octojon @octojon@cybre.space
They/he. CS educator, curriculum writer, and recovering music teacher. Music, making, coding, TRPGs, modular synths. Roots for the Baltimore Crabs. 2 degrees in music education from James Madison University. Writer with Gourmelee Games.
Joined Apr 2021
I'm using a new account at @octojon now!
@neauoire
Thanks! I've read the instance rules and I agree to them (wholeheartedly). Also, thanks for the heads up re: broken links, I'll get on it. My GitHub is https://github.com/jonstapleton in case you're curious but there's not much there outside of resources for my students right now
@neauoire
Hi! Pretty good, my current instance is going read-only so I'm looking for another home. I follow lots of people from merveilles.town and @noracodes suggested that I check it out. I'd love to join if you all have room for me! I'm a music and coding teacher/curriculum writer into modular and such so my interests definitely align with the other folks on the instance, I think.
Writing for curriculum/education is hard, sometimes you need to sit and flip the Thought Pancake until it makes sense and sometimes you need to write until you've pulled the whole creature and all of its tentacles out onto your desk.
Public school teachers should be concerned with developing and fostering anti-capitalist computing education, but 90% of university CS educators are ideologically opposed to this work.
Part of the problem with CS education being so higher-ed oriented is that the politics of capitalism end up colonizing public schools, where the issues of teaching and learning computing are very different than those in university programs.
@exquisitecorp
Oh I have the exact same experience! Almost all of my students have zero coding experience.
However, the experiences of novice programmers aren't well-understood from an educational research perspective outside of some very narrow kinds of inquiry into specific tools (Scratch with elem. learner, for example).
Even in higher ed 101 classes, studies have a selection bias toward students who want to study CS and have better-than-normal self-efficacy and better-than-normal support for skill development outside of the classroom.
I think I'm still coming to terms with the fact that the vast majority of CS education research has to do with teaching coding to people who *already know how to code*
octojon
relayed
Wrote a little guide for how I got simple networking to happen on Pico-Pond, my #pico8 demake of Frog Chorus.
Guide + full commented source code for the project here: https://github.com/andymasteroffish/pico_pond_front
@megabyteGhost
I'm interested in this! I've taught beginner coding for several years so I have working knowledge of the basics in many of these domains, I'm happy to point you to my favorites (but I certainly don't have comprehensive knowledge).
Also, my favorite term for the "domains" you've referenced is "territories"--a la Deleuze & Guattari/rhizomatic learning
octojon
relayed
we're supporting a study on the role modders and rom hackers play in games preservation and archiving - if that description fits you and you'd be willing to participate in an interview, fill out the form here: https://forms.gle/ESVw2JzH6SXK95dcA
Whenever someone poses the question "what does a hobbyist-friendly programming language look like" I'm always torn between "it doesn't, focus on teaching better" and "we already have Lua, what more is there to ask for"
octojon
relayed
They're here! Finally these component fidget rings are for sale on my shop. Limited quantity! Enjoy and thanks for your support 💚💌💍http://leecyb.org/?page_id=383
Turns out you need hard drive space to boot your computer? Who knew
@rose_alibi
Exciting! I had a friend when I was working in landscaping who grew psychoactive mushrooms for their migraines, it seems like a very fun and interesting hobby. I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes!
@cincodenada
These are great ideas! Thanks for the recommendations
octojon
relayed
i spent the bulk of the last year getting a worker-owned technology cooperative off the ground! all my paid professional work is now done through the EMMA Technology Cooperative
EMMA is me, @andymakes Ivan Safrin and Gwen Pasquarello. it's an experiment in non-hierarchical consensus-based labor organization, and it has been an absolute thrill to work in a way that aligns with my principles for the first time!
@cta
Yes, exactly right. I have regular meaningful interactions with about 15 people on the other site and it would be lovely to move that over here. This place is a _lot_ better for my mental health
octojon
relayed
Laser cut panels for a new all-in-one norns, grid, knob controller device I've been scheming up for the last few days arrived. I love making new contexts for old devices of mine, feels like new equipment even when it's not #theWorkshop
They/he. CS educator, curriculum writer, and recovering music teacher. Music, making, coding, TRPGs, modular synths. Roots for the Baltimore Crabs. 2 degrees in music education from James Madison University. Writer with Gourmelee Games.
Joined Apr 2021
