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Resources for learning about computing and programming . . .
See below for links to download ZIP files with a complete package of each day's handouts and resources. The handouts also include links to sites to download other software.
MyEasyPages™ - www.myeasypages.co.uk Use MyEasyPages™ to create a simple web page . . . . . . and show friends and family can see what you've produced
Arithmetic of Computers - www.arithmeticofcomputers.co.uk A structured guide to some of the basic maths of number systems and computers
Found something useful that isn't mentioned here? . . . Any ideas? Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?
Then email me with details at Info@CodingIsFun.co.uk
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The aim of the session is for every pupil to see what a computer programme looks like and make a start in understanding a few of the basic concepts involved.
JavaScript is the language commonly used in scripts in web pages, so continues the web theme from the MyEasyPages™ session. It is also a "C-like" language so everything learned will be easily transferrable to many other common languages.
The Code Academy tutorial starts with the absolute basics and progresses from there. It is designed so that pupils can progress at their own pace and includes plenty of practice and feedback.
Code Academy
As with the the MyEasyPages™ session, it's a good idea to set pupils up with user names / passwords and get them registered yourself before the session to avoid wasting time. Have a list of their user names / passwords handy - or, better, printed slips to give them.
Note that Code Academy uses HTML 5, so requires a reasonably up to date browser. If you are running on Windows XP, Internet Explorer 8 is not sufficient and Internet Explorer 9 is not supported on Windows XP, so you will need to install an alternative, such as FireFox, Safari or Chrome. I have also seen situations where Internet Explorer 9 on Windows 7 has run into problems - again, maybe try an alternative, such as FireFox, Safari or Chrome.
When you sign in, follow the Get Started or Learn / JavaScript Fundamentals / Getting Started with Programming links.
Key concepts that will be encountered fairly quickly (within the 28 exercises of the initial Introduction section) include:
How far pupils get through the Introduction section in the session will probably vary a lot. My experience was that with sufficient 1-to-1 adult guidance a fair number were at or close to the end of the section at the end of an 80 minute session (including pupils as young as age 8). A lot of that was down to how good they were at following the instructions, their typing speed and confidence.
When the Introduction section is complete, try the Code Academy FizzBuzz project, which introduces loops.
And don't forget to tell pupils that they can access this from home as well.
The Code Academy site gives points and badges as you progress through the tutorial, so consider using these to keep track of how pupils are progressing.
For pupils who want to go further, there are plenty of other tutorials on Code Academy. W3Schools also has good JavaScript reference material and a lot of information and resources for a whole host of web technologies.
The handout also draws analogies between HTML / CSS / JavaScript and Nouns / Adjectives / Verbs to give a flavour of how the different technologies combine to produce a web page / web site. This isn't perfect and these sessions do not directly contain anything about CSS (though the TinyMCE editor in MyEasyPages™ does allow some style manipulation). For anyone interested both Code Academy (Web Fundamentals tutorial that covers HTML and CSS) and W3Schools (CSS tutorial - there is also a separate CSS3 tutorial for those who want to go further still.) contain relevant material.
Note that, if pupils have spare time (or need to kill time waiting for others to catch up) in later sessions, continuing with Code Academy is a useful filler.
Code Academy is FREE - as their web site says, they are backed by some great people, including: Union Square Ventures, Index Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, O'Reilly, SV Angel, Thrive Capital, CrunchFund, Collaborative Fund, Founder Collective, Yuri Milner, Vivi Nevo, Richard Branson, and several others.
Coding is Fun - Resources - 2 - Code Academy.docx
Code Academy Register and start learning JavaScript Code Academy - www.codeacademy.com
W3Schools JavaScript Tutorial Tutorial and reference for JavaScript W3Schools JavaScript Tutorial - www.w3schools.com
W3Schools CSS Tutorial Tutorial and reference for CSS (separate CSS3 tutorial also available) W3Schools CSS Tutorial - www.w3schools.com
This is a general list of possible additional resources that may be useful (in addition to those in the main Resources pages).
But please note that I have not tried using all of these so you'll need to put in a bit of groundwork yourself.
If you have any helpful comments on any of them or any others that might be added, please contact me at Info@CodingIsFun.co.uk.
Visual Studio is the name for Microsoft’s suite of Integrated Development Environments. 2012 is the latest version. Follow the Learn More link for downloads of versions for developing for Windows Desktop, Windows 8, Windows Phone and Web Sites. Express is the (slightly) stripped down free edition. Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 Express
The previous version, Visual Studio 2010 is also still available. Follow the See Download Details link for versions including the C# is the programming language. Other lnguages are available such as Visual Basic. Express is the (slightly) stripped down free edition. Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express
You might also be interested in Visual Studio 2010 for Windows Phone. With this you can develop XNA and Silverlight Apps for Windows phones (Silverlight also runs on PCs as well as Windows Phone 7). Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express
Somewhere in all this if you want to work with databases you may want to install some edition of SQL Server.
And you’ll probably encounter the .NET Framework, which is the technology that underpins a lot of Microsoft development stuff and helps link up various diverse technologies, development languages etc.
Note that Windows 7 or later is recommended for all this, even if not necessarily absolutely critical – and, as with all development software, plenty of RAM (my PCs have 6GB) and plenty of hard disc space are recommended.
For fancy graphics you’ll also need XNA Game Studio 4. XNA technology runs on Xbox consoles and Windows Phone 7 as well as on PCs. As a humorous aside, note that there are some people who claim XNA stands for "XNA is Not Acronymed". Microsoft say XNA doesn't stand for anything. Microsoft XNA Game Studio 4
Note that if you have a “.ac.uk” email address (or provide other accepted academic credentials) you can probably register at Microsoft’s Dreamspark site and get the “Pro” editions of this (and other) software [for non-commercial use only!] for free. Microsoft DreamSpark
For loading ISO disc images (which is what you get with some of the downloads), a tool like MagicDisc is helpful – or use Nero or any other CD/DVD burning software to burn the images to disc. Magic Disc
If you want to develop web sites, Microsoft’s web server is called Internet Information Server (IIS) – and ASP.NET is the web server extension that links IIS to the .NET Framework (and hence to development in .NET languages like C#) – there are plenty of (relatively) cheap web hosting companies that offer packages including IIS / ASP.NET / SQL Server and lots more – this is the one I use. Fast2Host
This is very versatile and quite powerful. As well as building the robots in the kit, you can design your own, with motors, lights and various sensors. Programming the robot can be very simple or as complex as you want it it with Lego's own easy to use graphical software or add-ons to Microsoft Visual Studio. Simple programs get stored and run on the Lego Minstorms NXT brick itself. For more complex things you can communicate with a PC while it is running and have a program on the PC control the robot. The robot connects to a PC via USB or Bluetooth. You'll probably want the 8547 kit (or the 9797 kit for education) to start with (unless Lego have come up with a newer version) - note that the Lego online shop is unlikely to be the cheapest place to buy it (unless you can get a special price for schools / academic institutions). Lego Mindstorms
For extra parts / spares, consider hunting on eBay . . .
For more advanced programming in C# using Visual Studio, download the .Net library from MindSqualls . . .
Note also that there is a new Mindstorms EV3 generation of products due out in 2013.
3D graphical programming - similar in concept to Scratch but maybe a bit more advanced. Alice
Graphical programming from Microsoft for PC and XBox. Kodu Game Lab
Tools for learning to programm in Java on Windows, Mac or Linux. Greenfoot
Software for app creation for mobiles from MIT. App Inventor
An alternative to PIC programming. Arduino
A simple robot that works with Raspberry Pi, Arduino - and Shrimp - processors. ShrimpBot
A grass roots organisation that aims to promote the teaching of Computing at school. Computing at School
A magazine (online and print) with lots of stuff about computing and its applications. Created with the aim of sharing the authors' passion about all things to do with Computer Science and published by Queen Mary University, London. CS4FN - Computing Science for Fun
A network of volunteers to run coding clubs in schools. Code Club
Software to learn programming in Ruby. Hackety Hack
A network of software developers and designers aged 18 and under. Young Rewired State
A wide range of devlopment boards based on PIC microcontrollers from MikroElectronika. MikroElectronika - EasyPIC
*** WARNING *** Do *** NOT *** confuse this with easypicDOTcom It is *** STRONGLY *** suggested that you block access to easypicDOTcom And do *** NOT *** use Google to search for EasyPIC
A JavaScript framework, rapidly becoming the de facto standard for simplifying programming in JavaScript, including providing lots of cool effects and solving a lot of the cross-platform web browser compatibility issues. Also think about using JQuery UI. JQuery
A language that extends JavaScript to make it a lot more friendly - and plugs into Visual Studio 2012 to give developers a much smoother development experience. Works with JQuery, but remember to include the jquery.d.ts TypeScript definitions file. You may also want to install the Web Essentials Visual Studio extension. TypeScript
Any ideas? Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?
Found something useful that isn't mentioned here?
Any questions or difficulties?
Or after any further information?
Then email me at Info@CodingIsFun.co.uk
CodingIsFun™ originated with a series of sessions run outside normal school time in a primary school club, with small groups of children aged 8 to 11 (though CodingIsFun™ is just as much about teenagers and students as it is about younger children), aimed at giving them a broad flavour of what computing is about.
The emphasis was on having fun, getting them involved and variety rather than a systematic effort to turn them into programmers.
It certainly felt ambitious, but none of the pupils dropped out - the club was entirely voluntary, with no compulsion to attend - and the feedback was very positive.
And for the record (for anyone who might expect otherwise), it wasn't just boys - there were plenty of girls and they were just as good as the boys - but then it was a woman, Ada Lovelace, who arguably wrote the first ever computer programme!
Quite a lot!
I'm now running these sessions in 6 local primary schools - and developing ideas for other sessions. I'm involved with Royal Institution Masterclasses I'll be starting a series of sessions in a local secondary school as part of their lower sixth enrichment programme. I'm getting involved with staff at some local schools to introduce computing to them - especially in the context of Computing in the new National Curriculum from September 2014. And extending that to work with the Local Education Authority's Central Enfield City Learning Centre.
So things are quite busy
The simple answer is wherever it needs to to help get youngsters enthused about computing and programming.
It is (and probably always will be) a work in progress!
For one thing, computing doesn't stand still.
For another, there are lots of other people creating resources and tools and a major part of the aim of CodingIsFun™ is to help you find them.
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