Hi -
I am teaching Python programming to a small group of 5th graders on Macs with OS-X. We have Python 2.3.5. I'd like to be able to do simple graphics with them, but I haven't been able to find any reference for graphics calls (Carbon?) or even how to get a graphics window - at least, not anything that works. Can anyone provide any guidance?
Note that I probably can't download anything that is not already installed on the Macs, because these are in the school computer lab, and I am a …
[View More]parent volunteer with no admin privileges.
Thanks!
Felicia
Felicia B. Gershberg, M.A.T., Ph.D., m.o.m.
PACT School
http://pactschool.net/
South Bay Preparatory Charter School
http://www.southbayprep.org/
____________________________________________________________________________________
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Greetings edu-siggers --
I'm supposed to be enroute to the gym already, but am
having trouble assembling all parts of my costume, so
side-tripping into "cyberia" again.
Just blogged re the tetrakaidecahedron -- how many others
did that today? Given how many millions of blogs, probably
a few (hey, Zeitgeist, ya know?).
Just registered for Pycon I wanted to say. Looking forward.
So, on the math teaching front, I've been facilitating
connections twixt Alaska and Oregon, charter school
stuff, …
[View More]will maybe blog about it more down the road (too
much in play at the moment, not worth trying to capture
in prose at this point (LEP High has a lot of spanking
new Edubuntu terminals, that much I'll mention)).
So yeah, on the one hand: energy (what the physics
and chemistry teachers feel on board with, as a unifying
concept, with power = E/t and so on -- talking units,
Newtonian Era stuff). On the other hand: algorithms,
such as execute on a computer, be that an XO, or
(in older jargon) a human being.
Of course as computer geeks, we believe in automating
tedious grunt work (a lot of my job). We empathize with
those monks and/or clerical staff told to work out inter-
polation tables. "If only we had a machine" they would
pray (so worried about typos, inaccuracies that could
sink ships). Voila, Python (etc.). Prayers answered.
On the energy front, I'm still thinking First Person Physics
and looking forward to civilian action figures like Roz Savage,
not fiction, not Rambo, featuring in our lesson plans,
spending their hard earned calories like mad (she rowed
across the Atlantic, mushed dawgs more recently) **.
That's the true meaning of "action figure" in my book
(like Lara Croft, but not tomb raiding -- so more like
Lara Logan, or Angelina for real).
On the algorithms front, we've got the emergin Algebra
City curriculum i.e. that whole history of Zero coming
by camel train through Baghdad (lots of value added),
then by boat (merchant marine), to Italy, where that
Pisa guy, Fibonacci, picks up our tale, gives us little
two-liners, the kind of stuff we can use in Project
Renaissance [tm] curriculum materials.
I've gone through all that a million times on this list, so
I'll spare you the redundancy, just exult a little more
about Pippy on the XO, even if the Fibonaccis or Pascals
aren't written as generators (an iterable type) in the current
edition (always room to grow and change, now that G1G1
has pumped so much capital into it -- so many XOs
around North America these days, especially in LA).
OK, that's about it from my corner, unless anyone has
questions.
More later, see some of you at Pycon no doubt,
Kirby
4D Solutions
Portland, Oregon
** http://www.rozsavage.com/
"""
I'm just in the process of developing an educational
section for my website, in collaboration with a team
at the University of Minnesota ( which is where I
was dogsledding, not Alaska!).
"""
[ from today's inbox, good news ]
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I am currently writing a book aimed at the general 9 to 12 year old range
that teaches Python through game programming. The style of the book is
mostly "here's the (simple) game's source code, type it in, run it, and now
I will explain how to works" format that the book I learned BASIC
programming with at that age (Fred Dignazio's Invent Your Own Computer
Games).
The book is located here:
http://pythonbook.coffeeghost.net
In the later chapters, I was going to use PyGame for the games that …
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graphics and sound (though I am also looking into Pyglet).
My question for the list is, would you advise going with Tkinter instead of
PyGame/Pyglet? I have no experience with Tkinter, but the idea of a
cross-platform library that comes bundled with even old versions of Python
is very appealing. Any suggestions?
Albert Sweigart
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Greetings edu-siggers.
I've continued with threads started here,
brainstormed about, in other places
within our community, or in a trading
post with other language communities.
For example:
Pythonic Algebra
http://controlroom.blogspot.com/2008/01/pythonic-algebra.html
(note link to math-thinking-l)
Rich Data Structures
http://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2008/01/rich-data-structures.html
(we did a lot on that here)
Locally speaking, I'm still mixed up in
the charter schools business, with …
[View More]emerging
ties to Alaska.
Per usual with me (consistent with my
postings in this archive), I'm saying Python
works well as a math learning tool.
Some administrators want to try it, some
of those by training teachers first, others
with no teachers (because of the shortage),
only peers.
Looking forward to Pycon/Chicago,
Kirby
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Walter Bender is a good source of OLPC news for those of
you in Python Nation tracking the spread of Python by this
vector (both as an under the hood engine, and as a user
friendly API).
Not to worry, I won't be flooding edu-sig with cross-posts;
I save most of the OLPC stuff for my blogs.
That being said, I'm all ears re exciting Python applications
set to run on the XO, either in these early iterations or down
the road a piece.
I'm especially interested in applications that take us beyond
…
[View More]Latin-1 at the interface level (not expecting a lot of
non-Latin-1 3rd party py modules this early in the game,
though I do know people are poking around with this stuff,
given 3.x is in testing).
Kirby
still in Greater LA
(working vacation -- got a new paying gig at PPS LEP High
for more Python, is this morning's good news).
"""
Michael Burns of the Oregon State Open Source Lab has been working
each night improving and growing the Community Support forum (See
http://olpc.osuosl.org/), which is now exceeding 1,000 posts; 200
registered users have answered hundreds of first-time computer
questions from G1G1 donors. There is already a growing community of
users helping other users on the site. The site includes a live (IRC)
chat (See http://olpc.osuosl.org/chat), a feature that works from any
computer, including directly from the XO, and a volunteers map (See
http://olpc.osuosl.org/forum/phoogle_map.php) that lets developers,
enthusiasts and users put a push-pin next to their home town.
"""
Source:
http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/devel/2007-December/009072.html
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