This is a new serie of articles here at Python for beginners, that are supposed to be a starting point for completely beginners of Python. See it as a cheat sheet, reference, manual or whatever you want. The purpose is to very short write down the basics of Python. Let’s start with the Basics of Python.
Python is a powerful and expressive language that has very simple syntax. If you’re unsure of which programming language to learn, then Python is a great choice. The language is used in a variety of disciplines: application, web, and game development. Python can do it all and you’ll be well on your way to mastery at the end of this track.
One you go through the lessons, award yourself or someone who also deserves it, one of these!
Python – Skill badge, iron-on patch. You’ve learned the Python programming language! Python is an easy-to-learn and programming language that’s popular for its powerful capabilities and human-readable code. The Python logo is used with permission from the Python Foundation.
Adafruit offers a fun and exciting “badges” to celebrate achievement for electronics, science and engineering. We believe everyone should be able to be rewarded for learning a useful skill, a badge is just one of the many ways to show and share.
Countless kids have grown up with the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts or Campfire Girls, but for some families, the uniforms and outdoor focus of traditional Scouting groups don’t appeal.
In recent months, Scoutlike groups that concentrate on technology and do-it-yourself projects have been sprouting up around the country. They’re coed and, like traditional Scouting organizations, award patches to kids who master skills.
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The Hacker Scouts don’t wear uniforms, but soon they’ll be able to earn something akin to merit badges, made by the kid-friendly DIY electronics company Adafruit Industries.
Badges range from “learn to solder,” “aerial quadcopter” and “high-altitude balloon” badges to the “Dumpster-diving” badge — “for when you get dirty but get some free stuff,” explains Adafruit founder Limor Fried.
Adafruit iron-on “skill badges” / patches and partners – Adafruit offers fun and exciting “badges” of achievement for electronics, science and engineering. Please visit our badge section to purchase badges or contact us for more information on how educators can participate. We believe everyone should be able to be rewarded for learning a useful skill, a badge is just one of the many ways to show and share. From the “I CAN USE A LASER CUTTER” or “I CAN SOLDER” to “I LEARNED MICRO-CONTROLLERS” Adafruit has designed open-source badges to reward students, beginners and individuals who are learning with Adafruit products.
Check out a new player in educational modular electronics for young makers, currently over at Kickstarter:
ATOMS give kids of any age the ability to make their toys DO things. And not just new toys – ATOMS were built to work with the stuff kids already have, like LEGOs, costumes, stuffed animals, Barbies and action figures. ATOMS don’t require any electronics skills or programming experience – or supervision from a parent with an engineering degree. In fact, because of the tiny electronics built into each one, kids can make all sorts of cool stuff within 5 minutes of taking ATOMS out of the box.
Touch screen technology is revolutionizing interactive digital experiences for children. No longer do our little ones need to wait to learn to navigate a mouse or press keyboard keys in order to access a host of interactive content designed for them. Instead, we see toddlers and preschoolers confidently navigating their parents’ iPhones, iPads, and other touch screen devices with astonishing agility and purpose. The explosion of apps for young children is not surprising; there is high demand and high appeal.
The Make Presents video series took an in-depth look at a number of common electronic components, instruments, & fundamentals – exploring their usage, functionality, and even a good bit of history. Each episode was initially planned as an introduction for newcomers, but there’s some interesting bits of info in there for veterans as well.
I learned a lot while researching & shooting these vids and every now & then someone comes up to me on the street and tells how much they’ve enjoyed watching them. That’s always a great feeling – especially considering this is educational content. I love you internet.
In reading, Hong Kong, Russia, Finland and Singapore also all scored above the United States. The results were drawn from two tests — the 2011 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, known as PIRLS, and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, referred to as TIMSS.
The United States has edged up its score over the years, and it’s in the top 13 educational systems in the world, the report authors note, but Americans are still consistently outranked by the same handful of countries.
So what makes the education systems of some of the top performers so good?
Some good insights, challenges to solve and work to be done.
KidsCash lets kids manage their own money in a fun, safe and educational environment. Kids learn how to spend wisely online, save, and even donate to their favorite charities! KidsCash teaches kids how to be independent and responsible with their spending habits and gives parents peace of mind.
We post a lot of educational sites for kids in the world of STE(A)M – Science, tech, engineering, art, math – but there’s a lot of kids that grow up that did not get the chance to learn how to manage money, this is an interesting site that is taking on that challenge. Part of being a good maker, is also being responsible with how and what we spend things on and save!
Founder of a free school for slum children Rajesh Kumar Sharma, second from right, and Laxmi Chandra, right, write on black boards, painted on a building wall, at a free school run under a metro bridge in New Delhi, India. At least 30 children living in the nearby slums have been receiving free education from this school for the last three years.
Girlstart, in its continued efforts to empower and equip girls in STEM education, is partnering with the Google Science Fair for a special DeSTEMber program – featuring 31 days of fun, innovative STEM activities in December. The program will be hosted on the Google+ Pages of Girlstart and The Google Science Fair and on the program’s official website, www.destember.org. DeSTEMber will feature daily activities and experiments – many hosted by special guests including National Geographic, CERN, Scientific American and AccuWeather – that can be done at home with common household items. Experiments include making a tornado in a jar, bending water, making a lava lamp, making soap, and other fun, hands-on projects which engage young learners while integrating STEM education principles.
Google+ will be the hub for the month-long celebration of STEM. Students and adults will be able to practice experiments and chat live with Girlstart, representatives and finalists of the Google Science Fair and special guests using Google+ Hangouts. “By creating DeSTEMber last year, we created a place for girls to go and stay engaged with STEM learning during a time of year when school is out of session,” said Tamara Hudgins, executive director for Girlstart. “It provides a great opportunity for hands-on learning outside of the classroom, and we created an online program with that inquiry and discovery process in mind.” “Bringing Google+ into the equation allows us to enrich and expand DeSTEMber even further,” added Julie Shannan, Girlstart Deputy Director. “Not only can participants use Google+ to compare notes and collaborate, but we’re able to conect girls interested in STEM careers to women working in the STEM field.”
The Perot Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas is one of the first major natural history museums built in decades — and promises to be fairly unique. Certainly the unusual architectural decisions have been getting most of the attention. Now that the museum has opened to the public (this weekend), we are starting to learn more about how the shape of the building relates to the goals for exhibiting and educating on topics of science.
Check out this quick overview of the project above — and also take a look at the time lapse of its construction below. (Via You+Dallas Media)
Dallas has been watching the construction for quite some time now. The once empty plot of land behind the House of Blues building has grown into quite the focal point in the West End meets Victory Park area of Downtown Dallas. The Perot Museum of Nature & Science has taken shape after months and years of Dallasites wondering just what the eclectic building would become.
YouPlusDallas was invited to attend a project update and building tour of the new Perot Museum. Hear from Museum CEO Nicole Small and Architect Thom Mayne, as they explain the intriguing architecture of the modern building.
A friend of mine recently asked my advice. Apparently his twelve year old nephew is turning out to be “quite the geek”. As my friend described his nephew’s love to take stuff apart and make something new with it, I could tell we had the beginnings of a fine young maker.
The challenge is that the boy’s parents are not necessarily so technical. They know that he built something out of an Xbox and laptop, but they cannot begin to explain what it is. They’ve tried to support him by getting him some kits from Radio Shack, but he wasn’t really challenged by them.
My friend turned to me for some suggestions for challenging kits that would not “do any damage to the house”. So here is my list of…
Forget turducken… I’m stuffing my turkey with two ducks, stuffed with four hens, stuffed with eight quail eggs. Honestly, I do not recommend trying this yourself.
Last night in NYC, littleBits threw a holiday party to celebrate their v03 Bits launch, including their new Extended Kit and Holiday Kit (featured above!). It was a great night and I want to share a few highlights! (From an admittedly electronics-focused perspective. The pictures of merrymaking were simply too dark to share!)
The core staff each flashed their littleBits colors — by wearing bits configured for blinky wearables! (Including founder Ayah’s glowing antennae and Ethan’s EL-bowtie (above).
Industrial designer Jordi Barras shared a “dotted line” EL wire trick — take a long strip of heatshrink tubing and punch holes up and down it with a holepunch. Heatshrink it to your EL wire for an unusual effect!
The animated littleBits sign alternated between aqua EL wire and bright white LEDs — a particularly charming effect once the lights went out for dancing.
The new littleBits displays are rather cunning — thin fishing line material attaches to each separate bit, counter balanced within the pedestal just enough that it is easy to quickly change their arrangements, but it is difficult to walk off with them.
Check out Ayah hosting in her glowing, bobbling antennae — not as cool an effect in the bright light as later when the music hit and the littleBit staff showed off their dance moves.
Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!
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