tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.comments2020-01-07T00:20:05.814-05:00Mr. Steve's ExploratoriumMrStevesSciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424865535828939064noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-3737651072338689792015-09-01T05:16:48.976-04:002015-09-01T05:16:48.976-04:00Instilling this mindset in other people is not, I ...Instilling this mindset in other people is not, I think, an easy task. It requires a philosophical viewpoint which is contrary to the society students live in. It might be possible to get students to act like they accept it in your class though, which might stand a decent chance of convincing them of its usefulness in other situations. <br /><br />I like to say that being wrong is great. When you find out that you are wrong about something, you are given a gift. If you acknowledge that you are wrong, you will never be wrong in that way again. Not for the rest of your entire life. Whatever embarrassment you feel at having been wrong is something you feel because of how the people around you act. It is as 'wrong' as an emotion can get. Having it is not something you can change light flicking a switch. But following it, allowing that emotion to guide your thoughts and actions, is something you have control over. You can refuse to give in to that emotion, and fight against it because reason tells you that it is not a helpful emotion.<br /><br />Even that much is a philosophical viewpoint which is rejected by the society we live in, as intuition and emotion is strongly valued while intellect is distrusted in personal matters (and deciding or changing what you believe could not be more personal). Asking or expecting students to acknowledge and agree with this is asking too much. <br /><br />But, asking them to act as if they believe it is, in my opinion, not. Make it clear to them that you want them to be wrong. That, in your classroom, you will be taking notice of what happens when students are wrong. If they are made to feel embarrassed by other students with snickers or comments or rolling of eyes or the like, those other students will be punished exactly as if they had started shouting in class, because it is disruptive to teaching and makes it harder for everyone to learn. Also, acknowledge and praise anyone who has the courage to express a wrong idea, admit they are wrong, and then adopt the correct view.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00794886389417730263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-83847963043742704552015-01-29T07:48:14.674-05:002015-01-29T07:48:14.674-05:00slowing down the turtle during step-by-step mode i...slowing down the turtle during step-by-step mode is an interesting idea. I could, for example, during Forward 100, go Forward 1, pause, 100 times. Might be tedious or it might be helpful. Easy enough to explore.Walter Benderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468697802335321025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-43676904783642909732015-01-29T05:18:49.843-05:002015-01-29T05:18:49.843-05:00Steve,
I found this post really interesting and in...Steve,<br />I found this post really interesting and insightful. I am very impressed by how you are able to combine design elements with teaching people to learn (programming).<br />Thanks.Gerald Arditohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16824415527189172061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-58134255316693270112015-01-05T14:55:52.282-05:002015-01-05T14:55:52.282-05:00Stephen,
I had meant to suggest Blockly, which I h...Stephen,<br />I had meant to suggest Blockly, which I have been playing with as well.<br />Please keep sharing your progress.<br />GeraldGerald Arditohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16824415527189172061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-22216164594734984812015-01-05T00:04:28.212-05:002015-01-05T00:04:28.212-05:00Gerald,
Thanks for your comments they make me thi...Gerald,<br /><br />Thanks for your comments they make me think and are much appreciated.<br /><br />See my next post of Blockly which not only does Turtle but a lot more. It has a lot of what I think you are looking for and their challenges are a great way to weave in programming into learning, plus it seems to provide a nice bridge to Javascript.MrStevesSciencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13424865535828939064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-39252953818563006962015-01-04T15:40:29.307-05:002015-01-04T15:40:29.307-05:00Stephen,
I appreciate your addressing this topic (...Stephen,<br />I appreciate your addressing this topic (since I posed it).<br />It seems that there is a trade off between web accessibility and resources. It will be interesting to see if anyone used Angular JS or any of the related platforms to bring the functionality and power of Etoys to a more web friendly environment.<br />I know that Walter Bender has been working on a Turtle.JS (or something like it) which I think is an important step. <br />I look forward to hearing about your continued progress. Gerald Arditohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16824415527189172061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-14277584110141354862015-01-03T07:02:12.737-05:002015-01-03T07:02:12.737-05:00Stephen,
I really appreciate your sharing your jou...Stephen,<br />I really appreciate your sharing your journey (in both senses) with us. <br />I am particularly interested in any connections you make with Etoys. Also, a colleague and I have been playing with D3 for visualizations. I am curious to see what you come up with.Gerald Arditohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16824415527189172061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-27481512598957948682015-01-03T00:01:04.141-05:002015-01-03T00:01:04.141-05:00I will be the first to admit I misunderstand some ...I will be the first to admit I misunderstand some of "the purposes and application of TDD."<br /><br />That said I think we should distinguish between writing tests first and self testing code. I whole heartedly agree with having self testing code and having good tests. I do take objection to the TDD dogma I sometimes hear where people I otherwise respect say "if you don't write tests first you are not a real programmer".<br /><br />Finally on your last point the problem is not just having "inexperienced developers" but also "experienced ones" who may not have learned much from all that experience ;) <br /><br />So good people are my first choice and having good methodologies/team habits augments, which include self testing code (whether or not those tests were written first or not) also helps.<br /><br />Cheers,<br />StephenMrStevesSciencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13424865535828939064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-5954746586061104392014-08-15T02:41:27.571-04:002014-08-15T02:41:27.571-04:00"...people trump process and TDD may add most..."...people trump process and TDD may add most value when used with less "experienced" developers to help them stay out of trouble."<br /><br />I think you're fundamentally misunderstanding many of the purposes and applications of TDD, and leveraging a truism ('people trump process') to allay this. <br /><br />Of course, in general, people trump process, but TDD isn't necessarily applied as a salve to nurse against particularly bad people (though it can reveal them ;). It's really there to ensure that good peoples' expectations are met across iterations of development.<br /><br />In this regard, an "experienced" developer would, in fact, go about *making sure* that such tests are in place (even before coding!), especially (and this comes within the concept of the Gigascale talk) since you may not be sure who the next developer to change your code may be in your rapidly growing enterprise.<br /><br />"People trump process" works between maybe 2 or 3 people who know each other well and that they are all amazing developers (and even then it is suspect). But if what you're developing is going to be worked on by more and more people over time, how can you be certain every one will be a great developer?<br /><br />So, essentially, I argue that TDD's value is less about nursing inexperienced developers than it is about augmenting the development processes of experienced ones.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18021100600156007767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-65673916048974124582014-02-28T01:49:46.306-05:002014-02-28T01:49:46.306-05:00Terri,
Sorry I just saw this. Best resource woul...Terri,<br /><br />Sorry I just saw this. Best resource would be <a href="http://etoysillinois.org/resources" rel="nofollow">Learning With Etoys E-book</a>. Also <a href="http://etoysillinois.orgs" rel="nofollow">Etoys Illinois</a> has great resources. Any specific questions or help are best done from the Etoys mailing list where you should find friendly quick responses to any questions. Just go to Squeakland and click on discuss to join.<br /><br />Cheers,<br />StephenMrStevesSciencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13424865535828939064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-79272030953808805292013-01-23T23:16:02.033-05:002013-01-23T23:16:02.033-05:00Interesting, you can enter the password as you are...Interesting, you can enter the password as you are part of Alpha testing others will have a problem<br /><br />Thanks for letting me know.MrStevesSciencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13424865535828939064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-38373456863489142013-01-23T01:58:36.586-05:002013-01-23T01:58:36.586-05:00The example is displayed with a box saying "S...The example is displayed with a box saying "Scratch 2 Alpha site," and asks for a password.Gerald Arditohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16824415527189172061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-5316592775625271092012-05-04T07:51:52.621-04:002012-05-04T07:51:52.621-04:00Very good work Mr. Steve and I love the Seymour Pa...Very good work Mr. Steve and I love the Seymour Papert video. It was interesting for me to see how similar some of the reactions of your 10-16 year-old kids to the 5-7 year old ones. It sort of tells us that between year 5 to year 15 we don't really learn anything that will prepare us for thinking like programmers.<br /><br />I'm posting your article on my DrTechniko Facebook page. Great work!DrTechnikohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07336591534883287017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-18928481227469817442012-02-05T08:19:11.421-05:002012-02-05T08:19:11.421-05:00Well both questions are appropriate. "What l...Well both questions are appropriate. "What learners want to learn?" Ie: motivation is important. But I was asking a slightly different question. When designing a lesson, what concepts/big ideas do you hope your learners will learn.MrStevesSciencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13424865535828939064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-44357562225369448772012-02-05T04:07:32.106-05:002012-02-05T04:07:32.106-05:00Hi Steve:
Your question:
What do you want your l...Hi Steve:<br /><br />Your question: <br />What do you want your learners to learn?<br /><br />Shouldn't be:<br />What do your learners want to learn?<br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />SdenkaOLPC Punohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00688662423953129970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-72222351326733575112011-07-14T10:45:25.307-04:002011-07-14T10:45:25.307-04:00Thanks so much for mentioning our book, Steve! We ...Thanks so much for mentioning our book, Steve! We hope it will be available to the public before the end of the year.<br /><br />There are 35 authors involved in this; it's exciting to see it finally coming together. <br /><br />Follow my blog, <a href="http://mathmamawrites.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Math Mama Writes</a>, for updates on the progress of the book.Sue VanHattumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10237941346154683902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-4456609340485709732011-07-11T12:13:39.196-04:002011-07-11T12:13:39.196-04:00Don,
I agree with "I think starting with jus...Don,<br /><br />I agree with "I think starting with just coloring in without the goal of infinite series is a mistake- as my parent said-boring, irrelevant."<br /><br />Infinity is fun and kids enjoy it. The cookie problem is a good one.<br /><br />This post was me simply playing around creating tools/playthinks that can be used to explore and create lessons.<br /><br />FYI, I did recieve your CD and recommend folks go to Don's <a href="http://www.mathman.biz/" rel="nofollow"> wonderful site</a> and get it:MrStevesSciencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13424865535828939064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-29531917345572340372011-07-11T12:04:08.957-04:002011-07-11T12:04:08.957-04:00Steve did you receive my Worksheet book CD? I thin...Steve did you receive my Worksheet book CD? I think with my beginning questions leading to infinite series (start with a hard problem first!!) and cookie sharing, I think your fraction coloring can work together with my stuff. I think you come close to allow kids to color in the 1/2, then 1/2 of 1/2, and can be made to respond to coloring in the wrong amount by telling them what part they colored in.<br /> I think starting with just coloring in without the goal of infinite series is a mistake- as my parent said-boring, irrelevant.<br /><br />Don CohenDon Cohen-The Mathmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08357233036130947821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-19378442689844375072011-04-19T12:32:00.885-04:002011-04-19T12:32:00.885-04:00I really like your quote that teaching a child a p...I really like your quote that teaching a child a process, you prepare him for life. I like the whole feeling of your blog. Congratulations!<br /><br />I am retired now but taught for many years. I have some addition, subtraction, and multiplication models I used in my combined first and second grades, but they could be for any age. Each gives a way to fully understand the processes:<br /> <br />http://peggybroadbent.com/blog/index.php?s=Models+of+Addition<br /><br />http://peggybroadbent.com/blog/index.php?s=Models+of+Subtraction <br /><br />http://peggybroadbent.com/blog/index.php?s=Models+of+Multiplication<br /><br />Warm wishes,<br />PeggyPeggy Broadbenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04124078723777200541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-82768208432383300032011-04-16T10:46:39.579-04:002011-04-16T10:46:39.579-04:00Love it! (Except I'm not sure I like the count...Love it! (Except I'm not sure I like the counting from zero part. I'd rather do the zero work in a different lesson/game, I think.)Sue VanHattumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10237941346154683902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-42023167418566847442011-04-07T13:00:48.263-04:002011-04-07T13:00:48.263-04:00Carlos,
Yes, simply go to http://www.squeakland.o...Carlos,<br /><br />Yes, simply go to http://www.squeakland.org/download/ and download for the platform of your choice. Etoys-to-Go will run just about anywhere. You can put it on a USB stick and simply plug the stick into any computer (windows, macintosh, linux) and it will run from there. Then when you save your projects, they save onto your USB stick and you can take them with you!!!MrStevesSciencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13424865535828939064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-45907321516375306572011-04-07T12:34:14.480-04:002011-04-07T12:34:14.480-04:00Hi, nice post. I this Etoys loadable from SqueaLan...Hi, nice post. I this Etoys loadable from SqueaLand, if so wht is the name or number? Regards, CarlosAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-74615314474581974462011-04-04T06:35:45.103-04:002011-04-04T06:35:45.103-04:00Very nice! Just a quick hint: you can duplicate a ...Very nice! Just a quick hint: you can duplicate a specific menu item using its green halo handle. That way you don't have to show the whole menu.Vanessahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05353637548899091553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-76282968453772455742011-03-08T16:38:10.987-05:002011-03-08T16:38:10.987-05:00Maria, not sure if this version of the course will...Maria, not sure if this version of the course will be open to all yet. I am doing this as a fundraiser and the course will start in September. I will keep folks posted.MrStevesSciencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13424865535828939064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48378076268671390.post-4111330305857784372011-03-08T07:55:46.444-05:002011-03-08T07:55:46.444-05:00Steve, will this course be open to homeschoolers e...Steve, will this course be open to homeschoolers everywhere? Some of our local group kids may be interested.MariaDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00769513929584082597noreply@blogger.com