Posts Tagged science

STEM Tuesday– Coding– Writing Tips & Resources

http://www.basicbook.org, GPL <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>, via Wikimedia Commons

05 REM I used to think of coding (programming, as we called it back in the day.) and writing as two separate things. Polar opposites.

10 REM Now, I’ve come to realize the two are not as different as they may appear. 

20 PRINT “If you want to learn more about my coding past, press “Y”.”

30 INPUT (N)

40 IF N = “Y” THEN GOTO 150 ELSE 50

50 REM Writing code and writing stories both involve accomplishing a goal through a series of operations.

60 REM To achieve one’s goal with writing, one uses language and word operations to convey ideas.

70 IF (THIS HAPPENS) THEN… 

80 REM The story flows and the plot develops.

90 REM To achieve a goal in coding, one uses a programming language’s set of operations to implement ideas in a functional manner.

95 PRINT “On a scale of 1 to 10, enter your level of excitement for writing like a coder.”

100 INPUT (X)

110 IF X >=1, THEN GOTO 200 

150 REM After my sophomore year, a huge change happened at my high school. The computer programming class moved from punch card programming to actual work on computer stations connected to the school district’s mainframe. Game on!

Pete Birkinshaw from Manchester, UK, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

160 REM BASIC programming was the name of the game back in the day. For some reason, unlike most of my family and friends, coding came naturally to me. The logic, oh the logic, drew me in like a tractor beam. I was hooked. 

170 REM Several years later, probably around 1984, I scraped enough money ($100!) from odd jobs and such to walk proudly into our local Dolgins store and purchase a Texas Instruments 99. I hooked it up to a blue, plastic 13” black and white television we had sitting around in the basement. I was in heaven. 

Ron Reuter, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons

180 REM My parents and siblings worried about my sanity, a 19-year-old sitting in the dark basement for hours, writing a primitive electronic football game or a program to show an animated smiley face graphic saying “Hello” over the 2” speaker and scaring the crap out of my mother as she walked by. Heaven.

190 REM Sometimes, one gets run through the wringer by siblings and friends for buying a freaking computer instead of spending that money on a real video game console, like ATARI or INTELLIVISION, that ordinary people actually want to play. When this happens, one learns to code simple, low-graphic games to show aforementioned siblings and friends that coding can be fun. A football simulator, PONG(!), craps, blackjack, etc. were all in the output of my TI99 and me. My friends and siblings, however, were not as impressed as I was.

195 GO TO 50

200 REM Coding also runs in a similar vein to writing in the aspect of trial and error. One simple mistake, a glitch in syntax or in logic, can stop a program or a paragraph dead in its tracks. Writers and coders both run into walls, fall off cliffs, or get lost at times. That’s when the true creator’s heart and soul kick in. Analyze, problem-solve, take a step back, and then try again. Instead of getting stuck in a loop, a coder or writer changes the subroutine, reformats, and changes the inputs to get better outputs.

210 REM There is a difference between writing and coding, though. In coding, a programming language allows many creators to communicate the story through that single voice of the code. In writing, the opposite is true. The writer uses the tools of language and individual experiences (see Creative Braining) to create their unique voice.

220 REM Finally, a friend recently told me that throughout high school, their child was intent on majoring in computer programming. However, once the student spent a year in programming classes at college, they changed majors. The student figured out that writing code for games was not nearly as fun as playing games. I laughed and said that sounded like the 20+ years I wanted to be a writer before I accepted it was hard work and found the discipline to actually sit down and write.

230 PRINT “Thanks for reading!”

240 END

Ron Reuter, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

My apologies to you, dear reader, for putting you through a rusty and mistake-ridden use of a 1980s version of BASIC programming for this STEM Tuesday Writing Craft & Resources post. Memory fades, as does the free time to go online and review the proper syntax of BASIC.

On a positive note, writing this post did trigger a desire to jump into contemporary programming languages and learn Python or another modern coding language. It also made me dig into the storage boxes to find one of the greatest coding-themed computer games ever written, The Island of Dr. Brain. When my kids were young, we would play Dr. Brain for hours and they had little to no idea they were learning how to think and manage like coders. They probably still don’t since their main memory is probably of Dad hogging the family PC while playing Dr. Brain “with” them.

 

Mike Hays has worked hard from a young age to be a well-rounded individual. A well-rounded, equal-opportunity sports enthusiast, that is. If they keep a score, he’ll either watch it, play it, or coach it. A molecular microbiologist by day, middle-grade author, sports coach, and general good citizen by night, he blogs about sports/training-related topics at  www.coachhays.com and writer stuff at  www.mikehaysbooks.comTwo of his science essays, The Science of Jurassic Park and Zombie Microbiology 101, are included in the Putting the Science in Fiction collection from Writer’s Digest Books. He can be found roaming around the Twitter-sphere under the guise of @coachhays64 and on Instagram at @mikehays64.

 


The O.O.L.F Files

This month’s version of the O.O.L.F.(Out of Left Field) Files explores

Steve’s Old Computer Museum (Warning! This site is a rabbit hole for computer nerds, especially us who sport more than a few gray hairs. I need to go in and see how many of these I’ve had the pleasure of working on.)

The Texas Instruments TI-99

BASIC, how I loved thee!

FORTRAN was, and still is, the language of science and mathematics.

Bill Gates Just Revealed The Best Programming Language for 2023!

Dr.Brain!

 


 

STEM Tuesday– Coding– In the Classroom


Although I studied Electrical Engineering in college, I ended up spending most of my time as an engineer working with code. I love coding, and I’m happy to see so many great books about coding for young readers. Here are the books I read.

Coding Games in Scratch: A Step-by-Step Visual Guide to Building Your Own Computer Games
by Jon Woodcock

I love Scratch. It’s a block code, meaning you put the commands together rather like Legos. The code blocks are designed to help keep you from putting the code pieces together wrong. This book does a great job of walking you through the building of computer games in Scratch. If you want to learn basic coding concepts while making fun games, check out this book.

cover image of the book "Get Coding!" featuring two cartoon people, a computer, and a dog

Get Coding! Learn HTML, CSS & JavaScript and Build a Website, App, and Game
by Young Rewired State

This book is packed with information and activities for learning about coding and the web. It even has a related web site – https://getcodingkids.com – to help you through the missions.

 

Bonus Book: Hunting the Cyber Trail: Be a Computer Forensic Scientist
by Alix Wood

Follow a fictional computer forensic scientist as he searches computers for clues to the whereabouts of two missing kids. I love that this book gets into how information is formatted within computers, something I dealt with a lot when I was programming. This book also has lots of activities that are computer-related, but don’t require a computer to complete.

Now for some other activities you can try to get you into a programming frame of mind.

How-To

A computer program is basically a how-to for a computer. Programmers put together instructions that tell computers what they need to do.

A great activity as you start programming is to write a how-to. This could be a recipe, instructions for completing a craft, or instructions for something you do every day, like washing your hands. Once you’ve created your how-to, have someone try to follow your instructions. That’s when you find out if you forgot any instructions or if anything was unclear.

Flow-Charts

Flow-charts are really useful tools for programmers. They’re a graphical representation of a process or algorithm. Learn about flow-chart symbols and create a flow-chart for a process or algorithm. Here are some resources to help:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z3bq7ty/revision/3
https://www.digitaltechnologieshub.edu.au/teach-and-assess/classroom-resources/lesson-ideas/have-fun-with-flowcharts
https://technovationchallenge.org/curriculum/coding-15-flowcharts

Explore ASCII

Remember me mentioning the formatting of information in computers? Well, one of those things is called ASCII – American Standard Code for Information Interexchange. It is a way to represent text characters using numbers. This is generally written in hexadecimal (base 16) numbers.

To learn about hexadecimal, read the beginning of this article: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/hexadecimal or this: https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/4069/Learning-Binary-and-Hexadecimal. You don’t have to get too deep into hexadecimal to work with ASCII.

Use an ASCII table (either from p. 24 of “Hunting the Cyber Trail” or here: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/references/ascii-table. (There are lots more versions out there if you want to find something different.)

Get the hang of ASCII by converting your name into hexadecimal ASCII code. Then, write a full message and give it to a friend. See if they can decode your message.

Explore More

There are lots of great resources out there that support programming. One of the biggest is Code.org. They have fabulous activities there, including a bunch that don’t require a computer: https://code.org/files/Hour-of-Code-Unplugged-Activities.pdf

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Janet Slingerland is the author of more than 20 books for young readers, including 3 books about coding. To find out more about Janet and her books, check out http://janetsbooks.com.

STEM Tuesday– Coding– Book List

 

Coding is an essential skill in our fast-paced digital world. With activity books, reference guides, historical narratives, and fiction, this month’s book list is sure to inspire readers to take the next steps in their coding journey.

 

cover image of "Code This" featuring a teenage girl

Code This!: Puzzles, Games, Challenges, and Computer Coding Concepts for the Problem Solver in You 

by Jennifer Szymanski

Code This! contains many puzzles, games, and quirky characters that highlight programming concepts in kid friendly ways. Readers will be engaged as they find hidden treasures, decode ciphers to read secret messages, and more. All in all, a great introduction to coding.

 

 

 

cover image of "The History of the Computer" with icons on black background

The History of the Computer: People, Inventions, and Technology that Changed Our World

by Rachel Ignotofsky

 

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the computing machines that have changed our world, from the abacus to the smartphone. Everyone knows how much computers have impacted our lives, but this book goes on to answer questions like who created them, why, and how they have transformed the way we interact with our surroundings and each other. It’s also packed with fun facts and engaging illustrations.

 

 

book cover featuring a portrait of Ada Lovelace on purple

DK Life Stories: Ada Lovelace 

by Nancy Castaldo

 

In 1843, Ada Byron Lovelace wrote the first computer program… long before technology was advanced enough to try it out! Part of DK’s “Life Stories” series, this engaging biography brings to life the curiosity, imagination, and scientific contributions of this coding pioneer. Sidebars, quotes, definitions, maps, and photos give readers more historical context about the world where she grew up.

 

 

three books. The top one is purple and is titled "Kids Get Coding"Kids Get Coding 

by Heather Lyons and Elizabeth Twedale

This Lerner series includes eight short, illustrated books that bridge the gap between unplugged activities and computer-based skill development. Some of the titles in the series include “Learn to Program,” “Coding, Bugs, and Fixes,”  “Online Safety and More,” and “Coding in the Real World.” A character named Data Duck walks kids through basic concepts within each book, and a companion site gives readers the chance to try out their new skills with book-specific projects.

 

 

cover image of "Book Cover" with nine women on red backgroundGamer Girls: 25 Women Who Built the Video Game Industry 

by Mary Kenney, illustrated by Salini Perera

 

Gamer Girls introduces readers to the dynamic women who created iconic video games and changed the industry forever. From Roberta Williams to Mabel Addis Mergardt, this book highlights the history of how women got started in this industry, and then profiles 25 of them. The text is easy to read and engaging, and it’s accompanied by eye catching illustrations.

 

 

book cover of "My Life as a Coder" featuring a cartoon boy typing at a computerMy Life as a Coder 

by Janet Tashjian, illustrated by Jake Tashjian

 

My Life as a Coder is the ninth book in Janet Tashjian’s fictional My Life series. It stars reluctant reader Derek Fallon. In this particular book Derek receives a new laptop. However, it has no Wi-Fi so he can’t use it for gaming. If he wants to play computer games, he’ll have to learn how to code them himself. This premise will inspire readers as they watch Derek struggle but eventually get the hang of the world of tech and coding.

 

 

cover image of the book "Girls Who Code"Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World 

by Reshma Saujani

 

Girls who Code champions females and girl-empowerment. The book includes easy to grasp explanations of various coding principles as well as real life stories of girls and women who work for such companies as Pixar and NASA. It goes on to detail what a huge role computer science plays in our lives and how much fun it can be. It also features bold illustrations on every page.

 

 

yellow book cover with text, "Coding Games in Scratch"Coding Games in Scratch: A Step-by-Step Visual Guide to Building Your Own Computer Games 

by Jon Woodcock 

 

For students who are just getting started with coding, Scratch is a great block-based program to use. This practical guide provides illustrated tutorials that show readers not just what to do but also why!  It introduces strategies for problem solving, collaborating, and thinking creatively.

 

 

cover image of the book "Get Coding!" featuring two cartoon people, a computer, and a dogGet Coding! Learn HTML, CSS & JavaScript and Build a Website, App, and Game

by Young Rewired State

 

The beginning of this book contains a plea for help from the fictional Professor Harry Bairstone, who has just found a precious gem called the Monk Diamond. As readers progress through the chapters, they will embark on a quest to help him keep the Monk Diamond safe from nefarious jewel thieves. Along the way, they will complete short coding projects and learn how to use three of the most important programming languages used in web development and design: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

 

cover image of "Python for Kids"Python for Kids, 2nd Edition: A Playful Introduction to Programming 

by Jason R. Briggs

 

This kid-friendly guide aims to make Python fun to learn and use! Python is one of the most widely used text-based computer programming languages in the world, and this book walks students through the basics of text-based programming in a comprehensive but digestible way. The sample code problems feature everything from gorillas to secret agents, and the main text is accompanied by colorful illustrations, puzzles, definitions, and a section on troubleshooting.

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This month’s STEM Tuesday book list was prepared by:

Author Lydia Lukidis

Lydia Lukidis is the author of 50+ trade and educational books for children. Her titles include DANCING THROUGH SPACE: Dr. Mae Jemison Soars to New Heights (Albert Whitman, 2024), DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench (Capstone, 2023) and THE BROKEN BEES’ NEST (Kane Press, 2019) which was nominated for a Cybils Award. A science enthusiast from a young age, she now incorporates her studies in science and her everlasting curiosity into her books. Another passion of hers is fostering a love for children’s literacy through the writing workshops she regularly offers in elementary schools across Quebec with the Culture in the Schools program. For more information, please visit www.lydialukidis.com.

 

 

author Callie DeanCallie Dean is a researcher, writer, and musician living in Shreveport, LA. She writes stories that spark curiosity and encourage kids to explore their world. For more information, please visit https://www.calliebdean.com.