What happens when you let a computer compose music?

What happens when you let a computer compose music?

Well the results are pretty impressive with Jukedeck.  By combining computer science and music composition theory, you can create A.I. generated tracks at the push of a button.

Jukedeck allows you to create a new composition in a few seconds by selecting the genre and mood from a list.  Every track you make is unique so there is no danger of your music appearing elsewhere. It is ideal for the growing army of video bloggers who need some background music for their creations.

Tracks can be used royalty free for individuals and small businesses (fewer than 10 employees). Other licensing options exist, including the option to buy the copyright for your tune.

The free account limits you to five downloads per month, but you can get more for each friend you invite (so click that image now!).

+1 geek experience point for Ed Rex, Jukedeck's founder.

What happens when you let a computer compose art?  
Find out in Modern Art is rubbish.

Five coding sites for kids

Five sites to get kids coding. While I recommend that kids start coding with Scratch, each of these sites are great introductions to programming for younger kids.  #codingforkids

1. Blockly Games

Blocky features a series of puzzles that all require some coding skill to be solved.  Skills covered include repetition, conditions, iteration and parameter passing.  The puzzles include guiding a bird to pick up a worm so she can feed her nest; guiding an astronaut through a space maze; and shooting targets in a pond.

This puzzle soon gets more tricky with targets requiring more than one shot to kill. Time to learn a repeat loop.

Blockly is a Google project aimed at introducing programming concepts and are quite self-pacing.  By the end of the course, kids are writing real lines of JavaScript code.


2. Code Studio

Code Studio from Code.org contains many hours of Computing Science fun for kids and adults aged four and above.  The concept is similar to Blockly Games above, and covers many similar concepts.  Students can work trough a series of games at their own pace with each concept introduced by a relevant video and reinforced with multiple choice questions at the end.  This is an ideal site for getting girls coding before they hit puberty (and social pressures start to rule their lives).

Concepts are reinforced with a multiple choice quiz after each challenge.

Various different themed challenges from helping an 'Angry bird' through a maze to collecting pollen and nectar as a busy bee.

There is also a Spelling Bee section - get it! Use your coding skills to spell the correct word.

Some key programming concepts such as repetition are brought to life.

A really nice looking interface and those creatures look like they are from 'Angry Birds'.

It's not just solving mazes, you can also draw pictures and make stories.  Children exposed to Code Studio will be ready for Scratch within a couple of hours.

3. Code Combat

Code Combat is a great site for getting kids coding, while aimed at older kids than Blockly and Code Studio above, it is a useful experience for kids before they are exposed to traditional written languages.  I did a couple of blog posts about Code Combat a few months ago.

Learn some programming basics whilst playing an adventure game.

One of my students managed to complete all the levels in Code Combat and has now taken GCSE Computing and is doing well learning some Python and JavaScript.


4. PoopScoop

Shameless plug alert!  PoopScoop is one of my own creations.  It is a puzzle game for Windows in which you use programming statements to solve each maze.  The aim of each level is to find and 'scoop' each 'poop' that some thoughless animal has left lying around. There are pits to jump over, walls to push over, blocks to push, magnets to avoid and pools of water to drain.  If the thought of scooping poop gets your students a little giddy then there is a slightly tamer - LitterPik - version instead.

There is also a level designer so kids can create their own puzzles.

Search this blog for PoopScoop

Introducing PoopScoop for Windows.

5. Shapes

Shapes is a programming language designed to get kids interested in programming through drawing colourful images. The language is simply defined using geometric shapes: circle, square, triangle, ellipse, line etc and a coordinate system that uses both relative and absolute coordinates.  If you remember the various incarnations of the language LOGO, then you will recognise Shapes - only Shapes is much easier to start drawing interesting images.  The installation package comes with a user guide for teachers and I have plenty of example code should you need it.

An image programming using the SHAPES language.

Shapes would be useful both to teach programming concepts as well as in mathematics to teach about coordinate systems.  I would be very interested to hear from Mathematicians who have used it in their lessons.

You can download Shapes from this website.  Shapes was written by T Street the author of this blog.

If you made it this far, then you might like to search this blog for other interesting posts:

Circles - a tool for teaching mathematics
The Little Man Computer - for teaching GCSE and A level Computer Science "Low Level Programming"
Goliath - a text adventure game ripe for hacking

#edtech
#codinginschools

Cool, #Logic Gates using #dominoes

A series of videos explaining #logic gates using dominoes (some even work).

A cool introduction to logic using dominoes.  +1 geek experience point for #numberphile.



A 4 bit full adder using dominoes that works - sort of - the 'world's slowest computer'?



AND, OR and XOR logic using dominoes. +1 geek experience point for Neil Fraser



Domino logic gate with Nick Poole using #arduido demonstrating the full adder (add +1 geek experience point).

The Internet of Fish

My new favourite site - aquard.io

Aquard.io is an online fishtank.  There are three webcameras allowing you to remotely view over fifty happy tropical fish through your web-browser.  An arduino computer controls the backend allowing viewers to request feedings and squirt bubbles into the water.

If you want to teach the concept of The Internet of Things to children, then this is the site to come to.  I showed this to three year 9 girls who are really into computers and they had to admit that it was  'quite cool,' however they wished that there was a chat feature.  Presumably so you can chat to other viewers (not the fish).  They also said that it 'wasn't fair' because somebody has 'bought a fishtank and now we look after it for free' (!).

You can join the fun on Twitter @aquardio.

A video explaining more.

A whole load of linear search algorithm videos

The linear search: a simple algorithm for searching for something.  It is what you do when you are searching for a matching sock in your sock drawer.  Nevertheless, students find it difficult to code, so presented here is a load of videos to help.

In its simplest form, the linear search is as follows.

i = 0         // the first item in your list
found = false // you haven't found it yet
answer = null // you haven't found it
while i < numberOfItems and not(found)
    if currentItem(i) == theThingYouAreLookingFor then
        found = true  // you found it
        answer = i    // the position of the thing
    else
        i ++          // increment i
    endif
endwhile
return ( answer )

In English:

Look through all the items in your list in turn, from the start, until you find the one you are looking for.  There are two ways a linear search can end: either you find the thing (so you stop searching), or you check everything and don't find it.

#linearSearch #algorithms

dd

Children react to computer motherboard

The quote is from 11-year-old Louis upon seeing the old motherboard of a computer system.

"It's like LEGO but more complicated."

#computerScience #LEGO

Timeline of computing history

We have updated our timeline of computing history to include a dozen new (historic) events; now including a new category for 'operating systems' - for example, did you know that Linux was released before Windows 3.1 ?

The 3D view of the computing timeline.

History of computing timeline

Introducing the History of Computing Timeline - follow this link to load it in your browser.

Scroll through the major events in computing science history on our Tiki-Toki timeline.

The timeline shows major events in computing and we intend to update it with more soon.