[Yr7-10it] 'Alice' and similar programs for sub VCE classes for 09

[Roland Gesthuizen]

Hey guys, here is some thing worth considering for 2009

Bill Kerr has released a course outline for programming with SVG. We are
working on some of the stuff that can be done with the OLPC laptops and you
can readily adapt the work from the lesson that he has posted. I have had
fun with my classes using Inkscape to generate SVG clipart and had clean
forgotten that the SVG standard it included animation. Bill mentions that it
can be used to develop a solar system animation. .. coolies when you
consider that you can just type this stuff up with notepad! VPython does
something similar.
     http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2008/11/svg-course-outline.html

Some of the points that Bill mentions are:

   - students like working with images
   - animations are fairly easy to achieve (SMIL or Synchronised Multimedia
   Integration Language is part of SVG)
   - it offers a path into some core web techniques and standards: HTML,
   CSS, JavaScript and SVG
   - It's mathematical - both simple co-ordinate systems and more complex
   maths such as bezier curves. I like the fact that art can be done with maths
   - good free software is available, eg. Inkscape
   <http://www.inkscape.org/>
   - the small size (low bandwidth) and scalability of SVG graphics means
   they have a big future, eg. in the mobile phone industry

Check it out. There is some powerful learning going to happen when you take
IT students on this journey.

I like his exercise comparing browsers to explore the implementation of the
well documented SVG standard to discuss open standards and how some things
fail when well intentioned programmers get it wrong (Opera is good, Firefox
and Chrome are OK, IE7 and 8 are duds etc.)  .. I notice some great
discussion angles that you can walk students through when you consider the
wider context of implementing SVG.

Regards Roland

2008/12/2 andrew barry <jagguy999 at gmail.com>

> Hi,
>
> Has anybody thought of using silverlight in their classes instead of Flash?
> It uses vb.net skills or c# so it is appropriate with classes with
> programming background.
> Silverlight can easily animate objects.
> Teachers may have to prepare routines for animation for some students but
> as an IT teacher you should be able to do this.
>
> I have found that Silverlight is an exceent way to introduce students to
> programming as it works with images, can be placed on the internet and
> develops programming skills.
> Games in education was big at the recent conference and i think this is a
> step along those lines. It can offer more in educational terms than simple
> point and click alternatives.
>
> Andrew Townsley
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-- 
Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead
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