Computer Science Week! Let Learn HTML Coding

Last week was  Computer Science Education Week!

Computer Science Education Week coincides with the birthdays of two computer science pioneers. A pioneer is a person who is one of the first to enter a field of study or explore a new area of thought. 

Who were these two computer science pioneers?

1. Ada Lovelace, born in England on December 10, 1815, is considered the world's first computer programmer.

2. Grace Hopper, born on December 9, 1906, was an American computer programmer and Navy rear admiral. She contributed to developing the COBOL language and popularized the term "computer bug" in the programming community.


Grace Hopper said, "To me programming is more than an important practical art. It is also a gigantic undertaking in the foundations of knowledge."

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What is HTML coding and is it difficult to learn? 

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is a computer language. One important trait when writing any type of code is to persevere, or never give up.  Sometimes you try an algorithm, or list of steps used to solve a problem, and it fails. Don't give up. Instead, adjust your algorithm. Try again! This strategy is called trial and error.

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What keystrokes or symbols are needed to write

 HTML code? 

To write HTML code, use the following symbols:

Important: Do NOT add a space between the HTML tag and the word or sentence.

 

                                                                                                   

1.  To put text in italics, place this HTML code around the text:

 

 

The sentence will look like this when published:

 

Bloggers should always proofread a comment before publishing.

                                                                                                   


2.  To make text bold, place this HTML code around the text:

The sentence will look like this when published: 


Bloggers should always proofread a comment before publishing.

                                                                                                   


 
3.  To make a hyperlink, it gets a little tricky.

Use the following HTML code around the URL and add your own link word/words:

  [The URL is the address of the web page. It starts with http://www…]

The HTML code below:

Will become this hyperlink when published:

Mrs. Yollis’ Website

                                                                                                   

 Great Tip!

I leave a document on my desktop called HTML Code. All the code I regularly use is there. The hyperlink code is very tricky for me to remember. So, I leave several blank code links in the HTML Code document like this:

 

All I have to do is copy/paste the URL where it goes and change the word link into what I want the link to be. I then copy the customized code into my comment. It really saves time for people like me who cannot remember the hyperlink code!

 Here is a video demonstrating how easy it is to a create a hyperlink if you have the code set up in a Word doc.

If you like to add fun shapes...here are those codes!

Here are the codes for some animals!

&#x______; are needed to complete the code. 

Challenge: Leave us a comment with at least two HTML codes!

 Happy coding, everyone!

Hour(s) of Code!

Hour of Code is an annual event to promote Computer Science. According to their website: 

The Hour of Code takes place each year during Computer Science Education Week. The 2017 Computer Science Education Week will be December 4-10, but you can host an Hour of Code all year round. Computer Science Education Week is held annually in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906). 

We're starting Hour of Code and changing the name to Hours of Code!

Thank you, Hadi Partovi for creating this project!

To prepare for our coding lessons, we did a collaborative unplugged activity involving building. The challenge was to build a free-standing tower out of 20 pieces of spaghetti. At the top of the tower was a marshmallow. Only 1 meter of tape and 1 meter of string were allowed to create the tower. 

This building challenge was a great chance to practice the strategy of trial and error. If your design didn't work, try another tactic! 

In preparation, we watched a building video on BrainPop.

Then it was time to start building!

 Some bundled the pasta together for strength. 

Others spread out the sticks for a broad base. 

The pyramid base was an idea from the BrainPop video! 

After 18 minutes, the building time was up!

1st Place :: 47 cm

2nd Place :: 46 cm

3rd Place :: 42 cm

Fun fact, this tower is still standing today!

Everyone enjoyed the first build! 

One tower was so tall is rose above 60 centimeters! Unfortunately, gravity was not a friend. 

After learning about the importance of trial and error, the class signed into our Hour of Code class. 

We needed our secret image to sign in! What a cute array! 

Let the coding begin!

What are you enjoying about the Hour of Code?

What skills have you learned?

What can you do with coding? 

App Review: Hopscotch

Guest post by Ms. Neumeyer, our online student teacher from Canada.(Dean Shareski's class) Today Ms. Neumeyer continues her series of iPad app reviews. 

Check out her other reviews! 

Virtual Manipulatives 

Toontastic

The reason I picked the Hopscotch app to review is that I saw recently that you had been learning about coding using Scratch.  We talked about this tool during my online college class, and it was also designed for kids to learn about coding. I thought it would be perfect to try out!

Welcome to Hopscotch! 

The first step when opening this app is to pick a character (and they sure have some great ones to pick from).

      Then users are given a list of commands on blocks which they can drag into order. The user can choose from a variety of options such as how far their character moves, the color and size of trail it leaves, creating a line or shape, changing its size and costume, etc.

             Hopscotch is an open-ended program so users can create anything they want. Users can easily experiment with what different commands do and revise their script to make it do what they want. Users then hit the play button to run their script, and if they want they can share it with others over email.

Here is a quick animation

 I made with Hopscotch.

Check out the Sydney Opera House done by an experienced coder. 

 What have you created using code?

Share some tips for making an interesting animation!