a dialect of Dartmouth Basic that allows you to write and run programs directly on your Android device.  In addition to the traditional Basic features, your have access to:

Graphics (with Multi-touch),
HTML and JavaScript available for user interfaces,
SQL,
GPS,
Device Sensors,
Music Play,
Sound Pools,
Audio Recording,
Tone Generation,
Camera,
Data Structures such as:Array/List/Stack/Bundle
Internet Browsing,
Text and Byte file I/O,
Encryption,
User defined functions,
FTP Client,
TCP/IP Client and Server Sockets,
Bluetooth,
Send SMS Messages,
Send Emails,
Make a phone call,
Superuser access

BASIC! programs may be complied into applications.There are two processes provided for this. One process generates a home screen shortcut but requires BASIC! installed to run. The other process generates a stand alone application that does not need BASIC! installed. The resulting application can be offered on the Android Market.

All of the features of BASIC! are documented in the manual, De Re BASIC!, which is currently over 200 pages in size.

The install package include almost three dozen BASIC! source code files that explain and demonstrate the implementation details of this dialect.

BASIC! is being continuously improved. New releases have come at an average of one per week. Many of the improvements have come from user requests. Join the BASIC! forum and become part of the development team.

This project is a labor of love by the curator of The Dr. Richard Feynman Observatory and author of Atari Basic and Apple DOS 3.1. It is free to all,  now, and forever. The underlying source code is available under the terms of the GNU General Public License.