ACSE Discussion

If Programming Languages were cars, C would be a rough and tumble sports car crossed with a jeep. Not for everybody, but damned good to have when you want one

How nerds see 50 Shades of Grey

HTML5 is sure to be a big hit this year as far as web design trends go, and rightfully so. It aims to improve upon its predecessors by enhancing the language and support. It's new, exciting, easy to understand and better than anything that has come before it while still being compatible and understandable by current media devices and web browsers.

Throughout the year I try to share resources and information with you that I think will be helpful for you. Often times these resources will include links to free eBooks that we make available on a variety of topics. Today, I thought I would post a large collection of eBooks for you here so that you can find them in one place and consume them as you see fit. Also, if you find this list helpful, please share it with your peers and colleagues so that they too can benefit from these resources.

Jeff Atwood, co-founder of question-and-answer site Stack Exchange, has a huge list of 30 new pieces of programming jargon that have emerged on the question-and-answer site.

"The Chrome Experiments website is a showcase for all things new and exciting when it comes to web technologies and browser advancements, with a focus on JavaScript. HTML5, canvas, SVG and the 3D WebGL engine all feature prominently in little sparks of creativity that are paving the way to a prettier and more interactive Internet."

"Python is a powerful and expressive language that has very simple syntax. If you're unsure of which programming language to learn, Python is a great choice. The language is used in a variety of disciplines: application, web, and game development. Python can do it all. Courses are based on Python 2.7.3."

Something to make you think!

"The Mars Rover's direct-to-Earth data rate peaks at 32kbits/sec. In off-peak periods, the rate is as low as 0.5kbits/sec. As for latency, the round-trip distance is currently just under 28 light minutes, or roughly a light half-hour."

"Adding a solid-state drive (SSD) to your computer is simply the best upgrade at your disposal, capable of speeding up your computer in ways you hadn't thought possible. The even better news: A good SSD is now cheaper than ever. But as with any new technology, there's plenty to learn. Here's everything you should know about your SSD, whether you're interested in upgrading or just like to know the ins and outs of your hardware."

"Writing great software is not that hard. But software developers can be their own worst enemy in trying to code the good stuff because they lapse into sloppy or wrongheaded practices."

"Processing cross platform and is a totally free to download, use and publish with programming language. The download includes the programming environment and compiler as well. Processing is based on JAVA and can use many different JAVA libraries. It has also now has the ability to compile apps for Android as well as run as Java Script. It is these to latter functions that I focus on for this site." Note that there are numerous references to the "Getting Started with Processing" textbook, available for a nominal charge at Amazon.

Digital citizenship is a key component of the technology and media literacy. We should not only teach our students how to be  good citizens in the real physical world  but how they can be good netizens of the online world  as well.

"If you've never been here before, check out this introductory video first. Then get coding! If you want to learn more about the platform please read the following post."

"Last year, Nicholas G. was 12-years-old. He convinced his dad to get him a developer account from Apple, and began to learn how to program apps. Nicholas is now 13, and the second update to his first app, Quick Notes!!, is out on the App Store. Version 1.0, says Nicholas, has already accrued over 3,000 downloads. How many downloads did your app have when you were 13? Mine didn't have any. It still doesn't."

"We have devised an interactive curriculum aimed to support teachers of secondary students (approximately ages 13-17). The curriculum helps educate students on topics like: YouTube's policies How to report content on YouTube How to protect their privacy online How to be responsible YouTube community members How to be responsible digital citizens We hope that students and educators gain useful skills and a holistic understanding about responsible digital citizenship, not only on YouTube, but in all online activity."

There was some discussion at the CEMC conference about coding guidelines. I found this excellent article about the topic of Reading Code and best practices. I plan to use this in my senior (ICS4U) course early to set the standards and probably a simplified version after a few months in ICS3U.

"CodeLesson instructors develop curriculum (which mostly entails preparing reading and coding activities for students). Instructors also answer students' questions during the course and evaluate their work. Once your course is prepared, the total time commitment is typically a few hours each week, depending on the complexity of your subject and the number of students in your course. Click on a course below to apply; we'll get back to you via email."

"Apple tells its new recruits exactly what what to think and say. How do we know? We read Apple's secret Genius Training Manual from cover to cover. It's a penetrating look inside Apple: psychological mastery, banned words, roleplaying-you've never seen anything like it."