Mailman 3 November 2007 - Edu-sig

manuscript reviewers
by jim leisy Nov. 30, 2007

Nov. 30, 2007

Hi--We are seeking college professors to review manuscripts in the following areas: CS 0 Using Python CS 1 Using Python CS2 Data Structures Using Python with a transition to C++ If you are interested, please contact me via email: jimleisy(a)fbeedle.com I am the publisher for Python books written by John Zelle, Brad Miller and David Ranum. Thanks! Jim Leisy Publisher Franklin, Beedle & Associates Incorporated William, James & Company www.fbeedle.com www.wmjasco.com 503-682-7668 voice 503-682-7638 fax 800-322-2665 Toll Free in USA 8536 SW St Helens Drive, Suite D Wilsonville, Oregon 97070 USA Jim Leisy Publisher Franklin, Beedle & Associates Incorporated William, James & Company www.fbeedle.com www.wmjasco.com 503-682-7668 voice 503-682-7638 fax 800-322-2665 Toll Free in USA 8536 SW St Helens Drive, Suite D Wilsonville, Oregon 97070 USA

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Ruby on Rails course at Foothill College
by Elaine Nov. 30, 2007

Nov. 30, 2007

If you would like to get an introduction to web application development with Ruby on Rails, Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, CA is offering a course starting Tues. evening, January 8th, 2008, at 6pm. The course is designed for students who are already familiar with web application development using tools such as Perl or PHP. Here is the course description: COIN 67 RUBY ON RAILS - WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT 5 Units Introduction to web application development with Ruby on Rails. Students learn how to create database-driven web applications using the Ruby language and the Rails framework. Fours hours lecture, four hours laboratory. Advisories: Prior programming experience and CIS 52A or database experience. Please preregister for Winter quarter by going to: http://www.foothill.fhda.edu/reg/index.php ____________________________________________________________________________________ Get easy, one-click access to your favorites. Make Yahoo! your homepage. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

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Re: [Edu-sig] python for kids...
by Jason R Briggs Nov. 28, 2007

Nov. 28, 2007

Hi all Don't know if anyone on this list has been watching my feed, but I've made a bunch of updates to "Snake Wrangling For Kids" (partly caused by converting it to LaTeX). Anyway, the latest version fixes a bunch of problems I've noticed (such as referring to functions before explaining what functions were... sigh), and finally starts adding a few basic exercises at the end of some of the chapters (which was suggested about a month or so ago, I seem to recall). In regard to the exercises, has anyone got any other suggestions for the "Things to try" sections? Obviously given the context of the chapters. Code snippets gratefully received (and will be attributed in the preamble if used). As before, the latest download can be found here: http://www.briggs.net.nz/log/writing/snake-wrangling-for-kids/ The LaTeX version is also a good deal smaller than the previous Word Processor version (plus adds a nicer ToC and index). Hope you like it. Regards, and thanks again for prior advice, Jason

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Kids Programming Book
by Warren Sande Nov. 25, 2007

Nov. 25, 2007

Edu-Sig Members, Greetings. Apologies in advance for the long message. I am the author of a new book: "Computer Programming for Kids" The full title is "Computer Programming for Kids (and other beginners) Using Python". The book's publisher is Manning Publications. It will be available in late spring of 2008. This is an introduction to computer programming for kids age 8 and up. It uses clear, friendly language, fun examples, illustrations, and a bit of silliness to teach the basic concepts of computer programming. The book is intended to be suitable for use at home or in a school setting, as part of an elementary/middle school/junior high computer literacy program. I strongly believe that some level of knowledge in programming should be given to all students. This is not just for kids who want to grow up to be programmers. The level of computer literacy required in all walks of like is increasing, and some knowledge of programming empowers users and removes barriers. It also teaches critical and logical thinking and reinforces skills from other parts of the curriculum such as math, science, and literacy. (I know I'm preaching to the choir here...) The manuscript is 90+% complete, and we are looking for potential reviewers for the complete manuscript. The book has had some interim reviews, but we would like to expand the scope a bit for the final review and include children and more educators. Also, instead of a simple read-through, we would ideally like reviewers (especially the kids) to install Python and the necessary modules and actually work through the examples. The final review should be starting around mid-December. (This will give kids and teachers Christmas break to work on it.) Why would someone want to do this? Here are some of the benefits as I see them: (my "sales pitch" to potential reviewers) - You get to see some of how the book writing, editing and production process works - a bit of insight into the publishing world. - You get to have input - a say in how the finished book will look. - You get your name published in the book, an acknowledgement of your help and efforts for all to see. - You get to see this unique new book before anyone else! - You (or your class) get a free copy of the finished book. Here is what is expected: 1. Read the whole book and try the examples. This is the kind of book where you mostly have to read it in front of the computer and try things as you go along. You learn programming by doing, not just by reading. We will provide an installer that will install everything required. 2. Try to answer the self-test questions at the end of each chapter. 3. Answer some questions for us about what you thought of the book and how we could make it better. I won't kid you, this is real work. The book will be 350 - 400 pages, 25 chapters. It will probably take several weeks of your spare time to work though the book: read it, try the examples, do the test questions, and answer our "survey" questions. To give you an idea, here are some of the things we will be asking: - Did all of the example programs work as they were supposed to? If not, which ones, and what happened? - Did you understand what the book was trying to teach (chapter by chapter)? - Did the examples make sense? Did they help reinforce the idea being covered? - Can you think of any other examples that would make things more clear? More fun? More relevant to kids? - Can you think of any ideas for pictures, diagrams, cartoons, etc. that would help explain things? Where and what kind of picture? If you or your child/student is up for the challenge, we would love to have your help with this exciting project. Sincerely, Warren Sande warren.sande(a)rogers.com

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Thesis about Python & Zope
by Jan Ulrich Hasecke Nov. 16, 2007

Nov. 16, 2007

Hi, did anybody already posted this link? http://www.stadtgespraeche.com/technik It is a thesis in German about Python and Zope in education. The only one in German AFAIK. Next week I have a meeting as representative of the parents in the school of my boys. And the agenda sounds as if there are chances to discuss new approaches in teaching computer science. Up to now they only sporadically uses Openoffice.org. They heard about Open Source Software but Python is the name of a serpent. ;-) I hope to say something about Python, I even suggested a workshop and I would like to back up my words with educational studies. I know there are tons of good links in the archives of this list, but I am so busy that I fear I could not evaluate them. It would be more than nice, if you could point me to a page with links to revelant studies or just post links to new studies. Studies with european context preferred. TIA juh -- www.sudelbuch.de Satiren und Essays

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Re: [Edu-sig] OLPC G1G1 sales start today
by Laura Creighton Nov. 13, 2007

Nov. 13, 2007

Paul: look at http://www.gapminder.org/ see the videos. Ted 2007 in particular. There is no 'developing world' /developed world split any more. Laura who did not have time to readx all you wrote, but that caught my eye. Its not simply condescending to refer to them as the developing world -- because they excell in non-monetary things, its condescending because they have largely caught up in monetary things and you apparantly haven't noticed, like most people. Laura In a message of Mon, 12 Nov 2007 18:48:33 EST, "Paul D. Fernhout" writes: >Paul D. Fernhout wrote: >> For a more typical home user, especially one who does not already know >and >> like GNU/Linux, I'm not sure if it would meet expectations in the devel >oping >> world as other than either as special purpose device (like used as an e >book >> reader or robot controller) or alternatively, for a family who buys sev >eral, >> as a family activity to use some of the built in "connectivist" softwar >e >> (either what is there now or what might be speculatively available in t >he >> future). > >That should have read "in the developed world", meaning like the USA. And > I >really should not be using "developed" / "developing" as they are loaded >terms (even though the OLPC project uses them too), since there is a lot >the >USA can learn from other countries, including poor ones, some of whom ran >k >higher in overall happiness in various surveys -- here's a different one: > http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/ > >On using Java/Jython and the OLPC: > "Pepper on the OLPC" > http://www.pepper.com/linux/olpc.html >"A technology preview of a special version of the Pepper environment is n >ow >available for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) XO laptop. This version of >Pepper for OLPC runs on the XO laptop and replaces the standard Sugar >environment while retaining the XO's Fedora-based Linux distribution. ... >The Pepper environment is written primarily in Java, though it includes o >pen >source components like Mozilla and Java that are written in C or C++. The >Pepper application framework supports Java, C, C++, XUL, HTML, etc. We're >also working on adding Python support soon. ... We'll be making the sourc >e >code for the Pepper for OLPC environment available soon. We're planning t >o >release it under an LGPL license. We'll also be sponsoring an open source >community to maintain the Pepper for OLPC environment." > >Using Pepper (if it is indeed released under the LGPL as announced above) >, >which is an environment built in Java and including JVM 1.5, I hope I can >run Jython on the OLPC. I'll have to try it and see. Maybe the Pepper peo >ple >do not know about Jython? Of course, software written there in Jython is >not >going to run on the regular OLPC environment (which is CPython+pyGTK). > >An informative pro-OLPC post at Slashdot: > "Worth Careful consideration" > http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=357665&cid=21325111 >An excerpt: "While you can certainly waste time and goof off on the web, >there is also a wealth of instructional material, learning material, free >encyclopedias, and help of all kinds to be had on message boards. Childre >n >could learn, for example, methods of improving local sanitation, >agricultural techniques, and health information which could end up saving >the developed world millions or billions of dollars in humanitarian aid. >They could also learn other languages which could open up entire worlds t >o >them. Even if they didn't have the internet, they could learn how to >program, how to compute, make art, photographs, drawings, and a whole bun >ch >of other stuff with it. Not to mention the fun factor. It's not an >educational panacea but it WILL change the world. " > >And as another slashdot poster says, you can't buy that many paper textbo >oks >for $200, especially compared to what you can cram into 1GB of Flash (or >even more if you get the files from local servers and delete old ones). A >nd >paper books have their own problems in areas of high humidity (mold, chew >ed >by rodents, fade in the sun, etc.). I think a lot of the economics that >governments are considering for deploying OLPC have more to do with >replacing plain old paper textbooks with a single laptop than any of the >issues of connectivity or simulation or learning to program which are mor >e >the sorts of things we think about for computers in, say, the USA or Euro >pe, >where we pretty much take purchasing textbooks and access to local librar >ies >of tens of thousands of printed books for granted. Still, even for USA >schools, OLPCs may make sense if they save money on textbooks. So, USA >school districts could save money of textbooks (if they were free, as in >here:) > "Global Text Project â Wiki Textbooks" > http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/05/230201 > http://globaltext.org/ >(or even just at direct author royalty cost) and kids get Python and >educational simulations thrown in as a bonus. Plus, they get a lighter lo >ad >and less back pain. > "Heavy backpacks lead to early strain and pain for schoolkids" >http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/2001/fyi/teachers.ednews/02/13/backpack.pai >n.ap/ > >Anyway, as an ebook reader alone the OLPC might be worth the US$425 cost, >which is only a $100 more than what a Sony Reader costs with an extra >waterproof cover, and that amount is less than the more flexible (but >heavier) iRex Iliad. See: > http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5664 >I think key to happiness with the OLPC in the USA is reduced expectations >. >Consider that for $425, you get an OLPC ebook reader than runs Python, an >d >then some kid somewhere else with limited access to books gets one too. I >'ll >be curious to compare them side-by-side with an ebook reader. Maybe if th >at >eight year old reviewer was asked -- would you rather carry a three pound >OLPC XO-1 back and forth to activities or two or three times as much weig >ht >in textbooks in your backpack, they might have gone for the OLPC. > >--Paul Fernhout > >_______________________________________________ >Edu-sig mailing list >Edu-sig(a)python.org >http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig

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Re: [Edu-sig] [Olpc-open] OLPC G1G1 sales start today
by François Schnell Nov. 13, 2007

Nov. 13, 2007

On Nov 13, 2007 1:17 AM, Chris Ball <cjb(a)laptop.org> wrote: > This is why we have had a Developers Program for over a year. It has > already sent a few thousand XOs to developers and content workers for > free. You are welcome to apply too. Hi, thanks for you reply, Yes I know about this program, this is a very good point. So, where are the thousands contributions? Don't you think """some""" of these XO (because they're rare) are more used to show up at mundane parties than for real contributions? Isn't it obvious that if OLPC let all passionate people *buy* the laptop the project will have much more contributions? OLPC expressed his commitment to Free Software and Open Source and that is great. But, Isn't it obvious that the actual distribution scheme can be seen has a kind of discrimination in contradiction with Free Software and Open Source core ideas? (You can distribute it to X but not Y and not this country but to this one, etc) Where in the Free Software Definition and OSI approved licences can find such policies? Nicholas Negroponte often site the Wikipedia project as a source of inspiration and that is great. But, Do you really think the wikipedia would be what it is today if it followed OLPC policies? (Ok you can maybe contribute if you apply for and we accept eventually and etc) The OLPC chose a vertical hierarchical bottom-down only distribution through governments for many arguably good reasons. It could have worked, But it doesn't: looking at the low actual orders now (where are the millions promised?) looking at the competition in place now (and rising) looking at the low ecosystem/community around the XO now When a strategy doesn't work anymore isn't it time to change it? Yes I believe the OLPC have the best technical and educational platefome but this confidence is also its biggest weakness. The competition is often making the necessary changes in their distribution scheme to compensate and win if the leader doesn't adapt. Computing history is filed with the best tools who never gained wide adoption because of that (ask Alan Kay about Java vs Smalltalk for example). So guys from the USS MIT-OLPC Startship, sorry to be provocative but even Spoke here doesn't understand the logic anymore and begins to suspect an "OLPC in the bottle syndrom": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_in_a_Bottle_(TNG_episode) So please, get the captain off the Holowdeck, put him back on the real Bridge because otherwise it could be "Shields up!! Prepare for inpact!" and mind the Borgs. :( francois > > http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Developers_Program > > - Chris. > -- > Chris Ball <cjb(a)laptop.org> >

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OLPC G1G1 sales start today
by Paul D. Fernhout Nov. 13, 2007

Nov. 13, 2007

Key idea: a Python-powered laptop for the education in the developing world. They are now taking orders from US and Canada for a limited time at: http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/index.php where you essentially get one and give one for about $400 (plus about $25 shipping). Related news items: http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/g1g1/give_one_get_one_has_started.html http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/11/12/138246 Just ordered two. Seems like you would need at least two to really see the Python-powered networkable apps in action. We have an (unreleased) early port of our plant drawing software to CPython and PyGTK for the OLPC, developed under emulation; here are screenshots: http://www.kurtz-fernhout.com/olpc/ I'm not sure I'll want to release it if it runs too slow on the actual hardware, as it took a speed hit moving from Delphi to Python, but maybe some focused optimization might improve performance down the road. What I'm hoping for someday is for the OLPC to run Java better so I can use Jython on it. I prefer Swing to GTK. As when I asked about pyGTK before here, pyGTK was difficult to get running on the Mac, so I'm not that happy with it as a cross-platform solution (even if it installs easily on GNU/Linux and Windows). I also like the option Java provides of cross-platform fast code, rather than messing with semi-portable C and lots of #ifdefs and corner cases. Still, "Sugarizing" an application kind of locks it somewhat into the OLPC framework, and that would probably be true even with Java. http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_Human_Interface_Guidelines I know the hardware can at least just barely run Java: http://www.olpcnews.com/software/operating_system/pepper_pad_operating.html http://www.concord.org/publications/newsletter/2007-spring/probeware.html http://www.javalobby.org/java/forums/t85296.html And there is some interest in making it work generally: "Javalobby calls for Java port to OLPC" http://www.linux.com/feature/119793 But then cell phones run Java, so why not the OLPC? So likely it will be the next version before Java runs well with better hardware? Java was not truly free when they began the OLPC project -- another opportunity cost of Sun's policies. Anyway, I'm hoping for software upgrades for this one over time. I like Jython+Swing+Java more and more everyday, now that Java is becoming free. Since the OLPC runs open firmware, http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OFW_FAQ I may also find it works as a good Forth machine: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/FORTH to replace my aging VIC and Commodore cartridges and embeddable F68HC11 single board computers, which I found a great way to learn about programming in a bottom-up modular fashion. And of course it runs a version of Squeak. At the very least, it could be an interesting platform to do GNU/Linux-oriented experiments with. (Like the Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 or the Nokia N800). Here is a video of an OLPC running an iRobot Create: http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/g1g1/give_one_get_one_sell_out.html "Couple an OLPC with an iRobot Create to create a telepresence robot. Using a simple web interface, users can drive the Create, monitor its sensor readings, and explore the world across the internet through the attached OLPC's webcam and microphone." I'm hoping eventually I can get the OLPC to run a bluetooth usb module so I could use it to control Lego Mindstorms NXT units (as I expect the OLPC is going to be more rugged in the hands of a kid then leaving a regular laptop on the floor by Lego). I don't want to hype the OLPC too much (it's had more than enough hype already :-), just to be a reminder for those who already want one for whatever reason. There are also of course now several similar laptop projects ongoing (with GNU/Linux running from Flash, although probably not as rugged). I'm sure there will be lots of issues with the software (Sugar still seems to be a work in progress) and maybe even the hardware (lots of new stuff to fail). The overall experience may seem limiting for the developed world, especially given a limited web browsing experience, see: http://www.laptopmag.com/Review/My-8-Year-Old-Reviews-the-OLPC-XO.htm For example, I like the connectivist ideals of the Sugar interface; I'll be curious to see how it works out in practice as opposed to just putting a regular GNU/Linux desktop on there and having some tutorial information in a native language. I know I found worrying about Sugar to be a big stumbling block in my porting efforts, and the point at which my work on that stalled (i.e. it works as a GTK app, but does not integrate well into the moving-target OLPC Sugar world yet). So, rather than see the OLPC as a finished thing, I see getting a couple as R&D into the future of (Pythonic) computing, plus maybe something to help someone somewhere. Plus maybe some inspiration for a new version of PataPata (even as I am now moving that into a Java/Jython-only direction) or other educational projects. I'm really looking forward to seeing if it can be used easily in as an ebook reader in tablet mode -- maybe to look at some of those million freed books that Raj Reddy of CMU and associates have scanned as TIFF files and made available on the internet: http://www.library.cmu.edu/Libraries/MBP_FAQ.html http://www.archive.org/details/millionbooks or the earlier Project Gutenberg 100000 book text-based archive: http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page The OLPC is something I hoped for (perhaps too optimistically time-wise) seven years ago: "[unrev-II] The DKR hardware I'd like to make..." http://www.bootstrap.org/dkr/discussion/0754.html I'm glad to see it happening, even with the rough edges. Things will likely only get better from this. Another couple of years, something like this may truly be $100. And might have lots of really awesome constructivist and connectivist educational software, plus endless tutorials and other adapted educational content, similar to: "Open-Source Early Literacy Materials Gaining Some Attention" http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/11/09/1422211 "Learn to read as Starfall" http://www.starfall.com/ --Paul Fernhout

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grabbing the output from turtle and sending it to a (real) printer
by Matt K Nov. 12, 2007

Nov. 12, 2007

Hi, My students have loved drawing pics in turtle. What they'd love more (as would the wall of my classroom) would be if they could print their pictures to a printer. Does anybody know of how to do this?

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Re: [Edu-sig] python for kids...
by Laura Creighton Nov. 11, 2007

Nov. 11, 2007

In a message of Sun, 11 Nov 2007 11:09:47 EST, Jay Bloodworth writes: >On Sat, 2007-11-10 at 19:04 -0600, Michael Tobis wrote: >> I agree that the concept of a "variable" is deeply unpythonic in most c >ontexts. >> > >But it's pretty darn programmatic. I think overemphasizing python idiom >and ontology in a first programming course is a mistake. Variables, >subroutines, loops, conditionals - these are a few of my favorite >things. > >I've never really taught programming, but my intuition, based on ten >years experience teaching algebra and prealgebra to middle school >students, is that they will "get" the idea of variables with any >reasonable explanation: boxes, labels, names, whatever. Certainly, many >will have difficulty understanding scoping, reference vs. value, deep >vs. shallow copies, etc., but these are concepts that are fundamentally >more subtle and challenging, and most adults must work to wrap their >heads around them as well. > >I'm going to go a little further out on a limb here and offer a theory >and a prediction to test it, that I'd appreciate it if anyone who has >taught programming to 10-15 year old can respond to: Regardless of how >they are taught, kids first mental model of a variable is something >like: "a value the program needs to change". Hence they will be >uncomfortable and may resist understanding when a variable is used to >name a constant value. > >jay Your limb is creaking :-) Younger ones are happy with the notion that 'a variable is a handle'. As in 'an avatar for posting to a fora is a handle'. At least the 12-13 year olds I taught were. And constants was easy, it was the opposite, that they could vary that confused them. But that may say more about how I presented the idea than anything about what is easier for 12 year olds to grasp. I think its all how I taught them. We're making online text based games. Everybody know what an avatar is. Laura

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