Mailman 3 August 2003 - Edu-sig

re: book: Head First Java
by ajsiegel＠optonline.net Sept. 6, 2003

Sept. 6, 2003

Jason writes - >http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/hfjava/chapter/index.html >This might make some of you cringe.. Judging from the online samples it >looks like it might be a good book to hand to kids [us all] who are just >getting into programming. >Would be cool if a Python version were available. >I'd love to hear your reactions. Have not looked much at the samples chapter, but did look at the author interviews at http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2003/06/18/head_first.html I am sympathetic with much of it. Especially that there does seem to be a true effort is defy expectations about how this kind of thing might be done. And in emphasizing: """We've known forever (at least since Socrates anyway) that learning is at its weakest when the learner is a passive receiver of information. The learner has to be engaged and actively flexing some neurons""" I translate this into an objection to doing *too* much for the student. I don't want a GUI doing too much of the "thinking" - for example. It might help a student get to a satisfying end result that can be called a "program", but how much did they actually *learn* in getting there. I won't press this point as to programming, but will limit my point to to the GUI based dynamic geometry applications - where I am more confident about my point. But I admit I suspect the point translates somehow to programming education. On the other hand, I get a little queasy when the author go to: """Perhaps the worst of all assumptions a teacher or an author can make is to assume the learner is intrinsically motivated and intellectually curious about the content.""" I guess I am stubborn on this point, or arrogant, or something. In that I have the luxuxry of having no interest in presenting material to learners who have no intellectual curiosity about the subject matter I am presenting. One nice thing about the development of the Net (and which I associate with Open Source), is that one can contribute by making the exactly opposite assumption. That one's effort will be found by those motivated by a curiosity. And one can assume that curiosity as a starting point. I, at any rate, have learned much from resources that assumed that from the beginning,therefore forgoing the seduction, and getting on with it. "It", being the transfer of knowledge. An act of generosity, really. If one has something to teach, and is willing to teach it - one should hold one's ground, it seems to me. I like to think Socrates might agree. Art

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The Blender Python API Reference
by Jason Cunliffe Aug. 31, 2003

Aug. 31, 2003

Introduction: This Reference documents the Blender Python API, a growing collection of Python modules (libs) that give access to part of the program's internal data and functions. Through scripting, Blender can be extended in realtime. Possibilities range from simple functionality to importers / exporters and even more complex "applications". Blender scripts are written in Python, an impressive high level, multi-paradigm, open-source language. http://www.blender.org/modules/documentation/228PythonDoc/index.html

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re: computational literacy calcsheet
by Arthur Aug. 29, 2003

Aug. 29, 2003

>Maybe it's stupid crazy to ask such questions like mine, but not nearly as >crazy as what is actually happening now in terms of massive resources. Personally, I try to only let myself be driven crazy by things I have the power to control. And to practice my sense of right and wrong also on that scale. In the end, that is the only scale that is real, to me. Nobody gets my respect by their politics - whatever it happens to be. In the least. Though they can lose my respect my their politics. >We are not supposed to talk or think about this stuff. No harm, certainly. >Let's go back to cool tricks with attributes and dictionaries.. No harm, certainly. >Think I 'll go outside and look at Mars again. Jumping on a one in 60,000 year opportunity makes sense. But,,, Mars. War. I'm not beyond giving that a worry. >Lucky it happened on a new moon :-) hope you enjoyed. Art

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re: computational literacy calcsheet
by Arthur Aug. 29, 2003

Aug. 29, 2003

Jason writes - >USA Inc. is spending $1 billion each week for their mad war. >That's $1653 per second = street price of a superb new 3Ghz laptop computer. >In 1 year, at the present Shrub spending rates, we could buy new computers >for 31,536,000 children/people. I imagine if one placed an federal order for >31 million laptops you'd get a good deal. So perhaps 50 million kids this year seed? What else would be needed to make sense of such proposal? I'm afaid I am finding it hard to fully distinguish this thinking from Red Skeleton's ideas on avoidng the approaching overpopulation apocalypse. "Did you know that there is a woman somewhere giving birth every 12 seconds?" And the near obvious punchline: "I think we need to find that women and stop her." Art

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re: TeachScheme
by Arthur Aug. 28, 2003

Aug. 28, 2003

http://www.cs.utah.edu/plt/mailarch/plt-scheme-2000/msg00676.html Thought I would do a little google to test my theory about whether the TeachScheme guys feel abused. My intuition gets (another) A+ grade. Anybody can feel abused about anything. The question is to what extent they have a legimate case. You know my feelings. How do we go about being less subject to this kind of criticism, to the extent it is righteous criticism? It really is a question. In that I have no specific answers. """ You might want to compare the Python-in-education movement against the TeachScheme! project. Software vs vaporware; full programming environment vs low-level interaction; detailed curriculum vs ad hoc programming; intellectual depth vs shallow hacking; five years vs nothing but announcements. You can guess which one is which. And consider the harm done when people parrot the hype. """ Shriram Krishnamurthi

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computational literacy calcsheet
by Jason Cunliffe Aug. 28, 2003

Aug. 28, 2003

USA Inc. is spending $1 billion each week for their mad war. That's $1653 per second = street price of a superb new 3Ghz laptop computer. In 1 year, at the present Shrub spending rates, we could buy new computers for 31,536,000 children/people. I imagine if one placed an federal order for 31 million laptops you'd get a good deal. So perhaps 50 million kids this year. I know you can't eat computers, and they won't give you clean water or electricity. I am am not saying its necessarily the answer to anything.. But seriously, what do you suppose the local/global impact of a such project would be if done right? What kind of 21st century open democracy do you think this might seed? What else would be needed to make sense of such proposal? I'd set aside part of the budget to make sure all these new 3Ghz ALTRUONS PCs are bundelled new version of Trevor Bayliss built-in clock-work power supplies. http://www.freeplay.net/website/product/freecharge.php http://www.ogormans.co.uk/Bayliss.htm http://www.woe.edu.pl/2000/4_00/tune.html http://www.britishcouncil.org/science/science/personalities/text/ukperson/ba ylis.htm and of course wireless network powered by solar backup systems - Jason ______________________________________________ Jason Cunliffe [NOMADICS: Director art+design] Tel/fax: +1 718 422-1078 jasonic(a)nomadics.org N 43:00.000' W 074:31.875' ALT:1144 ft 84 Henry Street #3C Brooklyn NY 11201 USA http://tranzilla.net/.v

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Update your bookmarks
by Michael Williams Aug. 26, 2003

Aug. 26, 2003

Some of you may remember my (woefully out-of-date and incomplete) Python Education resource, which I assembled from the detritus of my Masters project. Now I've graduated (go me!) my university webspace is about to stop working so for the benefit of those of you who worry about this kind of thing, and conceivably those of you who have never seen it, I've put it up at my new website. The new URL is http://www.pentangle.net/python/ I *promise* to update it soon. Finding a job is temporarily my priority. -- Michael

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Antigen found Win32/Sobig.F.Trojan (CA(InoculateIT), Sophos, CA(Vet )) virus
by ANTIGEN_DVNTEX01 Aug. 25, 2003

Aug. 25, 2003

Antigen for Exchange found document_9446.pif infected with Win32/Sobig.F.Trojan (CA(InoculateIT),Sophos,CA(Vet)) worm. The message is currently Purged. The message, "Re: That movie", was sent from Edu-sig(a)python.org and was discovered in IMC Queues\Inbound located at Devote/Bunnik/DVNTEX01.

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Virus Alert
by postmaster＠fhg.de Aug. 24, 2003

Aug. 24, 2003

Viruswall on host mailgw2 has detected Virus WORM_SOBIG.F in your mail message (file your_document.pif) to Sebastian.Wilhelmi(a)isst.fhg.de.

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Fw: Stereo 3D with Jython
by Jason Cunliffe Aug. 20, 2003

Aug. 20, 2003

Thought you might be interested in this.. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Kominsky" <pkominsky(a)yahoo.com> To: <visad-list(a)ssec.wisc.edu> Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2003 4:40 PM Subject: Stereo 3D with Jython > Hello, > > I have a jython script/app that generates > DisplayImplJ3D displays. I would like to > view these in stereo 3D, but have not been > successful. Stereo vision works with other > apps. Any suggestions would be appreciated. > > I'm using the standard windows visad installer, > and have modified the jye.bat script so the > last line starts: > %JYTHON_PATH%\jre\bin\java.exe -Dj3d.stereo=PREFERRED > > I'm using the following in my jython script: > > disp = DisplayImplJ3D("display1") > pbody = > disp.getDisplayRenderer().getView().getPhysicalBody() > pbody.setLeftEyePosition( Point3d(-.0050,0.0,0.0) ) > pbody.setRightEyePosition( Point3d(+.0050,0.0,0.0) ) > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software > http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com > >

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