Lightbot : Code Hour on the App Store Kodable Hard Constraints, Easy Solutions In the previous post about integration methods, I took a look at gravity integration. Gravity is a good example of a soft constraint. It does not impose hard limits to movement of bodies. Contents Sneak Peak The conclusion of the explanations of this post is a stable hard constraint system that uses Verlet integration and constraint resolution. Download You can download the source of the first, second and third version of this simulation. Point In order to perform the tests to figure out how to do hard constraints, we need a data model that fits the purpose. The Point class has a position, velocity and acceleration. var Point = function(x, y){ this.position = new Vector(x, y); this.velocity = new Vector(0, 0); this.acceleration = new Vector(0, 0); points.push(this);} Two notable methods which are "accelerate" that simply adds a vector of acceleration to the existing acceleration, and "simulate" which does the typical Euler integration. There is a second class called FixedPoint.
Teaching Coding (For Teachers who Can't Code) According to a recent study by Code.org, the vast majority of schools in the US do not provide a rigorous computer science curriculum ( One skill that is critically ignored in schools is the actual coding of computers, with many computer science skills focusing instead on office skills like using Microsoft Word and Powerpoint. In fact, 90% of American schools don’t even discuss computer programming! While office skills are necessary, this neglect is a dangerous position for America’s students to be in. According to a recent poll by the US Department of Labor, computer science is one of the most rapidly growing job areas of the last decade, with well over 500,000 new job openings anticipated in the next ten years ( Unfortunately, another thing that schools have been lacking is a supply of skilled teachers with experience in computer programming. So what’s to be done?
CodeCombat CodeQuest - Learn how to Code on a Magical Quest with Games sull'App Store Welcome, Inventors! App Inventor is a free, cloud-based service that allows you to make your own mobile apps using a blocks based programming language. You access App Inventor using a web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari). With these beginner-friendly tutorials, you will learn the basics of programming apps for Android devices. You will need: A Mac or Windows computer (see system requirements)An internet connection You will make a mobile app, so it's fun to see it run on a phone or tablet while you build the app (and after!). Choose which way you want to connect to run your apps, and follow the links to setup instructions: Android mobile device (phone or tablet) and wi-fiAndroid mobile device (phone or tablet) and a USB cableOn-screen emulator If you hit any snags, we're here to help! Teachers: Get support and tips for preparing for App Inventor hour of code with your students. We have four tutorials to try out for the Hour of Code. For each tutorial, we have multiple ways of accessing them: What's Next?
CodeWeek.it | il sito italiano di CodeWeek.EU Teachers talk about TKP The TEACHERS resource section of the TKP site is organized as follows: General Topics for teachers on this site include the following: what we teach (i.e. which languages, software, IDEs, etc..),where we teach (i.e. links to events),who teaches (list of trained TKP teachers by location)how to teach the using the Intention Method (i.e. list of general teaching tips for all of our courseware) In addition we are adding teaching resources for each recipe (or lesson unit) to this site. text description of concepts taught by section of recipe (i.e. for recipe, for variation, for recap, for quiz, etc…)tips to teach each sectionshort video for teachers on teaching tips for that sectionXtras for that recipe – these can include warm-up (mini) recipes and more We welcome any and all feedback about the usability and usefullness of our courseware and teacher training materials. Here are some more CS resources for teachers from Google – CS resources – here from Microsoft - US Teacher resources – here
Blockly the Hour of Code is coming On Monday, October 14, 2013, Code.org announced the “Hour of Code," a campaign to introduce 10 million students to one hour of Computer Science. Live stream of the announcement Microsoft, Google, Apple, Amazon, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey Among Those Joining Campaign SAN FRANCISCO and SEATTLE – October 14, 2013 – Code.org, the non-profit dedicated to promoting computer science education, today announced a nationwide campaign calling on every K-12 student in America to join an "Hour of Code." The initiative asks schools, teachers and parents across the country to help introduce more than 10 million students of all ages to computer programming during Computer Science Education Week, December 9-15, 2013. The organization also announced the support of multiple organizations and individuals, including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Reid Hoffman and Jack Dorsey. Hour of Code - A tutorial featuring technology leaders New donors and partners Get involved
L’ora del codice a scuola: opportunità e idee di Andrea Patassini Dal 7 al 13 dicembre si rinnova l’appuntamento con le iniziative proposte nell’ambito della Settimana per l’educazione all’informatica. Evento cardine la cosiddetta Ora del codice, ovvero l’occasione per avvicinare studenti, insegnanti ed educatori ai concetti basilari della programmazione. L’occasione potrebbe essere interessante soprattutto per chi è alle prime armi, per chi è incuriosito dal termine coding contestualizzato nell’ambito didattico ma ancora ne sa poco. Chi? L’Ora del codice fa riferimento a Code.org, un’associazione senza scopo di lucro orientata a promuovere l’informatica nel contesto scolastico. Il successo italiano L’edizione del 2014 de L’ora del codice ha registrato 5677 eventi sparsi lungo il nostro territorio, moltissimi di questi organizzati all’interno delle scuole. Come partecipare Gli insegnanti interessati che non hanno preso parte all’edizione dello scorso anno possono iscriversi sul sito Programma il futuro. Qualche idea Mi piace:
Simon Haughton's website: LOGO Programming I'm going to admit that the fourth lesson I do on LOGO is complicated - the understanding of the programming commands that is required is of a high level and any mistake made (even the tiniest one) will result in either commands not being executed properly or error messages popping up on screen. It is, however, a lesson which the children rose to the challenge of today and which they were extremely impressed with when they saw what on-screen patterns they had managed to produce by its end. The age-old saying "you only get out what you put in" was certainly true today! Last time, I showed the children how to use the REPEAT command to draw regular polygons and stars so the natural progression was therefore to teach them how to create procedures this time. I began by asking them to follow my demonstration on how to create a procedure which draws a triangle when it is called. The next procedure I asked the children to create was one which drew a square shape.