Children learning Computing

Just read an interesting article on BBC News pointing out that in the UK less and less children are learning how to programme computers and more and more children though are learning to be end users, I slightly disagree from what i have seen in all honesty. When I twas a child i hadn’t even heard of such things like computer code etc. I had no idea at all with the exception of what a word processor was maybe.

Today children seem a LOT more educated in subjects related to computing, even if these subjects are not in detail, the concept of what a computer does and there importance is a message well received.

News article here:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7324556.stm

G.O.D

Thought id type this address randomly for curiosity…

http://www.god.co.uk/

 And the owner wants adverts… making money out of god, tut tut. 

working and learning

When working nine til six five days a week I find it really hard to sit myself down and read or code in my spare time, and I have loads of ideas and little jobs to code as well as loads of subjects I want to read up on, i miss being a student!

Keyword Map

I came across an interesting website just now called Keyword Map.

You type in a key word and the ‘engine’ spits out many related words to the word you specified that are on the web. The site has a back-end database holding loads and loads of website addresses etc… like a search engine, except instead of giving just results of your search as web-pages themselves, it gives you some words that can help you refine your search with further, or give more accurate results.

Clever idea, except it is only based on websites kwmap ‘knows’ about which is not entirely accurate… but a Nobel idea nonetheless.

My Photo Wall

Relatively recently I decided to spice up my room with lots of photos’ and some art (thanks to my sis for this).

I am quite proud of my photo wall, every time i look at different photo’s different memories are resurrected from the depths of my mind (: Includes family,freinds from my college years, friends from uni,my clubbing buddies and other randoms too!

After looking at Chris’s post about his freezer (here) and from a recomendation from my housemate, I decided to share a random image of my wall lol!

human thinking via paper or computer?

Throughout the last hour at work i have been designing an extension to an existing web application, what pages link to each other, what values are passed on the query string, where post-backs must occur and database connections are opened close – that sort of thing. I have found several times now that it is far easier to think and ‘brainstorm’ on paper and with peers away from the computer than it is using MS Visio or word to write your thoughts, ideas, diagrams etc…

I don’t think it is the software at fault, is it more a psychological thing?

Why is it far easier to think and express your thoughts on paper than it is when on a computer? I know others who feel the same too including old tutors at college as well as some Maths lecturers I have spoken too…

Do we associate computers with remedial tasks and this is blocking the left side of our brain? Does pointing & clicking a mouse interfere with thinking?

I just thought i would place a seed for thoughts to spring from with this post…..

‘Screen Shot’

Why does everyone call this something different? Screen Capture, Screen Dump, Screen Flash, Screen Save, Print Screen, Frame Capture….

Is there a definitive REAL definition for this function of a personal computer?

Why does everyone call it something different? It’s like an accent of IT literate speech. Well my accent is ‘screen shot’ hence the title… whats yours?