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blubberquark · 6 years ago

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AsyncIO for the working PyGame programmer (part I)

This post is meant for people who at least know some Python 2 and PyGame, but maybe haven't yet made the switch to Python 3, or haven't looked at asyncio. To run the example code, you need an installation of Python 3.6. You can install the necessary modules1 with this command:

python3 -m pip install pygame requests aiohttp

What asyncio is not

As I explained in the introductory post, asyncio is not a replacement for threads, and it definitely isn't a magical way around the Global Interpreter Lock (GIL) in Python. The threading and multiprocessing modules still have their place in Python 3.6.

It's not called "async-compute" for a reason. Like threading, asyncio can't help you utilise multiple cores to do multiple computation-heavy things at the same time. Like "node.js" the asyncio module lets you run multiple i/o-bound tasks, or "green threads" if you like that terminology, inside a single OS thread.

That is especially useful if you want to write a server that handles tens of thousands of client connections at once, like an IRC server. Most of the time, most IRC users are just idling, so running a dedicated thread for each client would be really wasteful.

It would use up a lot of RAM, put strain on the scheduler of your OS, and take time to context-switch. asyncio is a way to run lots of tasks that are not doing much anyway, except waiting for input. So don't throw out threading and multiprocessing just yet!

Why use asyncio with PyGame?

There are two major reasons: The first is that you might want to use a library that is based on asyncio in your game. If you just call that library with loop.run_until_complete() from your game loop, you lose all the benefits of asynchronous, event-based code. You have to understand coroutines and event loops to use asyncio effectively.

The other reason is responsive game feel. Event-based i/o and coroutines let you write code that looks a lot like blocking code, but actually executes only when input is available. You can write long-running functions that read files, wait for network input, or upload savegames to a server over a slow connection without blocking, which would be bad for your frame rate, and without cluttering your game loop with i/o logic.

Sure, you could put the logic for piecemeal uploading for savegame files to cloud services into your game loop, and stream a couple of kilobytes between every frame, but this kind of thing is what asyncio was made for.

A motivating example

This is a simple PyGame-based example game. It won't win any game jams, but I hope the code is readable. When you press the up-arrow on your keyboard, the black box goes up. If you press it while the box is in the air, it will increase the speed, making it go up faster or fall slower. If the box collides with the top of the window, it will bounce off.

If you keep the box in the air for ten seconds, it prints "ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED" to stdout.

import pygame pygame.init() blob_yposition=30 blob_yspeed=0 achievement=False gravity=1 screen_size=640,480 screen=pygame.display.set_mode(screen_size) clock=pygame.time.Clock() running=True flying_frames=0 best=0 color=(50,50,50) font=pygame.font.SysFont("Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Ubuntu Sans,Bitstream Vera Sans,DejaVu Sans,Latin Modern Sans,Liberation Sans,Nimbus Sans L,Noto Sans,Calibri,Futura,Beteckna,Arial", 16) while running: clock.tick(30) events=pygame.event.get() for e in events: if e.type==pygame.QUIT: running=False if e.type==pygame.KEYDOWN and e.key==pygame.K_UP: blob_yspeed+=10 # ... # move sprites around, collision detection, etc blob_yposition+=blob_yspeed blob_yspeed-=gravity if blob_yposition<=30: blob_yspeed=0 blob_yposition=30 flying_frames=0 else: flying_frames+=1 if flying_frames>best: best=flying_frames if not achievement and best>300: # 10 seconds print("ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED") achievement=True color=(100,0,0) if blob_yposition>480: blob_yposition=480 blob_yspeed=-1*abs(blob_yspeed) # ... # draw screen.fill((255,255,255)) pygame.draw.rect(screen,color, pygame.Rect(screen_size[0]/2, screen_size[1]-blob_yposition, 18,25)) fps=clock.get_fps() message=f"current:{flying_frames//30}, best:{best//30}, fps:{fps}" surf=font.render(message, True, (0,0,0)) screen.blit(surf,(0,0)) pygame.display.update() print("Thank you for playing!")

What if instead of printing to stdout, we want to send this achievement to Steam? What if that takes some time? We can simulate this delay by adding in pygame.time.wait(500) before we print the message. Try doing that, play until you get the achievement, and feel the frames drop!

Brief introduction to asyncio

Python 3.5 has introduced syntax for coroutines based on the keywords async and await. To define a coroutine function, you have to write async def instead of def, and to call a coroutine, you have to await it.

import asyncio async def short_coroutine(): print("ALPHA") await asyncio.sleep(0.1) print("BRAVO") await asyncio.sleep(0.1) print("CHARLIE") return None

If you call a coroutine function, like short_coroutine(), you will get a coroutine object back. You can try this out in the interactive Python shell. Calling short_coroutine() will not return the return value None or cause any side effects like printing.

This is similar to generators which we already know from Python 2. Calling a generator function like enumerate will return a generator object. Internally, coroutines in Python 3 are based on generators, but you can't iterate over them. It's just a nice analogy to understand why short_coroutine() doesn't print anything right away.

That is very important to understand, because if you want to call another coroutine from your coroutine, you must await it. If you just call asyncio.sleep(0.1) in your coroutine without awaiting it, you get a coroutine object and then you don't do anything with it. The other way around, calling a non-coroutine function from a coroutine, it works as you would expect it.

If you are not already inside a coroutine, you can't use await. You have to execute coroutines as tasks in an event loop.

loop = asyncio.get_event_loop() loop.run_until_complete(short_coroutine())

The event loop is a scheduler-like object that keeps track of tasks based on coroutines, and runs them whenever there is work available. Whenever any of your coroutines awaits something, the control flow goes back to the event loop, and the event loop can decide which coroutine to run next. If one coroutine is currently sleeping or waiting for input that has not arrived yet, the event loop will either wait, or run another coroutine until the next await.

Here are some more coroutines that call each other, executed all at once with asyncio.gather().

async def long_running_coroutine(): await short_coroutine() print("ONE") await asyncio.sleep(10) print("TWO") await asyncio.sleep(10) print("THREE") await asyncio.sleep(10) print("FOUR") async def third_coroutine(): print("GROUCHO") await asyncio.sleep(0.1) print("HARPO") await asyncio.sleep(0.1) print("ZEPPO") await asyncio.sleep(0.1) print("KARL") await asyncio.sleep(0.1) async def fourth_coroutine(): print("ONE FISH") await asyncio.sleep(0.1) print("TWO FISH") await asyncio.sleep(0.1) print("RED FISH") await asyncio.sleep(0.1) print("BLUE FISH") await asyncio.sleep(0.1) loop.run_until_complete(asyncio.gather( long_running_coroutine(), third_coroutine(), fourth_coroutine()))

This time the event loop executes three tasks in parallel, but each of them still runs in sequential order. Our long_running_coroutine() will await short_coroutine(), so "alpha", "bravo" and "charlie" are always printed before "one". We can't make any guarantees between the coroutines though. Maybe third_coroutine() finishes after fourth_coroutine() for some reason. It never happened on my machine, but there are no guarantees that the scheduling of the event loop is deterministic.

This is still running in a single thread with cooperative multi-tasking, so if any coroutine hangs, the whole event loop will hang. You can try this out by inserting while True:pass somewhere in a coroutine. Don't try this in production!

Game Loop vs. Event Loop

Running tasks/coroutines in an event loop with run_until_complete() can be appropriate for networked servers, but in our games, we don't want to leave the frame rate up to some opaque scheduling logic2. We want to stay in control of the game loop. Putting our game in a coroutine and running the input-update-render loop from the event loop is right out.

Calling run_until_complete() from inside our game loop will block until the task is done, so it is as bad as blocking i/o inside the game loop, with the added negative that there are useless await statements peppered throughout our code.

Instead, we can use loop.create_task() to create individual tasks from coroutine objects, and use this small function run_once() which looks like a hack but is the officially endorsed way to do this kind of thing according to the asyncio developers:

task = loop.create_task(long_running_coroutine()) task2 = loop.create_task(fourth_coroutine()) def run_once(loop): loop.call_soon(loop.stop) loop.run_forever() while True: run_once(loop) if input("Press RETURN >")=="exit": break loop.close()

With loop.call_soon() we schedule the loop to run loop.stop() right after the next piece of a task has been executed. So loop.run_forever() will poll for input events, futures or sleep times that are over, and either run a task or not if there are none available, and then call the function scheduled in loop.call_soon(). It looks wonky, but you can rely on this behaviour, because it is the intended way to let a coroutine task stop its own event loop.

Based on this, we can write a game loop that wakes up the event loop once per frame, and runs a task if there is work available.

We are going to put it all together in part II. Stay tuned!

Footnotes

1 Some of them will not be needed in this post, but in parts 2 and 3

2 If you want to write a networked server, take a look at the official documentation at I am skipping over a lot of stuff that is relevant to servers because I am focusing on game clients here.

#programming #python #game development #pygame #indiedev #learn programming #modern PyGame in 2018

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torentialtribute · 5 years ago

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Neil Doncaster still standing despite the Rangers crisis, referee strikes and TV deals collapsing

The tenth anniversary of Neil Doncaster's arrival at the SPFL passes without fuss or fanfare. There will be no garlands or bunts. No champagne or caviar. No speeches or sandwiches.

I could read some tennis or read a book. There can't be time to visit the Norfolk home to see the family.

His youngest children, Alexander and Honor, were born in Scotland and lived here until their status as a human pinata caused an alarming incident in the [coreof Rangers meltdown of 2012.

<img id = "i-650923d7fbc7a587" src = "https://ift.tt/2S0NroF -0-image-a-1_1562399373657.jpg "height =" 476 "width =" 634 "alt =" Neil Doncaster became head of the Scottish Professional Football League 10 years ago

& # 39; I ran & # 39;

I ran I told Sportsmail that I have a lot of money.

& # 39; That was the moment we made the decision that the rest of the family was alive for the best … & # 39;

We meet to discuss his decade in Scottish football on a sunny day summer morning, the blinds of his office tight drawn to block the world. The only thing that Doncaster has learned from referee attacks, club bankruptcies, strict liability debates, rows about drawing schedules and structural changes, is that life in Scotland is usually better this way.

office on July 6, 2009 and now lives with it.

& I was told that I had to lead a boring life outside of work. Don't go, & # 39; adds Doncaster.

& # 39; It is difficult because you are recognized. But I work long hours here and concentrate on what needs to be done for the competition.

& # 39; Is there sacrifice? Yes, but I think there is an element of sacrifice in a leadership role. & # 39; The greatest sacrifice was a good time with the family. In the midst of concern for their safety, wife Petrina and the three children returned to England six years ago while the headwinner tried to set a course through the anger and division that followed the liquidation of one of the largest football institutes of the country.

& # 39; It is important to have a very understanding woman in the middle of everything and mine is excellent.

<img id = "i-b3ff245e8ab88569" src = "https://ift.tt/2LbD1Cn -0-image-a-12_1562399874674.jpg "height =" 423 "width =" 634 "alt =" Doncaster (C) with SFA Vice President Rod Petrie (R) during the clash of Scotland with Belgium) with SFA Vice- chairman Rod Petrie (R) during the clash of Scotland with Belgium "

Doncaster (C) with SFA deputy chairman Rod Petrie (R) during Scotland clash with Belgium

& # 39 She understands the extraordinary pressures of a job like this and the demands on our time.

& # 39; Petrina conceived me in 2009 and Alex was born in 2011 and Honor was born here in 2013. But for everything the confrontation with the supermarket would have been the last straw.

On the one hand, Doncaster was suspected of trying to grind Rangers in the dust.

Asked if he actually used that word, he replied: & # 39; I did say it & # 39; , but it was related to the reality of clubs that had to deal with relegation of what the SPL was.

& # 39; They have faced financial solidity from Armageddon. That was the context in which I used it.

& # 39; It was used in connection with other matters by others ….

& # 39; I stand before everything and have to say: "Find me the quote …"

& # 39; It is a fact that it just isn't there …. & # 39; To survive this stuff, Doncaster must usually develop the type of thick skin found in an ice age mammoth.

& # 39; But I never got close to it & # 39;

& # 39; I hate the expression & # 39; I don't run away & # 39 ;. saying "Enough is enough".

& # 39; You are there to do a job and if you start to worry about the noise outside, it is very difficult to stay on

& # 39; the purpose and what you have to do there. Just do it. & # 39; He guides social media in a sensible way and during his weekend on the M6, he encourages his three children to do the same.

& # 39; I don't see that there is any benefit to it & # 39 ;, he adds.

& # 39; The two younger ones are too young and the oldest is focused on her own life. I don't think it would happen to her to google my name. If she does, she finds it very funny.

& # 39; You must feel comfortable with the profile in a public task. I always knew when I got such a job, that's how I would be. & # 39; He admits that he did not realize how feverish Scottish football could be. He grew up in Croydon and took his grandfather to Selhurst Park in the 1970s and 1980s to view the Crystal Palace teams of the Jimmy Cannon and Vince Hilaire time

<img id = "i-75d03515f1f0a565" src = "https://ift.tt/2S0NrVH" height = " 413 "width =" 634 "alt =" <img id = "i-75d03515f1f0a565" src = "https://ift.tt/2L3syst a-13_1562399883698.jpg "height =" 413 "width =" 634 "alt =" Celtic vanguard Karamoko Dembele collects his medal winner prize from Doncaster in May Medal from Doncaster in May

The president of the Doncaster in May

of Norwich, I thought I had seen the passion first hand. Delia Smith appeared famously on the pitch at the break of a 2-2 draw with Manchester City to grab the microphone and shout: & # 39; Let's & # 39; avin ya! & # 39; at the home base.

& # 39; It was a huge culture shock & # 39 ;, he says. & # 39; I had done my homework and learned a lot about Scottish football and I thought I was prepared for what Scottish football was.

& # 39; The truth is that I was not. It was a huge shift.

& # 39; I had very clear warnings from those who had worked in Scottish football.

& # 39; There were people who were still in Scottish football and said to me: & # 39; Stay

& # 39; My first board meeting, after I came here, followed the insolvency of Setanta.

& # 39; On the first day I went to Hamilton to meet Ronnie MacDonald and the press happened to be there.

I was surrounded by journalists and questioned. This was day one in the job – confronted with a hearing about the insolvency of Setanta and what happened next. It was a baptism of fire. & # 39; SPFL colleague Iain Blair says that I warned him about all this in one day. Doncaster admits with a laugh that he had little or no idea where he put himself.

& # 39; One of the obvious drawbacks is that it is difficult to have something approaching normal life, working in the environment. That is part of the area.

& # 39; I never provided for here ten years later.

& # 39; I don't think anyone could have any of the things that happened in Scottish football in 2009.

& # 39; To name just a few, there was a strike by competition officials, the insolvency of a number of larger clubs, the insolvency of the most important broadcasting partner Setanta in 2009 and again, the insolvency of our most important overseas temporary employment partner MP & Silva in 2013.

& # 39; Those are seismic events in themselves. And we've had four or five. & # 39; Throughout everything, Doncaster has marked itself as the man to be beside, the day the bomb falls.

To say the least, supporters cannot understand why. The guilt culture of Scottish football dictates that someone has to pay for cocks and crises – and while Stewart Regan of the SFA paid the price for a bad relationship with the biggest clubs, the SPFL CEO continued to find revenue streams for the clubs

& # 39; We are here to do. & # 39;

It is crucial that he has earned his £ 200,000 a year by sticking his head above the parapet if they go wrong. the things that the clubs cannot do individually. There is recognition – I hope – that the competition is doing what there is to do. & # 39;

At the announcement of sponsorship for the Caramel Wafer Challenge Cup of Tunnock, Doncaster claimed that he & # 39; proud & # 39; was on the efforts of Scottish clubs to tackle sectarianism despite a

He has little more to say than just saying that the same passion that drives the unstable behavior could also explain why the SPFL income have risen from £ 21.5 million to £ 31.5 million since the 2013 league merger. Participations have risen from 3.8 million six years ago to 4.5 million last season.

& # 39; Fact is that we remain the best-supported competition per capita in Europe with two percent the population going to a competition every weekend, & he says.

& # 39; That is the triple percentage of people who go to a competition in England.

& # 39; On the one hand, it is very difficult to thrive under the intense shine of the microscope media and the incredible passion that prevails here in the game.

& # 39; On the other hand, passion translates into a level of interest that is phenomenal. & # 39; All in all it has been quite the decade.

& # 39; Unfortunately when I joined Norwich as CEO, we had to beat Palace – and it has my love for my team.

& # 39; I came here in 2009 and went to Blackpool to see them play Palace.

& # 39; I expected when the teams came out that the hairs on the back would come from my neck – and it didn't happen.

& It was gone. Unfortunately, that is one of the prices you pay for the role I have played for 20 years. No doubt about it. & # 39;

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#Neil Doncaster still standing despite the Rangers crisis #referee strikes and TV deals collapsing "

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rebeccahpedersen · 7 years ago

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Do The Toronto Newspaper Headlines Tell The Whole Story?

TorontoRealtyBlog

I promised myself I wouldn’t write this.

I told myself that I didn’t care anymore, and arguing against mainstream media negativity, in the face of evidence to the contrary, was pointless.

And then after a long day, I went home, sat down at midnight, and my fingers started typing…

I don’t like Donald Trump.

I don’t think there are a lot of folks that do.

I think there’s 31% of United States’ population that loves Trump, and most of them also love guns, God, and making either $11,000 per year, or $11,000,000 per year.

I despise everything that he is, and everything that he stands for.

He’s an embarrassment to mankind. Er, “peoplekind,” thank you Justin Trudeau, who I also don’t like, but that’s a topic for another day.

So when I thought about arguing against what the media was putting out, and risking somebody suggest, jokingly or otherwise, that I was referring to “fake news,” that was enough to make me question the post itself.

I hate what Trump has done to supress free speech.

I hate his attempts to undermine those who seek to call him out on his constant stream of organized and intentional lies.

And I hate the words “fake news.”

But from time to time, in the context of real estate, I have been known to point out that there are different ways to “interperet” news, specifically when it comes to statitics.

For example:

The Toronto Real Estate Market Is Down 39%

Wow! Really?

That’s shocking!

So I paid $1,000,000 for my house, and now it’s worth $610,000? Geez. I might go hang myself.

Oh, wait.

That number was referring to something else.

Sales Are Down 39% Last Month Compared To Same Period Last Year

That’s something completely different altogether.

I’m growing so tired of the battle for interpretation, and while I understand, “You can make numbers say anything you want,” and I understand that bears and bulls have to co-exist, I have always failed to understand the media’s obsession with providing a false context of the market.

Negativity sells, I know.

And when things were red-hot last year, the stories weren’t about happy buyers – there were reporters camping out in condo open houses to show how “crazy” things were. I would get calls from the media asking, “Do you have any buyers that paid more than they wanted to?” rather than asking me if I had any buyers that paid less than they could afford.

The created-narrative has always been, and always will be, negative.

But at what cost to those that read and believe it?

On Tuesday afternoon, I was standing guard in one of my listings that had become a virtual revolving door, with six showings all booked for 5:00pm, when somebody emailed me the latest National Post article, titled:

“We just got the first real picture of the Toronto housing market — and it’s ugly”

I’m not going to lie – I hadn’t looked at the TREB numbers yet.

So by “Ugly,” I assumed the worst.

Then I read further, saw how the article was written, and what data was being used, and I thought, “Here we go again.”

“Sales plunge 22%, weakest January since 2009,” the sub-heading read. And off-hand, being the stats nerd that I am, I knew this was misleading.

What is the “weakest since 2009?”

The drop in sales?

Sales in October were down 26.7%. Sales in September were down 35.1%. Sales in August were down 34.8%. Sales in July were down 40.4%. Sales in June were down 37.3%.

What the hell is the “weakest since 2009?”

Do they mean the January-over-January drop in sales?

Come on, folks. Talk about trying to create an argument here!

That sub-heading is desperately searching for something that says, “worst in a decade.”

I could just as easily argue, “The 22% drop in sales, January-over-January, pales in comparison to the massive declines we saw in mid-2017, signalling………….a busy year ahead for the Toronto real estate market!”

But I’m not looking to create an argument here. I just want people to know what’s really going on.

Sales in January of the past two years were up 11.8% and 8.2% respectively, so perhaps this is just a “returning to normal,” rather than, as the National Post describes it – UGLY.

And that’s the word I have a problem with, since saying, “…and it’s ugly” merely seeks to fire up those chasing the real estate unicorn – you know, the 70% market correction that will finally get them into that lovely North Toronto detached for $500,000.

Underneath the sub-heading that read “Sales plunge 22%, weakest since 2009,” we’re given this:

The average price of a home sold in Toronto was $736,783, down 4.1 per cent from January 2017, though little changed from December.

4.1%.

That’s how much price is down, year-over year.

And the last time I checked, buyers are only buying one home. I’ve never understood this desire to highlight sales volume, especially instead of price.

This article tells us “sales plunged 22%” in a headline, and only then tells us about the modest 4.1% dip in price, adding “…though little has changed from December.”

Great! So prices aren’t down, and the sky isn’t falling since last month?

The next paragraph starts:

Toronto’s once-hot housing market…

This is where I get really frustrated, and where I told myself, “David, forget it. Who cares about the eternal bears, the people who right the headlines, and the people who believe them.”

But you know what? I can’t!

Folks – the market is hot right now, and it doesn’t help me out at all. I work with buyers, I work with sellers, I’d sell just as much real estate if the market were up, down or sideways. But being as passionate as I am about real estate, and being the realist that I am, I can’t read this crap without calling it out!

I have a listing right now for a property in Forest Hill that is somewhere between land value and a renovation waiting to happen. Since we listed on Monday, through Tuesday night, I’ve had 38 showings booked. It was a goddam free-for-all last night.

“Toronto’s once-hot housing market” we’re told.

I have a client looking for a 1-bedroom condo specifically on Fort York Boulevard – an area I admittedly don’t like. The last six sales have all been over asking, in multiple offers.

Even the damn rental market has multiple offers! I’ve had eight offers on a rental listing, and people are making offers 15% over the list price, with several months of rent up front. The Globe even wrote about it: “Multiple Offers Common Now In Toronto Rental Market”

January started slowly, and for a while, it looked as though the December trend would continue.

But what I’ve seen in the past two weeks has been a game-changer.

The market can move faster than any of us can see, and when it changes, it often happens in an instant.

I can’t quite put my finger on the exact day, but about two weeks ago, properties started to move.

And move, and move, and we’ve been seeing 5-6 offers on 1-bedroom condos, and every freehold under $1M is on fire.

Specifically in those two market segments, we’re almost back to spring of 2017 market conditions. Maybe not March, but definitley January and early-February, right before things went nuts.

Folks, I’m out there, every day, pounding the proverbial pavement. I’m in the so-called “trenches” of the real estate market, and I will always maintain that any busy agent with his finger on the pulse of the market can tell you what’s happening, far better than any newspaper article, and/or hand-selected statistics ever can.

All I see right now is hot, hot, hot.

And perhaps that’s just the 416. Perhaps that’s just the core.

But the narrative out there tells a different story.

Ask any active buyer for a sub-$1M freehold in the core, how their search is going. Show me that buyer, on the front page of a newspaper, gloating about buying a $795,000 property for $730,000, conditional on the sale of their Oshawa townhouse.

I’m just dying to see a story about a couple in Leaside who have had their 3-bed, 2-bath semi-detached home on the market for two months, unsold. But alas, the media can’t spin that story, because it doesn’t exist.

And do they want to write about the absolute gut in High Park that got thirteen offers last night? Nope. Not on your life.

Instead, we’ll look at a 4% drop as though the sky were falling.

And you know what? It’s about to get a lot worse.

The average home price in April of 2017 peaked around $920,000. Just think of what the headlines will read when the average home price from March and April are down double-digits. But those headlines, touting those sexy numbers, will completely ignore what’s actually going on in the market.

Maybe there’s a house in April that sells for $1,000,000, that would have sold for $1,100,000 last year. But this year, priced at $799,900, it still sells for $1M, with nine offers.

Where is that narrative?

Because that’s what I’m getting at here, folks.

The headlines aren’t telling us what it’s like to be a buyer, or seller, today. And buyers need to know what kind of market we’re working in.

Mabye you shouldn’t listen to me, and you shouldn’t listen to the media. Get out there, go to open houses, see what the market is like, and then draw your own conclusions.

Evidence and experience beats spin and rhetoric, ten times out of ten. Whether that rhetoric is bullish or bearish, and whether it’s the media’s, or my own…

The post Do The Toronto Newspaper Headlines Tell The Whole Story? appeared first on Toronto Real Estate Property Sales & Investments | Toronto Realty Blog by David Fleming.

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succeedly · 7 years ago

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Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right

Ross Cooper on episode 215 [A special encore episode] of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Ross Cooper, co-author of Hacking PBL, helps us get motivated to think about project-based learning differently.

Today’s episode is sponsored by JAM.com, the perfect last minute holiday gift for your kids or grandkids. The creative courses at Jam.com are project-based, creative and FUN. Use the code COOLCAT50 to get $50 off your course. And remember that you can sign up for a 14 day FREE trial of any course with your child aged 7-16. Drawing. Minecraft. Legos. And more!

Use the code COOLCAT50 for $50 off the cost of the course.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Get Motivated to Do Project-based Learning the Right Way

How do we hack project-based learning?

Vicki: Happy Monday Motivation! We’re talking to Ross Cooper@RossCoops31, coauthor of Hacking Project Based Learning, about how we can get motivated to rock Project Based Learning in our classrooms.

So, Ross, what’s new and different, and how can we hack Project Based Learning?

Ross: I think when we talk about Project Based Learning sometimes it’s really abstract. You know, maybe we’ve heard about it, there’s a teacher down the hallway who’s doing this great job with it, and you’re like, “How the heck did that happen?” So what we tried to do in our book – and that’s the book that I co-authored with Erin Murphy, who’s now a middle school assistant principal – what we really tried to do was break it down, and as much as possible give teachers a step-by-step process in regard to how it can be done. So, rather than looking at it abstractly, we hack in by looking at the different components and focusing in on those.

How do we motivate ourselves and our schools to do project-based learning that really works?

Vicki: Well, you know, sometimes people say, “Oh, that’s a project,” or “Oh, that’s a project, and what are they learning?” What’s your advice about how we can get motivated to do Project Based Learning that really works?

Ross: Sometimes when we think about Project Based Learning, we think about it in terms of black and white, Vicki, so it’s either we’re not doing it and we are doing it. When we look at those different components of Project Based Learning – it might be creating a culture of inquiry, explicitly teaching collaboration skills, giving effective feedback – these are all things that can take place with or without full-blown Project Based Learning, right? It’s just best practice and best learning that’s in the best interest of our students.

So, I think a lot of times when teachers see the different components of Project Based Learning when it’s broken down for them, it’s really motivating because it’s like, “Oh my gosh! I’m already doing part of that! That’s already taking place in my classroom. My students are benefiting from this. We’re already on the way there. We just need to fine-tune what we’re doing a little bit to make it full blown PBL.”

I think for a lot of teachers, that’s really motivating because you’re not really throwing out the baby with the bathwater, right? It’s not one of those things where we’re like, “Everything you’ve been doing for the past five years is wrong. You need to do this instead.” It’s like, “No, you’re doing a lot of things right! We just need to tweak it to promote more inquiry, to promote more student-centered learning, and to promote more relevant learning for our students.”

The difference between “projects’ and project-based learning

Vicki: So, you’re trying to get past just – I mean, I’ve seen projects where people are just like, “They’re copying from Wikipedia,” or “They’re just searching and pasting facts on a page.” You’re really trying to get past that, in asking us, “Are we promoting inquiry, are we promoting collaboration, are we really having effective feedback?” I mean, is that where you’re trying to go with those?”

Ross: Yeah, exactly. So a lot of times – when I first started doing Project Based Learning in professional development a handful of years ago – it was kind of this whole idea of throwing out the baby with the bathwater like I just said. It was, “OK, this is what Project Based Learning is. This is what we’re going to shoot for.”

What I have found is – and you hinted at this, Vicki — is the difference between projects and Project Based Learning. A lot of teachers already are doing projects, right? So if we just make it very clear that, “OK, you’re doing projects. Here’s where Project Based Learning is. Let’s build on top of what you’re already doing. So we go from projects to PBL. You’re being respectful of what the teacher is already doing. You’re not throwing out the baby with the bath water. You’re meeting them where they are. In short, the difference between projects and Project Based Learning (and you mentioned this) is inquiry, right? Rather than covering content, it’s just uncovering of content – which then leads to a deeper understanding. But also, with a project, it’s almost like – you know, the traditional project, it’s like the cherry on top, right?

Vicki: Yeah.

Ross: As a result of that, it’s like, “OK. Good job. Now you get to make a poster or website or a hangar mobile or whatever product it might be.” And maybe you have everybody in the classroom making the same product. Whereas if it’s Project Based Learning, you’re learning through the project. So that project in itself is the learning. It is the unit. By the time students and teachers are done with it, the learning has taken place.

An example of projects vs. project-based learning

Vicki: Could you give me an example of a project versus Project Based Learning?

Ross: The Project Based Learning experience that we talked about in the book is students building pinball machines. They learn about electricity and magnetism and force in motion while building pinball machines. So we went out to Home Depot. We got electrical circuits, we got wires, we got bulbs, we got wood. We used drills, hammers, all that great stuff. And we built pinball machines while learning about electricity and magnetism and force in motion.

We also discussed this on “Thinking Project-Based Learning with the Buck Institute”

So, they did lots of these little mini-experiments, some of which were taken from the textbook, but because they were done within the context of that pinball machine (that authentic context) it was that much more powerful for them.

That’s diving into STEM a little bit – you know Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics – so rather than getting kind of… You know, sometimes you see these STEM activities. I’m going off on a little bit of a tangent here, but sometimes when you see those STEM activities, it’s like STEM in a box, right? And it’s like these step-by-step directions, and it’s “errorless,” right? “If you followed the directions, you’re going to have this great finished product.” Then the emphasis is on the product and not the process. So I think sometimes we have to be careful of those STEM in a box activities or at least reinvent them to promote inquiry.

That’s an example of a Project Based Learning experience. Anything can be a project, you know, the traditional project that we’ve done. So a lot of times what I’m doing for professional development on PBL, we’ll use the brochure, the traditional travel brochure. “OK, now that we’ve learned about this state, now that we’ve researched it, we’re going to (kind of what you alluded to) we’re going to copy-paste all of this information into a brochure to show off our fancy products for like maybe Meet the Teacher Night or Open House or something like that. And really all that is – it’s information dump, right? You’re taking information from one place, you’re putting it into another, and it looks great, but really – did it promote much thought on the part of the student?

Productive struggle versus “sucking the life” out of a project

Vicki: OK, what are some questions that teachers can ask themselves to kind of help themselves move from projects to Project Based Learning? When we look at our work for the upcoming school year, what should we be asking ourselves so that we can get further and better? I think we’re all shifting to where we want to help kids think and not just regurgitate, right?

Ross: (agrees) I think sometimes, like even when we’re, like you hit the nail right on the head when we’re delivering this professional development. It’s like, “OK, we need to get our students to think.” Alright? And it’s like we’re not really being clear. We think we are, but we’re really not. Sometimes we have to be even more explicit. I call it, “being explicit about being explicit.�� We need to just dig down deeper and be as explicit as possible to give those key strategies.

About a month or so ago, I was in a teacher’s classroom. It was a science teacher. He was a great teacher. He was doing a science experiment with his students, and he said to the students, “As a result of doing this experiment, you’re going to find out X, Y, and Z.” Right? So immediately, the inquiry is sucked out of the project, it’s sucked out of the experiment, or the unit or whatever he’s doing because he’s telling students what they’re going to understand. So that’s the definition of coverage rather than uncovering the content.

So sometimes it’s just the matter that those entry points in getting ready for PBL or inquiry is just shifting the order in which we do things. So rather than telling students that as a result of this experiment or unit or activity, you’re going to find this out, it’s shifting the order and putting that purposeful play first, letting the students engage in that productive struggle first, and then coming together.

And that can be scary, too, right? Because that could be scary because that productive struggle – some students aren’t used to it, and maybe even more significantly, some teachers aren’t used to it. So if a teacher’s going to do that, it’s important to convey to your students that, “OK, this productive struggle is an important part of the learning process. It doesn’t mean that you’re messing up.” But putting that productive struggle first, and taking that direct instruction and moving it to the back.”

Essential questions versus essential answers

Vicki: They tell us to share our central questions, but it sounds like maybe, in that case, the teacher may have shared the essential answers, right?

Ross: (laughs) Yeah, yeah. Exactly. I think any time you can turn ownership over to the students, it’s a great thing. So even when you’re crafting the essential questions as you get more and more comfortable with it, even when I taught fourth grade by the end of the year my students would be crafting those essential questions. They would all come up with these essential questions, and then they would plug them into a Google form, and then we would have a vote as to which one was the best for their respective unit.

But I think really taking that, thinking about the order in which we do things and moving that discussion and that direct instruction to the back as far as possible is really a great thing to do. Even when we’re doing professional development with teachers, you know I always say, “No teacher said they wanted to make a shift because [insert famous researcher here] said so.” Right?

You shift because you feel that it’s what’s best for your students, and then maybe the research comes after. But if you’re doing PD and you’re leading with that direct instruction or you’re leading with that research, you’re going to get a lot of boredom and teachers who probably don’t want to move forward.

30-second pep talk for effectively using project-based learning

Vicki: So Ross, give us a 30-second pep talk about why we as teachers should shift from projects to Project Based Learning.

Ross: I think when you think about all of these things that we focus on in school, there’s a school idea of “initiative fatigue,” right? We’re stuck with one initiative after the other after the other. Really everybody can be fatigued, from the administrators right down to the students.

But when you think about this hard-hitting instructional approach and hard-hitting learning strategy that encompasses so much, all with this great context, it really is Project Based Learning. You’ve got the four C’s in Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, and Communication that everybody talks about. Like I said before, you have feedback, you have learning spaces, you have publishing, formative assessment, powerful mini-lessons. All these great things that are really wrapped up in one approach.

Once you learn how to do it really, once you learn how to plan with a unit perspective in mind, using PBL rather than a lesson by lesson perspective, you’re never going to want to go back to the way that you taught before. This puts the students at the center of the learning, and ultimately, it’s what’s best for them.

Vicki: The book is Hacking Project Based Learning. We’ll be doing an e-book giveaway, so check the Shownotes, enter to win, and share this show and comment.

We all really need to be motivated to think about the difference this week between, “Are we doing just projects? Or are we truly moving to Project Based Learning?” Because the difference is remarkable.

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

Bio as submitted

Ross is the coauthor of Hacking Project Based Learning, and the Supervisor of Instructional Practice K-12 in the Salisbury Township School District (1:1 MacBook/iPad) in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator and a Google Certified Innovator. His passions are inquiry-based learning and quality professional development. He blogs about these topics at rosscoops31.com. He regularly speaks, presents, and conducts workshops related to his writings and professional experiences.

When he is not working, he enjoys eating steak and pizza, exercising, reading books, playing on his computer, and provoking his three beautiful nephews. Please feel free to connect with him via email, [email protected], and Twitter, @RossCoops31.

Blog: http://rosscoops31.com/

Twitter: @RossCoops31

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.

The post Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right published first on http://ift.tt/2jn9f0m

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strivesy · 7 years ago

Text

Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right

Ross Cooper on episode 215 [A special encore episode] of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Ross Cooper, co-author of Hacking PBL, helps us get motivated to think about project-based learning differently.

Use the code COOLCAT50 for $50 off the cost of the course.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Get Motivated to Do Project-based Learning the Right Way

How do we hack project-based learning?

So, Ross, what’s new and different, and how can we hack Project Based Learning?

How do we motivate ourselves and our schools to do project-based learning that really works?

The difference between “projects’ and project-based learning

Vicki: Yeah.

An example of projects vs. project-based learning

Vicki: Could you give me an example of a project versus Project Based Learning?

We also discussed this on “Thinking Project-Based Learning with the Buck Institute”

Productive struggle versus “sucking the life” out of a project

Ross: (agrees) I think sometimes, like even when we’re, like you hit the nail right on the head when we’re delivering this professional development. It’s like, “OK, we need to get our students to think.” Alright? And it’s like we’re not really being clear. We think we are, but we’re really not. Sometimes we have to be even more explicit. I call it, “being explicit about being explicit.” We need to just dig down deeper and be as explicit as possible to give those key strategies.

Essential questions versus essential answers

Vicki: They tell us to share our central questions, but it sounds like maybe, in that case, the teacher may have shared the essential answers, right?

30-second pep talk for effectively using project-based learning

Vicki: So Ross, give us a 30-second pep talk about why we as teachers should shift from projects to Project Based Learning.

Vicki: The book is Hacking Project Based Learning. We’ll be doing an e-book giveaway, so check the Shownotes, enter to win, and share this show and comment.

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

Bio as submitted

Blog: http://rosscoops31.com/

Twitter: @RossCoops31

The post Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right published first on http://ift.tt/2yTzsdq

0 notes

growthvue · 7 years ago

Text

Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right

Ross Cooper on episode 215 [A special encore episode] of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Ross Cooper, co-author of Hacking PBL, helps us get motivated to think about project-based learning differently.

Use the code COOLCAT50 for $50 off the cost of the course.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Get Motivated to Do Project-based Learning the Right Way

How do we hack project-based learning?

So, Ross, what’s new and different, and how can we hack Project Based Learning?

How do we motivate ourselves and our schools to do project-based learning that really works?

The difference between “projects’ and project-based learning

Vicki: Yeah.

An example of projects vs. project-based learning

Vicki: Could you give me an example of a project versus Project Based Learning?

We also discussed this on “Thinking Project-Based Learning with the Buck Institute”

Productive struggle versus “sucking the life” out of a project

Ross: (agrees) I think sometimes, like even when we’re, like you hit the nail right on the head when we’re delivering this professional development. It’s like, “OK, we need to get our students to think.” Alright? And it’s like we’re not really being clear. We think we are, but we’re really not. Sometimes we have to be even more explicit. I call it, “being explicit about being explicit.” We need to just dig down deeper and be as explicit as possible to give those key strategies.

Essential questions versus essential answers

Vicki: They tell us to share our central questions, but it sounds like maybe, in that case, the teacher may have shared the essential answers, right?

30-second pep talk for effectively using project-based learning

Vicki: So Ross, give us a 30-second pep talk about why we as teachers should shift from projects to Project Based Learning.

Vicki: The book is Hacking Project Based Learning. We’ll be doing an e-book giveaway, so check the Shownotes, enter to win, and share this show and comment.

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

Bio as submitted

Blog: http://rosscoops31.com/

Twitter: @RossCoops31

The post Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right published first on http://ift.tt/2xx6Oyq

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ralph31ortiz · 7 years ago

Text

Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right

Ross Cooper on episode 215 [A special encore episode] of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Ross Cooper, co-author of Hacking PBL, helps us get motivated to think about project-based learning differently.

Use the code COOLCAT50 for $50 off the cost of the course.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Get Motivated to Do Project-based Learning the Right Way

How do we hack project-based learning?

So, Ross, what’s new and different, and how can we hack Project Based Learning?

How do we motivate ourselves and our schools to do project-based learning that really works?

The difference between “projects’ and project-based learning

Vicki: Yeah.

An example of projects vs. project-based learning

Vicki: Could you give me an example of a project versus Project Based Learning?

We also discussed this on “Thinking Project-Based Learning with the Buck Institute”

Productive struggle versus “sucking the life” out of a project

Ross: (agrees) I think sometimes, like even when we’re, like you hit the nail right on the head when we’re delivering this professional development. It’s like, “OK, we need to get our students to think.” Alright? And it’s like we’re not really being clear. We think we are, but we’re really not. Sometimes we have to be even more explicit. I call it, “being explicit about being explicit.” We need to just dig down deeper and be as explicit as possible to give those key strategies.

Essential questions versus essential answers

Vicki: They tell us to share our central questions, but it sounds like maybe, in that case, the teacher may have shared the essential answers, right?

30-second pep talk for effectively using project-based learning

Vicki: So Ross, give us a 30-second pep talk about why we as teachers should shift from projects to Project Based Learning.

Vicki: The book is Hacking Project Based Learning. We’ll be doing an e-book giveaway, so check the Shownotes, enter to win, and share this show and comment.

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

Bio as submitted

Blog: http://rosscoops31.com/

Twitter: @RossCoops31

The post Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog http://www.coolcatteacher.com/get-motivated-project-based-learning-right/

0 notes

athena29stone · 7 years ago

Text

Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right

Ross Cooper on episode 215 [A special encore episode] of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Ross Cooper, co-author of Hacking PBL, helps us get motivated to think about project-based learning differently.

Use the code COOLCAT50 for $50 off the cost of the course.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Get Motivated to Do Project-based Learning the Right Way

How do we hack project-based learning?

So, Ross, what’s new and different, and how can we hack Project Based Learning?

How do we motivate ourselves and our schools to do project-based learning that really works?

The difference between “projects’ and project-based learning

Vicki: Yeah.

An example of projects vs. project-based learning

Vicki: Could you give me an example of a project versus Project Based Learning?

We also discussed this on “Thinking Project-Based Learning with the Buck Institute”

Productive struggle versus “sucking the life” out of a project

Ross: (agrees) I think sometimes, like even when we’re, like you hit the nail right on the head when we’re delivering this professional development. It’s like, “OK, we need to get our students to think.” Alright? And it’s like we’re not really being clear. We think we are, but we’re really not. Sometimes we have to be even more explicit. I call it, “being explicit about being explicit.” We need to just dig down deeper and be as explicit as possible to give those key strategies.

Essential questions versus essential answers

Vicki: They tell us to share our central questions, but it sounds like maybe, in that case, the teacher may have shared the essential answers, right?

30-second pep talk for effectively using project-based learning

Vicki: So Ross, give us a 30-second pep talk about why we as teachers should shift from projects to Project Based Learning.

Vicki: The book is Hacking Project Based Learning. We’ll be doing an e-book giveaway, so check the Shownotes, enter to win, and share this show and comment.

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

Bio as submitted

Blog: http://rosscoops31.com/

Twitter: @RossCoops31

The post Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog http://www.coolcatteacher.com/get-motivated-project-based-learning-right/

0 notes

patriciaanderson357-blog · 7 years ago

Text

Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right

Ross Cooper on episode 215 [A special encore episode] of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Ross Cooper, co-author of Hacking PBL, helps us get motivated to think about project-based learning differently.

Use the code COOLCAT50 for $50 off the cost of the course.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Get Motivated to Do Project-based Learning the Right Way

How do we hack project-based learning?

So, Ross, what’s new and different, and how can we hack Project Based Learning?

How do we motivate ourselves and our schools to do project-based learning that really works?

The difference between “projects’ and project-based learning

Vicki: Yeah.

An example of projects vs. project-based learning

Vicki: Could you give me an example of a project versus Project Based Learning?

We also discussed this on “Thinking Project-Based Learning with the Buck Institute”

Productive struggle versus “sucking the life” out of a project

Ross: (agrees) I think sometimes, like even when we’re, like you hit the nail right on the head when we’re delivering this professional development. It’s like, “OK, we need to get our students to think.” Alright? And it’s like we’re not really being clear. We think we are, but we’re really not. Sometimes we have to be even more explicit. I call it, “being explicit about being explicit.” We need to just dig down deeper and be as explicit as possible to give those key strategies.

Essential questions versus essential answers

Vicki: They tell us to share our central questions, but it sounds like maybe, in that case, the teacher may have shared the essential answers, right?

30-second pep talk for effectively using project-based learning

Vicki: So Ross, give us a 30-second pep talk about why we as teachers should shift from projects to Project Based Learning.

Vicki: The book is Hacking Project Based Learning. We’ll be doing an e-book giveaway, so check the Shownotes, enter to win, and share this show and comment.

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

Bio as submitted

Blog: http://rosscoops31.com/

Twitter: @RossCoops31

The post Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

0 notes

aira26soonas · 7 years ago

Text

Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right

Ross Cooper on episode 215 [A special encore episode] of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Ross Cooper, co-author of Hacking PBL, helps us get motivated to think about project-based learning differently.

Use the code COOLCAT50 for $50 off the cost of the course.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Get Motivated to Do Project-based Learning the Right Way

How do we hack project-based learning?

So, Ross, what’s new and different, and how can we hack Project Based Learning?

How do we motivate ourselves and our schools to do project-based learning that really works?

The difference between “projects’ and project-based learning

Vicki: Yeah.

An example of projects vs. project-based learning

Vicki: Could you give me an example of a project versus Project Based Learning?

We also discussed this on “Thinking Project-Based Learning with the Buck Institute”

Productive struggle versus “sucking the life” out of a project

Ross: (agrees) I think sometimes, like even when we’re, like you hit the nail right on the head when we’re delivering this professional development. It’s like, “OK, we need to get our students to think.” Alright? And it’s like we’re not really being clear. We think we are, but we’re really not. Sometimes we have to be even more explicit. I call it, “being explicit about being explicit.” We need to just dig down deeper and be as explicit as possible to give those key strategies.

Essential questions versus essential answers

Vicki: They tell us to share our central questions, but it sounds like maybe, in that case, the teacher may have shared the essential answers, right?

30-second pep talk for effectively using project-based learning

Vicki: So Ross, give us a 30-second pep talk about why we as teachers should shift from projects to Project Based Learning.

Vicki: The book is Hacking Project Based Learning. We’ll be doing an e-book giveaway, so check the Shownotes, enter to win, and share this show and comment.

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

Bio as submitted

Blog: http://rosscoops31.com/

Twitter: @RossCoops31

The post Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog http://www.coolcatteacher.com/get-motivated-project-based-learning-right/

0 notes

mbaljeetsingh · 8 years ago

Text

Introduction to Web Audio API

Web Audio API let's us make sound right in the browser. It makes your sites, apps, and games more fun and engaging. You can even build music-specific applications like drum machines and synthesizers. In this article, we'll learn about working with the Web Audio API by building some fun and simple projects.

Getting Started

Let's do some terminology. All audio operations in Web Audio API are handled inside an audio context. Each basic audio operation is performed with audio nodes that are chained together, forming an audio routing graph. Before playing any sound, you'll need to create this audio context. It is very similar to how we would create a context to draw inside with the <canvas> element. Here's how we create an audio context:

var context = new (window.AudioContext || window.webkitAudioContext)();

Safari requires a webkit prefix to support AudioContext, so you should use that line instead of new AudioContext();

Normally the Web Audio API workflow looks like this:

create source -> connect filter nodes -> connect to destination" />

There are three types of sources:

Oscillator - mathematically computed sounds

Audio Samples - from audio/video files

Audio Stream - audio from webcam or microphone

Let's start with the oscillator

An oscillator is a repeating waveform. It has a frequency and peak amplitude. One of the most important features of the oscillator, aside from its frequency and amplitude, is the shape of its waveform. The four most commonly used oscillator waveforms are sine, triangle, square, and sawtooth.

It is also possible to create custom shapes. Different shapes are suitable for different synthesis techniques and they produce different sounds, from smooth to harsh.

The Web Audio API uses OscillatorNode to represent the repeating waveform. We can use all of the above shown waveform shapes. To do so, we have to assign the value property like so:

OscillatorNode.type = 'sine'|'square'|'triangle'|'sawtooth';

You can create a custom waveform as well. You use the setPeriodicWave() method to create the shape for the wave, that will automatically set the type to custom. Let's listen how different waveforms produce different sounds:

See the Pen.

Custom waveforms are created using Fourier Transforms. If you want to learn more about custom waveform shapes (like how to make a police siren, for example) you can learn it from this good resource.

Running the oscillator

Let's try to make some noise. Here's what we need for that:

We have to create a Web Audio API context

Create the oscillator node inside that context

Choose waveform type

Set frequency

Connect oscillator to the destination

Start the oscillator

Let's convert those steps into code.

var context = new (window.AudioContext || window.webkitAudioContext)(); var oscillator = context.createOscillator(); oscillator.type = 'sine'; oscillator.frequency.value = 440; oscillator.connect(context.destination); oscillator.start();

Note how we define the audio context. Safari requires the webkit prefix, so we make it cross-browser compatible.

Then we create the oscillator and set the type of the waveform. The default value for type is sine, so you can skip this line, I just like to add it to make it more clear and easy to update. We set the frequency value to 440, which is the A4 note (which is also the default value). The frequencies of musical notes C0 to B8 are in the range of 16.35 to 7902.13Hz. We will check out an example where we play a lot of different notes later in this article.

Now when we know all of that, let's make the volume adjustable as well. For that we need to create the gain node inside of the context, connect it to the chain, and connect gain to the destination.

var gain = context.createGain(); oscillator.connect(gain); gain.connect(context.destination); var now = context.currentTime; gain.gain.setValueAtTime(1, now); gain.gain.exponentialRampToValueAtTime(0.001, now + 0.5); oscillator.start(now); oscillator.stop(now + 0.5);

Now you have some knowledge of working with the oscillator, here's a good exercise. This Pen has the oscillator code setup. Try to make a simple app that changes the volume when you move the cursor up and down your screen, and changes the frequency when you move the cursor left and right.

Timing of Web Audio API

One of the most important things in building audio software is managing time. For the precision needed here, using the JavaScript clock is not the best practice, because it's simply not precise enough. However the Web Audio API comes with the currentTime property, which is an increasing double hardware timestamp, which can be used for scheduling audio playback. It starts at 0 when the audio context is declared. Try running console.log(context.currentTime) to see the timestamp.

For example, if you want the Oscillator to play immediately you should run oscillator.start(0) (you can omit the 0, because it's the default value). However you may want it to start in one second from now, play for two seconds, then stop. Here's how to do that:

var now = context.currentTime; oscillator.play(now + 1); oscillator.stop(now + 3);

There are two methods to touch on here.

The AudioParam.setValueAtTime(value, startTime) method schedules change of the value at the precise time. For example, you want to change frequency value of the oscillator in one second:

oscillator.frequency.setValueAtTime(261.6, context.currentTime + 1);

However, you also use it when you want to instantly update the value, like .setValueAtTime(value, context.currentTime). You can set the value by modifying the value property of the AudioParam, but any updates to the value are ignored without throwing an exception if they happen at the same moment as the automation events (events scheduled using AudioParam methods).

The AudioParam.exponentialRampToValueAtTime(value, endTime) method schedules gradual change of the value. This code will exponentially decrease the volume of the oscillator in one second, which is a good way to stop sound smoothly:

gain.gain.exponentialRampToValueAtTime(0.001, context.currentTime + 1);

We can't use 0 as the value because the value needs to be positive, so we use a very small value instead.

Creating the Sound class

Once you stop an oscillator, you cannot start it again. You didn't do anything wrong, it's the feature of the Web Audio API that optimizes the performance. What we can do is to create a sound class that will be responsible from creating oscillator nodes, and play and stop sounds. That way we'll be able to call the sound multiple times. I'm going to use ES6 syntax for this one:

class Sound { constructor(context) { this.context = context; } init() { this.oscillator = this.context.createOscillator(); this.gainNode = this.context.createGain(); this.oscillator.connect(this.gainNode); this.gainNode.connect(this.context.destination); this.oscillator.type = 'sine'; } play(value, time) { this.init(); this.oscillator.frequency.value = value; this.gainNode.gain.setValueAtTime(1, this.context.currentTime); this.oscillator.start(time); this.stop(time); } stop(time) { this.gainNode.gain.exponentialRampToValueAtTime(0.001, time + 1); this.oscillator.stop(time + 1); } }

We pass the context to the constructor, so we can create all of the instances of the Sound class within same context. Then we have the init method, that creates the oscillator and all of the necessary filter nodes, connects them, etc. The Play method accepts the value (the frequency in hertz of the note it's going to play) and the time when it shall be played. But first, it creates the oscillator, and that happens every time we call the play method. The stop method exponentially decreases the volume in one second until it stops the oscillator completely. So whenever we need to play the sound again, we create a new instance of the sound class and call the play method. Now we can play some notes:

let context = new (window.AudioContext || window.webkitAudioContext)(); let note = new Sound(context); let now = context.currentTime; note.play(261.63, now); note.play(293.66, now + 0.5); note.play(329.63, now + 1); note.play(349.23, now + 1.5); note.play(392.00, now + 2); note.play(440.00, now + 2.5); note.play(493.88, now + 3); note.play(523.25, now + 3.5);

That will play C D E F G A B C, all within the same context. If you want to know the frequencies of notes in hertz, you can find them here.

Knowing all of this makes us able to build something like a xylophone! It creates a new instance of Sound and plays it on mouseenter. You can check the example and try make one by yourself as an exercise.

See the Pen Play the Xylophone (Web Audio API) by Greg Hovanesyan (@gregh) on CodePen.

I've created a playground, containing all the required HTML and CSS, and the Sound class we've created. Use the data-frequency attribute to obtain the note values. Try here.

Working with a recorded sound

Now that you've built something with an oscillator, let's now see how to work with a recorded sound. Some sounds are very hard to reproduce using the oscillator. In order to use realistic sounds in many cases, you'll have to use recorded sounds. This can be `.mp3`, `.ogg`, `.wav`, etc. See the full list for more info. I like to use `.mp3` as it's lightweight, widely supported, and has pretty good sound quality.

You can't simply get sound by a URL like you do with images. We have to run an XMLHttpRequest to get the files, decode the data, and put into the buffer.

class Buffer { constructor(context, urls) { this.context = context; this.urls = urls; this.buffer = []; } loadSound(url, index) { let request = new XMLHttpRequest(); request.open('get', url, true); request.responseType = 'arraybuffer'; let thisBuffer = this; request.onload = function() { thisBuffer.context.decodeAudioData(request.response, function(buffer) { thisBuffer.buffer[index] = buffer; updateProgress(thisBuffer.urls.length); if(index == thisBuffer.urls.length-1) { thisBuffer.loaded(); } }); }; request.send(); }; loadAll() { this.urls.forEach((url, index) => { this.loadSound(url, index); }) } loaded() { // what happens when all the files are loaded } getSoundByIndex(index) { return this.buffer[index]; } }

Let's take a look at the constructor. We receive our context there as we did in the Sound class, receive the list of URLa that will be loaded, and an empty array for the buffer.

The we have two methods: loadSound and loadAll. loadAll loops through the list of URLs and calls the loadSound method. It's important to pass the index, so that we put the buffered sound into the correct element of the array, regardless of which request loads first. This also let's us see which request is the last, which means that on its completion the buffer is loaded.

Then you can call the loaded() method, which can do something like hiding the loading indicator. And finally the getSoundByIndex(index) method gets the sound from the buffer by index for playback.

The decodeAudioData method has a newer Promise-based syntax, but it doesn't work in Safari yet:

context.decodeAudioData(audioData).then(function(decodedData) { // use the decoded data here });

Then we have to create the class for the sound. Now we have our complete class to work with the recorded sound:

class Sound() { constructor(context, buffer) { this.context = context; this.buffer = buffer; } init() { this.gainNode = this.context.createGain(); this.source = this.context.createBufferSource(); this.source.buffer = this.buffer; this.source.connect(this.gainNode); this.gainNode.connect(this.context.destination); } play() { this.setup(); this.source.start(this.context.currentTime); } stop() { this.gainNode.gain.exponentialRampToValueAtTime(0.001, this.context.currentTime + 0.5); this.source.stop(this.context.currentTime + 0.5); } }

The constructor accepts the context and the buffer. We create by calling createBufferSource() method, instead of createOscillator as we did before. The buffer is the note (element from the buffer array) that we get using the getSoundByIndex() method. Now instead of the oscillator we create a buffer source, set the buffer, and then connect it to the destination (or gain and other filters).

let buffer = new Buffer(context, sounds); buffer.loadAll(); sound = new Sound(context, buffer.getSoundByIndex(id)); sound.play();

Now we have to create an instance of buffer and call the loadAll method, to load all of the sounds into the buffer. We also have the getSoundById method to grab the exact sound we need, so we pass the sound to the Sound and call play(). The id can be stored as a data attribute on the button that you click to play the sound.

Here's a project that uses all of that: the buffer, the recorded notes, etc:

See the Pen The Bluesman - You Can Play The Blues (Web Audio API) by Greg Hovanesyan (@gregh) on CodePen.

You can use that example for for reference, but for your own exercise, here's a playground I've created. It has all the necessary HTML and CSS and the URLs to the notes that I have recorded on a real electric guitar. Try writing your own code!

Intro to Filters

The Web Audio API lets you add different filter nodes between your sound source and destination. BiquadFilterNode is a simple low-order filter which gives you control over what parts of the frequency parts shall be emphasized and which parts shall be attenuated. This lets you build equalizer apps and other effects. There are 8 types of biquad filters: highpass, lowpass, bandpass, lowshelf, highshelf, peaking, notch, and allpass.

Highpass is a filter that passes higher frequencies well, but attenuates lower frequency components of signals. Lowpass passes lower frequencies, but attenuates higher frequencies. They are also called "low cut" and "high cut" filters, because that explains what what happens to the signal.

Highshelf and Lowshelf are filters are used to control the bass and treble of the sound. They are used to emphasize or reduce signals above or below the given frequency.

You will find a Q property BiquadFilterNode interface, which is a double representing the Q Factor. Quality Factor or Q Factor control the bandwidth, the number of frequencies that are affected. The lower the Q factor, the wider the bandwidth, meaning the more frequencies will be affected. The higher the Q factor, that narrower the bandwidth.

You can find more info about filters here, but we can already build a parametric equalizer. It's an equalizer that gives full control for adjusting the frequency, bandwidth and gain.

Let's build a parametric equalizer.

See the Pen.

Let's take a look on how we can apply distortion to the sound. If you wonder what makes an electric guitar sound like one, it is the distortion effect. We use the WaveShaperNode interface to represent a non-linear distorter. What we need to do is to create a curve that will shape the signal, distorting and producing the characteristic sound. We don't have to spend a lot of time to create the curve, as it's already done for us. We can adjust the amount of distortion as well:

See the Pen.

Afterword

Now that you've seen how to work with the Web Audio API, I recommend playing with it on your own and making your own projects!

Here are some libraries for working with web audio:

Pizzicato.js - Pizzicato aims to simplify the way you create and manipulate sounds via the Web Audio API

webaudiox.js - webaudiox.js is a bunch of helpers that will make working with the WebAudio API easier

howler.js - Javascript audio library for the modern web

WAD - Use the HTML5 Web Audio API for dynamic sound synthesis. It's like jQuery for your ears

Tone.js - A Web Audio framework for making interactive music in the browser

Introduction to Web Audio API is a post from CSS-Tricks

via CSS-Tricks http://ift.tt/2lNXax3

#IFTTT #Feedly

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succeedly · 7 years ago

Text

Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right

Ross Cooper on episode 215 [A special encore episode] of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Ross Cooper, co-author of Hacking PBL, helps us get motivated to think about project-based learning differently.

Use the code COOLCAT50 for $50 off the cost of the course.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Get Motivated to Do Project-based Learning the Right Way

How do we hack project-based learning?

So, Ross, what’s new and different, and how can we hack Project Based Learning?

How do we motivate ourselves and our schools to do project-based learning that really works?

The difference between “projects’ and project-based learning

Vicki: Yeah.

An example of projects vs. project-based learning

Vicki: Could you give me an example of a project versus Project Based Learning?

We also discussed this on “Thinking Project-Based Learning with the Buck Institute”

Productive struggle versus “sucking the life” out of a project

Ross: (agrees) I think sometimes, like even when we’re, like you hit the nail right on the head when we’re delivering this professional development. It’s like, “OK, we need to get our students to think.” Alright? And it’s like we’re not really being clear. We think we are, but we’re really not. Sometimes we have to be even more explicit. I call it, “being explicit about being explicit.” We need to just dig down deeper and be as explicit as possible to give those key strategies.

Essential questions versus essential answers

Vicki: They tell us to share our central questions, but it sounds like maybe, in that case, the teacher may have shared the essential answers, right?

30-second pep talk for effectively using project-based learning

Vicki: So Ross, give us a 30-second pep talk about why we as teachers should shift from projects to Project Based Learning.

Vicki: The book is Hacking Project Based Learning. We’ll be doing an e-book giveaway, so check the Shownotes, enter to win, and share this show and comment.

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

Bio as submitted

Blog: http://rosscoops31.com/

Twitter: @RossCoops31

The post Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right published first on http://ift.tt/2jn9f0m

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succeedly · 7 years ago

Text

Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right

Ross Cooper on episode 215 [A special encore episode] of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Ross Cooper, co-author of Hacking PBL, helps us get motivated to think about project-based learning differently.

Use the code COOLCAT50 for $50 off the cost of the course.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Get Motivated to Do Project-based Learning the Right Way

How do we hack project-based learning?

So, Ross, what’s new and different, and how can we hack Project Based Learning?

How do we motivate ourselves and our schools to do project-based learning that really works?

The difference between “projects’ and project-based learning

Vicki: Yeah.

An example of projects vs. project-based learning

Vicki: Could you give me an example of a project versus Project Based Learning?

We also discussed this on “Thinking Project-Based Learning with the Buck Institute”

Productive struggle versus “sucking the life” out of a project

Ross: (agrees) I think sometimes, like even when we’re, like you hit the nail right on the head when we’re delivering this professional development. It’s like, “OK, we need to get our students to think.” Alright? And it’s like we’re not really being clear. We think we are, but we’re really not. Sometimes we have to be even more explicit. I call it, “being explicit about being explicit.” We need to just dig down deeper and be as explicit as possible to give those key strategies.

Essential questions versus essential answers

Vicki: They tell us to share our central questions, but it sounds like maybe, in that case, the teacher may have shared the essential answers, right?

30-second pep talk for effectively using project-based learning

Vicki: So Ross, give us a 30-second pep talk about why we as teachers should shift from projects to Project Based Learning.

Vicki: The book is Hacking Project Based Learning. We’ll be doing an e-book giveaway, so check the Shownotes, enter to win, and share this show and comment.

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

Bio as submitted

Blog: http://rosscoops31.com/

Twitter: @RossCoops31

The post Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

Get Motivated To Do Project-Based Learning Right published first on http://ift.tt/2jn9f0m

0 notes