Another Word For It Patrick Durusau on Topic Maps and Semantic Diversity

October 30, 2011

Easy as Pie? – Teaching Code Literacy

Filed under: Games,Programming,Teaching — Patrick Durusau @ 7:04 pm

Easy as Pie? – Teaching Code Literacy by Sarah Allen.

A very entertaining presentation on teaching programming to children.

One of its key points was the need for immediate gratification. (Suspect that is probably the case for adults as well but don’t tell anyone.)

The presentation made me think that one of the barriers to teaching topic maps (under whatever guise or name) is its delayed gratification.

That is it is all fine and good to talk about the issues that interest us as topic map specialists but users are really more interested in results that are of interest to them.

I don’t have a specific game or scenario in mind but wanted to point out this presentation as a starting point for discussion of subject-centric gaming.

Your suggestions and comments are always welcome but especially here. I don’t know what interests/motivates other adults, much less children.

PS: Sarah mentions that the “computer science” classes in SF are teaching Word and PowerPoint. Says “…having a class in Word is like having a class in pencil.” Thought you would appreciate that. 😉

From the description:

Sarah Allen talks on how to introduce children to the basics of programming, presenting a new related language called “Pie” along with lessons learned from creating a DSL in Ruby.

October 18, 2011

Basic interface to Apache Solr (Python recipe)

Filed under: Python,Solr,Teaching — Patrick Durusau @ 2:40 pm

Basic interface to Apache Solr (Python recipe) by Graham Poulter.

From the post:

A basic model class representing Apache Solr. Abstracts the select, delete, update, and commit operations.

Select operation returns Python object parsed from a JSON-formatted response.

(code omitted)

There are several full-fledged Python libraries for interfacing to Apache Solr.

But sometimes all you need is a little code to build an appropriate HTTP request and parse the response. In that case, using this class could save you some time.

I think recipes are a good thing. What I have found in cooking is that at first I follow them closely until I gain confidence with the techniques and the likely result. The longer I use them the more I am likely to depart from them. So I get, usually, an edible result and learn something in the bargain.

I think there is a lesson here for teaching people about semantic and data mining techniques in general and topic maps in particular.

October 11, 2011

Introduction to Artificial Intelligence – Stanford Class Update

Filed under: Artificial Intelligence,Teaching,Topic Maps — Patrick Durusau @ 5:55 pm

The “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” class at Stanford has begun with over 145,000 students. I remember lecture classes being large but not quite this large. 😉

The first class lecture is up and I am impressed with the delivery mechanisms chosen for the class.

For example, I have seen graphic tablets used in math videos to draw equations, examples and lecture note type materials. I checked the pricing on such tablets.

Guess what they are using in the Stanford classes? Paper and different colored pens. Well, and printed materials, maps and such, that they can draw upon with the pens.

It doesn’t hurt that both of the presenters are world class lecturers but it also validates the notion that very simple tools can be used very effectively.

Not to mention that the longest each segment has been so far is about 3 minutes or so.

Can say a lot in 3 minutes (or less) if: 1) You know what you want to say, and, 2) You say it clearly.

Another nice aspect is that they are using what appear to be cgi-based graphics to embed quizzes (another low tech solution) at the end of videos.

Points for me to remember: Creating educational materials need not wait for equipment that I then have to master (though I will have to practice using a pen) in order to be productive. (It will be nice to have a pack of pens in different colors, cheaper than a graphics tablet too.)

October 3, 2011

What resources & practices (teaching Haskell) [or learning n]

Filed under: Education,Haskell,Teaching — Patrick Durusau @ 7:04 pm

What resources & practices (teaching Haskell)

Clifford Beshers answers (in part, the most important part):

I have two recommendations: teach them the simplest definitions of the fundamentals; read programs with them, out loud, like children’s books, skipping nothing.

The second one, reading aloud, is one that I have advocated for standards editors. Mostly because it helps you slow down and not “skim” text that you already “know.”

And the same technique can be applied for self-study of any subject, whether it is Haskell, some other programming language, mathematics, or some other domain.

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