Personal: October 2007 Archive Page

...did they steal candy from me while I wasn't looking, and stuff the empty wrappers into their pockets?

If they did, they certainly didn't confess on their blogs.

In a corner of the living room between the couch and the video tape cabinet, my kids keep a huge stash of paper towel rolls, which they use to stage epic battles.

The Cardboard Tube Fighting League website is annoying since it's mostly made up images... I didn't find any text that I could copy and paste here.

For the past year or so, my main job in our homeschooling family has been to teach Carolyn (5) how to read. Now I've picked up the task of teaching Peter (9) computer programming.  Last week I wrote a few simple BASIC programs to teach a very basic concept that some of my college students have trouble with when I teach interactive fiction programming -- the fact that when you write code, you have several different audiences -- not just the computer, but the user and also yourself (or some other programmer who inherits your code).

Last week we did a quick-and-dirty choose-your-own-adventure story, and showed Peter how to copy-and-paste blocks of code for editing, rather than retyping long sequences all at once. Several times I made a deliberate mistake, and pretended that I didn't know how to fix it. Peter picked it up quickly.  He was not so good at picking out problems such as missing punctuation or the difference between spaces and underscore_characters, so it was slow going at first.

I do plan on beginning each coding session with a little bit of text-based BASIC coding, but he has started saying, "Daddy, is this enough? Can we move on to Scratch now?"

Scratch is a wonderful 2D animation environment that is designed to introduce kids to programming concepts.  Think of it as Flash for kids. Each element of the programming syntax (an if/then statement or a repeat loop) is graphically represented like a puzzle piece, and the various elements of the program snap into the blocks, giving a tremendously satisfying visual feedback when the programming syntax works.  You'll never see an "error" message when you are working with Scratch -- the pieces just won't fit together if they don't go together. Instead of the "alpha" value, graphics have a "ghost" value, which is a far more sensible name. (I remember being very frustrated when I first started experimenting with creating textures for 3D games, because none of the tutorials I could find bothered to define such a basic term.)

Adding considerably to the charm factor is this collection of kid-produced Scratch tutorials that teach basic Scratch concepts. I downloaded one to see what it was like, and I downloaded a few more just because I think it's cute to hear the kids narrate the tutorials.

Students at Expo were beta testers for a new programming software called Scratch. Designed specifically for youth, it allows them to create their own stories, animations, fames, music and art. At the same time, they apply math concepts, design, problem solve and collaborate. To learn more about Scratch or download the program yourself, go to . One of our writing standards is to explain how to do something. We had so much fun with the Scratch program that we decided to make computer tutorials so others could learn the basics, too. Click on a link to see what you can do with Scratch!

....he looks through the kitchen window and exclaims, "Woah! Those leaves are falling onto the trampoline like Confederate shells on Ft. Sumter in 1861!"

(Some context... he hates the fact that leaves get inside the trampoline net, and will furiously throw them out one at a time, guarding the perimeter when he is outside playing.)

Your grade for the peer-review exercise depends on the quantity and quality of the constructive feedback you provide to your peer. (So smile at the good and frown at the bad, but don't make your peer feel very sad.)

In the process, you will get specific, concrete peer feedback, which you can use to revise your paper (and perhaps raise your final grade). But for me, the real value of the exercise is that the experience of hunting for and fixing problems in a peer's paper will help you develop self-editing skills that you can apply to any writing situation.  ("Newswriting Peer Review Guidelines.")

After I teach a subject for the third time, I know enough of what to expect that I can start writing a detailed handout that encapsulates the lesson, so that when I teach the classes in future years, I can reduce the amount of class time I spend lecturing on a subject, and instead refer students to the handout as part of the preparation for a workshop. I don't generally use handouts as a replacement for classroom instruction, but when the handout is a detailed checklist, that can really help students as they revise.

I feel a sense of accomplishment getting this handout posted, since I managed to get it to the students in time for it to be useful.  The revision of the first full-length news article is due Friday, so I'll have something substantial to evaluate before midterm grades are due next week; students will be able to revise again (if they wish) after the break. 

The stress level always goes up before midterms, but I'm feeling better than I've felt in weeks -- the pneumonia that laid me flat is finally tolerable, to the point where I'm well enough to feel guilty about all the tasks I permitted myself to put off while I was sick.  Tomorrow I'll turn 39, and I'll spend most of the day grading papers. Such is life.