Comment Re:Sad to be 50 and accomplished nothing. (Score 1) 166
Well, I know the guy (no, it isn't me), so I'll rule out liar and sociopath, leaving me to question some assumptions made about his character.
Breaking the Squid Barrier 126
An anonymous reader writes "Dr. Steve O'Shea of Auckland, New Zealand is attempting to break the record for keeping deep sea squid alive in captivity, with the goal of being able to raise a giant squid one day. Right now, he's raising the broad squid, sepioteuthis australis, from egg masses found in seaweed. This is a lot harder than it sounds, because the squid he's studying grow rapidly and eat only live prey, making it hard for them to keep the squid from becoming prey themselves. If his research works out, you might one day be able to visit an aquarium and see giant squid."
Comment Re:hm, after reviewing 'alice' (Score 2, Informative) 162
As a high school CS teacher, I am considering creating a class that uses Alice.
I think it may be easy for people in this community to make assumptions about programming languages and their utility. However, relevant questions, to me, include, "How do we get students who may not have sufficient math skills feel success as programmers at a young age? How do we get them hooked on the idea that computing and programming are accessible in their lives?"
Alice, with its drag-and-drop interface, can be frustrating for some professionals. It is a tool for learning programming concepts with an interface that is friendly to young people by producing a product that is of interest to young people.
It's just another piece in an ever-growing educational toolkit.
I think it may be easy for people in this community to make assumptions about programming languages and their utility. However, relevant questions, to me, include, "How do we get students who may not have sufficient math skills feel success as programmers at a young age? How do we get them hooked on the idea that computing and programming are accessible in their lives?"
Alice, with its drag-and-drop interface, can be frustrating for some professionals. It is a tool for learning programming concepts with an interface that is friendly to young people by producing a product that is of interest to young people.
It's just another piece in an ever-growing educational toolkit.
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It isn't easy being the parent of a six-year-old. However, it's a pretty small price to pay for having somebody around the house who understands computers.
