St. Perpetua 2024–25 Computer Science Grade 4

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Classroom and Self-Directed Learning Resources

Mr. Briccetti’s YouTube Channel with many programming lessons for you to explore on your own
MakeCode
Block-based Programming Environments
- MicroBlocks
- EduBlocks
- Blockly Games
- Snap!
  - Run Snap!
  - Snap! Reference Manual
  - Snap! Crash Course
  - “Why Do We Have to Learn This Baby Language?” from Brian Harvey, Teaching Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley
micro:bit Python editor
Visualizing your Python program with Python Tutor Visualizer
p5.js
Tinkercad
Beauty and Joy of Computing Curricula
- BJC Sparks for Middle School and Early High School
- BJC for High School (you are free to explore this if you run out of things to do in the middle school curriculum)
code.org
Zooniverse
Teachable Machine
Music
- code.org Music Lab
- EarSketch

First Day, 2024-08-20

Welcome to Computer Science

Join Your Class in Google Classroom

Class Web Page

Introduction to Snap!

2024-08-27

Computing in the News

The Top Programming Languages 2024

Introduction to Snap!

By now you should know to choose a costume for a sprite, and how to move it around the stage.

Animal Flies Away Project

We’ll have two sprites: a bird and a cat. The bird will fly away when the cat gets too close. You already know how to move the cat with the arrow keys. Now you’ll learn how to have the bird wait until the cat is touching it, and then fly away (using the glide block).

2024-09-03

Computing in the News

A South African vineyard is dropping predatory wasps from drones to keep its grapes free from bugs

Snap!

Creating a Snap! Account

You may want to save your projects, so let’s create accounts on the Snap! website. Use this address as the parent or guardian email when you create an account: daveb@davebsoft.com.

Animating Sprites by Changing Costumes

You can make a sprite appear to walk, dance, or move in other ways by changing its costume.

Snap! Examples

Get some ideas for your own projects by looking at the examples on the Snap! website.

2024-09-10

Computing in the News

How Self-Driving Cars Get Help From Humans Hundreds of Miles Away

Mr. Briccetti’s former student and teaching assistant Chris Gibson works at that company.

What’s happening in other classes?

Check out this Menacing Cutebot Video.

Snap!

Drawing Polygons with the Pen Tool

2024-09-17

Computing in the News

How artificial intelligence sharpens blurry thermal vision images

Snap!

Making a block that will draw a polygon with a given number of sides

Self-Directed Learning

2024-09-24

Computing in the News

Pushbutton Gear Shift for Bicycle

Code.org Music Lab

Self-Directed Learning

2024-10-01

Computing in the News

Smart TVs Spying on You: Up to Several Snapshots Per Second

Teachable Machine

Self-Directed Learning

2024-10-08

Computing in the News

The discovery of tools key to machine learning wins the 2024 physics Nobel

Perplexity.ai created an explanation:

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics was recently awarded to two scientists, John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton, for their important work in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). What did they do? These scientists used ideas from physics to create new ways for computers to learn and solve problems, kind of like how our brains work. They developed something called “artificial neural networks,” which are special computer systems that can recognize patterns and learn from data. Why is this important?

Their work has helped make computers much smarter and able to do amazing things like:

Understand and translate languages
Recognize faces and objects in pictures
Help doctors diagnose diseases
Drive cars without human drivers

These discoveries have changed many areas of science and our everyday lives.

Who are the winners?

John Hopfield: He’s a professor at Princeton University in the United States.
Geoffrey Hinton: He’s a professor at the University of Toronto in Canada. Both scientists will share the prize money of about $1 million. This Nobel Prize shows how important artificial intelligence and machine learning have become in our world. The work of Hopfield and Hinton has opened up new ways for computers to help us solve complex problems and make exciting discoveries in the future.

Blockly Games

Self-Directed Learning

2024-10-15

Computing in the News

More than a dozen states sue TikTok, alleging it harms kids and is designed to addict them

MakeCode for Circuit Playground Express

The Circuit Playground Express is a small, round board with many sensors and lights. You can program it with MakeCode.

Self-Directed Learning

2024-10-22

Computing in the News

Dresden: Robo-conductor takes the baton

p5.js

From the p5js website:

“p5.js is a friendly tool for learning to code and make art. It is a free and open-source JavaScript library built by an inclusive, nurturing community. p5.js welcomes artists, designers, beginners, educators, and anyone else!”