September 30, 2015 by wendy
I recently came across a paper written by Mitchel Resnick, head of the Scratch team, and Eric Rosenbaum, co-creator of MaKeyMaKey, called “Designing for Tinkerability” that caught my attention. It made me wonder. What is tinkering? Why is it important? And are there tools that teach coding which promote tinkering? Let’s find out!
According to Resnick and Rosenbaum, tinkering is playful, experimental, and iterative. It allows the learner to constantly explore, try new ideas, and refine their work. Instead of starting at the top with a concrete goal and working their way down, tinkerers start at the bottom by experimenting with different possibilities and work their way up to their goal. For example, before starting to work with large volumes of data, it is better to understand how to work in tabular format using formulas. To familiarize yourself with and receive several examples of database analysis, it is recommended to send a request such as do my excel homework for me to https://specialessays.com/do-my-excel-homework/. After all, studying Excel and its formulas can become the basis for understanding the concepts and functions of data processing, which can be useful in programming. You can use Excel features along with your programming skills to create advanced solutions or integrate your applications with Excel spreadsheets.
Tinkering is important because it promotes creative thinking and resilience. Tinkerers learn to iterate, adapt, and take risks. It may seem like tinkering is aimless and tinkerers don’t fully understand what’s happening, but as Resnick and Rosenbaum point out, they understand bits and pieces that will eventually fit into a bigger picture.
For a tool to be tinkerable, Resnick and Rosenbaum say that it must incorporate three key principles: immediate feedback, fluid experimentation, and open exploration. Here are a few websites that encourage tinkering for you to try.
September 23, 2015 by wendy
Arduino is an open source platform for creating all types of electronic devices from flashing lights to flying robots. It consists of Arduino boards, Arduino software (IDE), and the Arduino programming language. The Arduino website is an excellent source of information. This article just highlights some of the key pieces of information to help you get started!
When you have an Arduino board, you can connect different things to it like light sensors, buttons, motors, and LEDs. Depending on your project, you’ll want to choose the right board, but how do you choose?
If you’re just getting started, the most basic board is the Arduino Uno. However, if you have a specific project in mind, you’ll want to make sure that the board you choose has everything you need. Take a look at the different boards available, or check out the selection guide from Adafruit.
You can purchase your Arduino board online or buy it through one of their main distributors depending on your country.
Once you have your board, you’ll want to tell it to do something like blink the LED. The Arduino website has a step-by-step guide for you to follow based on your operating system. For example, it shows you how to download their Integrated Development Environment or IDE, connect the board to your computer via USB, and run your first program.
If you plan to write your Arduino programs from scratch, you’ll want to brush up on its syntax. Check out the language reference that’s filled with examples.
If you’re new to Arduino, a good place to start is with a kit. Both the basic kit and starter kit contain all the components you need to build 15 step-by-step projects. You can find the tutorials online or purchase the starter kit that comes with the project book.
September 16, 2015 by wendy
With school back in session, there are lots of weekend and after school activities for kids to explore science, engineering, coding, and robotics. Here are just a few places in the Lower Mainland for you to get started.
With GearBots Makerspace, kids work in teams to design and build robots. They experiment with various robotic platforms, learn about computer programming, put together electronic circuits, and fabricate components using 3D printing. Visit their courses page for more information.
Led by enthusiastic university students, Geering Up runs after school clubs and outreach events for children and youth to participate in hands-on engineering projects, demos, design challenges, and lab tours. Visit their website to register.
Kids Code Jeunesse has partnered with Microsoft to host 2 free coding workshops. Kids ages 7 to 9 will learn how to build interactive art projects using Scratch, and kids ages 9 to 15 will learn how to create their own webpages in HTML. To register, check out their website.
Ladies Learning Code is presenting National Girls Learning Code Day on November 7th across Canada. So far in Vancouver, they’re hosting 2 workshops to teach girls how to build their own webpages using HTML and CSS. Registration is available through their website.
Don’t forget our free Hour of Code workshops at the Richmond Public Library next week! Each day features a different activity that introduces computer science in a fun and interactive way. Register through the Richmond Public Library event calendar.
With Minecampkids, children learn by playing Minecraft. While being guided through basic and modified gameplay, they’ll learn how to install mods safely, download resource packs and skins, and make their own modifications using basic programming. Check out their website for details.
Science Al!ve is now running an after school program at the Coquitlam Public Library that’s specifically designed to engage girls in science as well as weekend clubs on campus that feature lab activities and Lego programming. Check out their website to learn more.
September 8, 2015 by wendy
Congratulations! Today is Project Day! Your students have accomplished a lot over the last 9 sessions, and today is their chance to share what they’ve learned.
Project Day can take many forms. Students can share their projects by presenting them to the entire class, giving demos in small groups, or displaying them in a fair-like setting. Choose a method that works best for your class.
Before getting started, give all of your students a chance to reflect and celebrate their successes. Ask your students to think about their journey.
If needed, give your students time to put the finishing touches on their projects and upload them to the class studio. Suggest to students who are finished to ask others to test their projects, help others to complete their projects, or plan their presentations. Once everyone is ready, start the presentations.
Create a celebratory mood by incorporating decorations, music, snacks, and/or guests. After the presentations, present students with certificates to acknowledge their hard work and encourage them to keep on coding!
September 2, 2015 by wendy
Our free Hour of Code series at the Richmond Public Library is less than 3 weeks away. Here’s a sneak peak of what’s happening each day.
Help Anna and Elsa from Frozen skate across the ice to draw beautiful snowflakes. By snapping together code blocks, you’ll draw colourful lines and shapes to create geometric designs. At the same time, you’ll learn important computer programming concepts like sequencing, loops, and functions.
Snap together code blocks to catch the evil pig. You’ll need to carefully lead your bird through the maze and avoid the TNT. Learn about key computer science concepts like sequencing, loops, and conditionals. As you progress through this activity, you’ll also meet characters from Plants vs. Zombies and Ice Age.
Build your own monster and then program your monster to collect mints, gum drops, and jelly beans. You’ll gain experience coding with loops and conditionals while solving puzzles in this Candy Quest.
Animate your name, make a dance party, or build a Pong Game. You’ll experiment with a variety of code blocks that add motion, create visuals effects, and play sounds while learning about computer programming.
Help Lightbot light up all the blue tiles by putting together basic commands like walk and jump. You’ll use code blocks to guide Lightbot through different levels. As you progress, you’ll gain experience with procedures and loops.
This series begins September 21, and registration has already started! Check out the Richmond Public Library Event Calendar to register.