[Yr11 Information Technology] Processing for U202

[Ciotti, George W]

Thanks for that feedback James. Yes I have found out about the Arduino connection.

I will be using Processing this year as I think it has the ability to cater for a wide variety of entry points for students. It would seem to allow students with hardly any knowledge of programming to ease into this world in a way that will build their foundational knowledge of programming concepts in a universally shared manner, allowing them to progress and adapt to other languages if they so desire. Those with experience can take it on and run with it. And of course, the support is quite extensive. Being Open Source is also a positive with regards to the Pathways section of the SAC.

Thanks for the information regarding Small Basic I will look into it.

Cheers

George

IT teacher: Art/Tech/IT Domain
University High School
77 Story St
Parkville 3052
phone: 93472022
mobile: 0412934782


From: "Lawson, James (Teacher)" <LawsonJ at trinity.vic.edu.au<mailto:LawsonJ at trinity.vic.edu.au>>
Reply-To: Year 11 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List <yr11it at edulists.com.au<mailto:yr11it at edulists.com.au>>
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 09:43:48 +1000
To: Year 11 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List <yr11it at edulists.com.au<mailto:yr11it at edulists.com.au>>
Subject: Re: [Yr11 Information Technology] Processing for U202

Hi George,

Processing is ‘C’ based and is used as the basis for the Arduino microcontroller IDE, which leads into the world of physical computing (in which we have classes).

Another good, simple and free alternative with heaps of resources is Microsoft Small Basic. It has the added advantage of being able to export to Visual Studio, but is excellent as a programming teaching tool initself. We use it at Yrs 9 and 10.

You could also experiment with Android app programming for something different.

At the moment we use PHP for U2O2.

James


From: yr11it-bounces at edulists.com.au<mailto:yr11it-bounces at edulists.com.au> [mailto:yr11it-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of Ciotti, George W
Sent: Friday, 3 August 2012 9:09 AM
To: Year 11 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: [Yr11 Information Technology] Processing for U202

Speaking of which is anyone doing anything exciting with U202? I have discovered a program called Processing. http://www.processing.org/

Some of the blurb from the site…

Processing is an open source programming language and environment for people who want to create images, animations, and interactions. Initially developed to serve as a software sketchbook and to teach fundamentals of computer programming within a visual context, Processing also has evolved into a tool for generating finished professional work.

The good thing about this program is that it is pretty much all self contained. Download the software from the site (suitable for a variety of platforms)  and run it on the desktop. It is open source and has quite a few tutorials and lots of support.

The most interesting aspect of this program would seem to be that it encourages students to utilise resources found on the web rather than from a textbook. What they are used to in most cases. They could follow the tutorials, document their travels, think about the relevance of the Open Source community especially in terms of Pathways to careers and show progression in a programming application. As far as solving information problems Processing is used in a variety of disciplines including Data Visualisation:

http://blog.blprnt.com/blog/blprnt/your-random-numbers-getting-started-with-processing-and-data-visualization#idc-cover

Anyone here know of it or used it in the class? It would be great to hear from you.

Thanks in advance

George

University High School
77 Story St
Parkville 3052
phone: 93472022
mobile: 0412934782


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