<div><span class="gmail_quote">On 2/9/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Vern Ceder</b> <<a href="mailto:vceder@canterburyschool.org">vceder@canterburyschool.org</a>> wrote:</span>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">kirby urner wrote:<br>><br>> Here's some field tested code<br><br>I guess I'm kind of curious as to what you mean by "field tested". The
<br>'field' part I get, of course. But "tested" how? Or I guess I mean "what<br>was the test, and how were the results judged?", if that makes sense...</blockquote>
<div> </div>
<div>Fair question. In this case of coupler.py, my field tester is a </div>
<div>welder-geometer in New Zealand who got it working and then </div>
<div>came back with a VRML world on the same subject. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>He's studying Python on his own, using Zelle's book, which </div>
<div>just arrived. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Here're a couple of recent exchanges from a public archive </div>
<div>on Yahoo!:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>====</div>
<div><br>> Yes, stickworks.py and coupler.py should both go in site-packages,<br>> but then VPython needs to be installed as well. All you get from<br>> Coupler at the moment is a red and green network of edges,
<br>> centered around the XYZ origin, the axes in blue.<br>><br>> Kirby<br>><br><br><br>Hi Kirby:<br>I have Vpython and with stickworks.py was able to run coupler.py.<br>I did a SpringDAnce VRML of 8 mites with each corner on a cube
<br>grid.<br><br><a href="http://members.westnet.com.au/dharmraj/vrml/KmiteCube.wrl"><font color="#247cd4">http://members.westnet.com.au/dharmraj/vrml/KmiteCube.wrl</font></a><br><br>dharmraj<br><br>---</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="subject root grey">Re: Drafting another storyboard </div>
<div><br> </div>
<div class="msgarea"><br><br>Kirby<br>> That's trully excellent. So that's a Coupler then, what you did.<br><br>I was hoping you would like it. I thought a visual model of what<br>you were programming would help
<br><br><br>><br>> Each MITE is two blue-yellow arms holding a purple, green spine.<br><br><br>true<br><br>> Same volume as a tetrahedron, inscribed as face diags of that green<br>> 2-frequency cube.<br><br>true
<br><br><br>> What you may have done already (if so, please link?) or might<br>> want to do, is said 8 mites each subdivided into two As (left<br>> and right) plus one B (left or right).<br><br>is this what you mean?
<br><br><a href="http://members.westnet.com.au/dharmraj/vrml/coupler.wrl"><font color="#247cd4">http://members.westnet.com.au/dharmraj/vrml/coupler.wrl</font></a><br><br><br>my new Python book arrived...Python Programming (an introduction
<br>to Computer Science) by John Zelle...<br><br>cheers,<br>sw dharmraj<br><br> </div>
<div>---</div>
<div> </div>
<div>> is this what you mean?<br>><br>> <a href="http://members.westnet.com.au/dharmraj/vrml/coupler.wrl"><font color="#247cd4">http://members.westnet.com.au/dharmraj/vrml/coupler.wrl</font></a><br>><br><br>Yes, exactly! I'll add that as a link as well, to
coupler.py<br><br>><br>> my new Python book arrived...Python Programming (an introduction<br>> to Computer Science) by John Zelle...<br>><br>> cheers,<br>> sw dharmraj<br>><br><br>That's probably the best published book for starting out with
<br>Python. Later, maybe check the free online Dive Into Python<br>tutorial, also published by Apress if you want hardcopy.<br><br><a href="http://www.diveintopython.org/"><font color="#247cd4">http://www.diveintopython.org/
</font></a><br><br>Kirby<br> </div><br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">BTW, I'm not questioning the use VPython by any means - I think its got<br>great potential as a way to explore programming.
<br><br>Cheers,<br>Vern</blockquote>
<div> </div>
<div>Yes, and to explore geometry, like Arthur was doing with Pygeo.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>As far as measuring student success, it's what they're able to code </div>
<div>themselves, using pre-existing code as a basis, that I go by. Each student</div>
<div>has Python + VPython + various modules. They save code from week </div>
<div>to week and gradually build up a portfolio. They show off their creations</div>
<div>when the parents come to pick them up. I asked one of my students to</div>
<div>send me his source code for the 3-frequency tetrahedron but he never </div>
<div>did.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The class itself is written up in my blog, complete with digicam shots</div>
<div>of some of the whiteboard content. I'm able to fish up some of that</div>
<div>content with the following query:</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="http://worldgame.blogspot.com/search?q=%22saturday+academy%22">http://worldgame.blogspot.com/search?q=%22saturday+academy%22</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div>You'll find at least one of my worksheets (PDF) used with 8th graders in public</div>
<div>school here:</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="http://www.4dsolutions.net/ocn/winterhaven/">http://www.4dsolutions.net/ocn/winterhaven/</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div>But I don't publish actual student responses, which would be a clearer</div>
<div>measure of their level of comprehension.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Kirby</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div></div>