MIT – Mr. Walker's Classroom Blog

Scratch for Arduino Makes Programing the Arduino More Visual

Windows/Mac/Linux: Programming an Arduino isn’t especially difficult, but if you’re looking for a more visual method, Scratch for Arduino (S4A) uses MIT’s Scratch as a groundwork for teaching kids (or beginners) how to program an Arduino.

S4A works just like Scratch where you drag and place actions to create programs. The idea is to provide you with a more visual language to program in so you can understand how things work better. Even if you’re experienced with Arduino programming, it’s fun to play around with. Otherwise, it’s a good place to start learning about how the Arduino works.

S4A

Snap! Instead Of Scratch?

Snap! (formerly BYOB) is a visual, drag-and-drop programming language. It is an extended reimplementation of Scratch (a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab) that allows you to Build Your Own Blocks. It also features first class lists, first class procedures, and continuations. These added capabilities make it suitable for a serious introduction to computer science for high school or college students.

SNAP! runs in your browser. It is implemented using Javascript, which is designed to limit the ability of browser-based software to affect your computer, so it’s safe to run even other people’s projects, even if you don’t trust our competence or good intentions.

SNAP! is presented by the University of California at Berkeley. It was developed by Jens Mönig at MioSoft Corporation, with design input and documentation by Brian Harvey at Berkeley, and contributions by students at Berkeley and elsewhere.

A Slower Speed of Light Official Trailer

Published on Oct 26, 2012

A Slower Speed of Light is a first-person game in which players navigate a 3D space while picking up orbs that reduce the speed of light in increments. A custom-built, open-source relativistic graphics engine allows the speed of light in the game to approach the player’s own maximum walking speed. Visual effects of special relativity gradually become apparent to the player, increasing the challenge of gameplay. These effects, rendered in realtime to vertex accuracy, include the Doppler effect; the searchlight effect; time dilation; Lorentz transformation; and the runtime effect.

A production of the MIT Game Lab.

Play now for Mac and PC! http://gamelab.mit.edu/games/a-slower-speed-of-light/

Art-O-Meter: Evaluating Art (So You Don’t Have To)

Reblogged from MIT Media Web so all you have to do is think.

Thought for the Day: What if we graded our websites or videos this way? How would you do?

Art-O-Meter is a device that measures the quality of an art piece. It bases its evaluation on the amount of time that people spend in front of an artwork compared to the total time of exhibition. The measurements are graphically represented by comments and a 5-star rating system.

Without the interaction of a viewer, the Art-O-Meter will register time like a regular clock. However, when a user enters the area covered by its motion sensor, a second timer is triggered and it will count time as the viewer observes the artwork.