"Free" course from O'Reilly...

Thu Sep 2 03:08:52 UTC 2010

I just thought I would do a quick follow-up on the following. The first
lecture was last evening, interesting experiment from my point of view. The
first lecture focused on a course overview:

- Week one, overview, installing Arduino support software and Processing
language. Getting the Arduino to talk to a Processing test program.
- Week two, setting up a 2D drawing program in Processing.
- Week three, changing the 2D program into a 3D program.
- Week four, getting some potentiometers tied to the Arduino to control the
drawing program.
- Week five wrap-up

Interesting odd experience with the instructor on a postcard size window
with a online text chat screen underneath and then attempting to follow
along on my computer doing the projects with the instructor. At points I
felt like I was scrambling a little bit to keep up (on balance a good thing
:-) ).

Before the lecture one person in the chat asked where everyone was from, one
person noted they were from Latvia, another Brazil, a few from other bits of
Europe (I saw Germany and the UK mentioned). There were a few audio glitches
during the lecture which triggered a torrent of "audio dead" text comments.
After each of the glitches the instructor did go back and go over the
material that we couldn't hear again. Through the chat I did see some
complaints from the people in Europe about the time of the lecture (after
midnight in Europe), and a person in Brazil complained that the instructor
Joseph Gray spoke too quickly... The number of people logged in fluctuated
during the lecture, but was for most of the lecture just over 500 people.

Good stuff in my books. I did get tripped up on where the Processing
language expects to find the Arduino support library file, not a big issue,
and something that was today's "homework" :-) .

I did get a text message during the talk from Jeffrey Pikul, one of the
GTALug folks who I gather is also taking this course, I'm not sure who else
in the GTA is in on this...

Who would like to join in next week?

Colin.

On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 12:52 AM, Colin McGregor <colin.mc151-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org>wrote:

> This evening at the Greater Toronto Area Linux user group meeting I was
> mentioning a course that O'Reilly is running for "free". The course is free,
> but the equipment isn't, the course outline is below. The equipment focuses
> around an Arduino Duemilanove, which is available from a few sources in the
> GTA, among them Creatron (http://creatroninc.com/), near College and
> Spadina, for $29.99.
>
> For myself, I have signed up for the course. I am curious as to how well
> the whole distance learning thing will work, with an instructor on the US
> west coast and me in Toronto. I will need a bit more than just the Arduino
> Duemilanove, but not much more... At this point I see this as an an
> interesting experiment in learning...
>
> If anyone else on the UU and/or GTALug lists signs up please let me know as
> I would like to have some other local people to compare notes with....
>
> Colin McGregor
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Marsee Henon <usergroups-jwAc06hyVjVBDgjK7y7TUQ at public.gmane.org>
> Date: Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 2:16 PM
> Subject: UG News: Processing and Arduino in Tandem--New Course from
> O'Reilly
> To: colin.mc151-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org
>
>
>    View in Browser<http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1z7eie6j3tilf9girlq5aifirn0d7b1rgt8jfk0rg>
> .
>
> *Forward this announcement to your user group or a friend*<http://post.oreilly.com/f2f/9z1zpn7rjteu6l4e92lhbjb66hq5fdvivb8jjlnkdhg>.
>
>     [image: Free Online Course]   [image: Processing with Arduino]<http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zgkrbhv88uti3qmfputs1dva19qn295hp996n208>
>
> Create your own drawing and animation software-and learn basic programming
> and electronics skills at the same time. This engaging 5-week online course
> introduces you to two simple tools: Processing, a programming language for
> visual thinkers, and Arduino, a hardware platform for working with
> electronics. You'll learn how to use these tools together to build something
> useful right away. You'll learn to:
>
>    - Use Processing to create basic software applications
>    - Make your own drawing and animation tools
>    - Create a GUI (Graphical User Interface) to control your software
>    - Use an Arduino to provide physical controls for your drawing and
>    animation tools
>
>  Learn more *Processing and Arduino in Tandem*<http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zjighmqv1ar8fnabpssoruvpp9ha2at3va0fj6hg>.
>
>   [image: Register Now]<http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1ztfhvo4oc6evfl6g6l569815gldg1nco8kn7cvvg>
> Price: Free
>    [image: calender icon] 5-Week Course:
> Tues, 8/31 – 9/28
>    [image: clock icon] 3:00pm PST
> Each 90 - 120 minutes
>
> Make the most of your course with our exclusive project kit.
>
>  <http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zpj4kd67occrnguc48sjvr5cgngvu3pc5dd7vjh0>projBox Kit
> Price: $75
>   <http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zg0b9fj6828ikrd5o73ptk9k87lehus6nem5miio>
>
> The projBox Kit contains everything you need to follow along with
> Processing and Arduino in Tandem. The kit, which requires no soldering, is
> ideal for beginners in electronics and physical computing. The projBox Kit
> contains:
>
>    - projBox
>    - Arduino Duemilanove
>    - Electronics Breadboard
>    - 4 10k potentiometers
>    - 4 SPST switches
>    - 4 LEDs
>    - USB cable
>    - Wires
>
>    Spreading the knowledge of innovators<http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1z7rgcg62s8njgfurl23rffie622lisua659qo90o>
>
> oreilly.com<http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zuq8g310ccsod10cquivu3dl6qmkobvlgdn5gako>
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