Scratch on Kind of Idea

The Pomodoro Time Management Technique

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

This technique was created by Francesco Cirillo in 1992 and is now used by professionals in various fields, including systems development.

Pomodoro means tomato in Italian, so if you prefer, call it the tomato technique. The name came about when Cirillo was in college in Rome. To focus on his tasks, he decided to use what he had at hand: a tomato-shaped kitchen timer. :)

The technique is so simple that it can be summarized in five steps:

Tips for Computer Classes - The Question Game

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Whenever I can, I try to move away from the traditional teaching format (teacher talks - student listens). As I teach, I keep improving ideas and techniques that I’d like to share with you in this post. One way to get away from the traditional format is to introduce a game or activity that lets students “navigate” the material indirectly, preferably in a fun way.

I’m going to talk about an activity called the Question Game.

Playing with Binary Numbers

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0000

In this post, I suggest a fun activity to help the class relax and interact with the material being covered.

The idea is to simulate a binary counter. A binary counter is a machine (like a computer) that counts in binary (0 and 1). A group of people can become a binary counter, which is a good way to see how the number system works.

Call up 5 volunteers and ask them to stand in a line, with everyone’s right arm held horizontally and each hand touching the shoulder of the person beside them. The last person is the units digit and has to do most of the work. They are at the left end of the line (though it looks like the right, since we are facing them). The person at the other end hardly does anything, just offering a shoulder! There are only two rules.

Scratch: The Simplest Programming Language I’ve Ever Seen!

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I have to admit that the last time I was this impressed by software was when Google Earth launched. :-P

For a while now, I have been looking for a way to teach programming to children or to people who have never programmed before. I recently wrote a post presenting Ruby as a strong candidate because of its simplicity, and even suggested it as a possibility for university courses. But it is still complex, because programming requires understanding several concepts: variables, constants, loops, branches, and others. Beginners also generally have trouble with typing code.