Free Software for homeschool familes

There are enough costs associated with homeschooling. Many very high-quality, safe, and free software tools are available. Most of these programs are available for all major platforms (Mac, Windows, and Linux) I describe and demonstrate dozens of great completely free tools you can use in your homeschool or business including alternatives to MS Office, Graphic editors, 3D modeling tools, multimedia environments, programming tools, and much more. Links to all software are available on my web site.

Game Programming to motivate math and science

It can be hard to get kids excited about math and science, but many kids today are fascinated by video games. I show how to harness this interest by demonstrating a number of powerful, free, and fun tools for learning how to build your own computer game. Parents will see how mathematics, physics, and other sciences are closely tied to game development, and all participants will have access to all mentioned software through my web site. Parents and students are encouraged to attend together. Bring a laptop if you want!

Geography and More with Google Earth

Google Earth is an incredible free program that works on nearly any computer. Many people are unaware of the huge potential of this program. In this talk I show how to o locating webcams for real-time views o building 'virtual tours of historic routes' o tracking meteorological data in real time o virtual oceanography - find shipwrecks o Compare ancient and modern Rome with 3D models o Fly a jet plane over your town o Build a 3D model of your house and add it to the globe o - and even more.

Make a video game today

Bring a laptop to this lively interactive session if you wish. Andy Harris, the author of a number of game programming books, will introduce you to an excellent free tool from MIT called Scratch. Learn how to manipulate game objects, move them around with the keyboard, bash into each other, play sounds, and keep score. Parents and students are encouraged to attend this session together with a laptop, but notes will be provided online if they'd rather work together later at home.

Overview of computing disciplines

It is a scary time to be choosing a career. Even traditionally safe fields like engineering are experiencing major slowdowns. However, software-related computing fields are projected to have five jobs for every qualified applicant up to 2018 (which is as far as the projections go.) But the field is very confusing. It's hard to tell the difference between computer science, computer technology, informatics, new media, and vocational programs. Andy Harris is a freshman computer science advisor and instructor. He will walk through the various educational options and job prospects. Anyone considering a future in any science-related career (or even seemingly unrelated jobs like science or law) could benefit from this talk.

Web Development for homeschool families

Web development can be a vital part of today's homeschool curricula. Many students are interested in using web technology as part of their coursework (using blogs and web sites as a way to publish, for example.) Web development is also a worthwhile skill to learn in its own right. Web development is the precursor to computer programming, which is one of the most highly sought skill sets in the economy. Andy Harris, the author of several prominent books on web development, will show you how to get started on a web development curriculum even if you have no experience yourself. He introduces many free programs, and will show you in real time how easy it is to build your own basic web sites. Parents and students are encouraged to attend together. If you can bring your own laptop, you're welcome to follow along in real time.

HTML 5 Quick Reference For Dummies

HTML 5 is the next major development in the web. This book previews the important features of HTML5, CSS 3, and JavaScript. It describes all the major new capabilities of HTML 5 including the new <audio> and <video> tags, CSS animation and transformations, local storage, web sockets, the canvas element, and much more. Includes a review of standard XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Wiley Press 2011

Beginning Flash Game Programming for Dummies

Games are a lot of fun, and Flash makes it easy to build your own computer games. Learn how to use Flash to build video games for your web site. No previous programming experience required. Includes basic programming overview, use of game objects, collision detection, basic motion and physics, and much more.

2011

HTML / XTML / CSS All in One Desktop Reference for Dummies

This book starts at the beginning and gives you everything you need to start your own web business. Using only free and open-source software, you learn how to build web pages with HTML and CSS, how to add programming functionality with JavaScript and PHP, how to connect to databases with MySQL, and how AJAX is changing the Internet. (2nd Ed)

2010

JavaScript and AJAX for Dummies

An introduction to computer programming using the JavaScript language embedded into all major web browsers. Learn to enhance your pages with JavaScript, validate form data, and even build animations and games. Learn how to use AJAX and the popular free jQuery library to greatly enhance the appearance and performance of your web sites.

Wiley Press 2010

PHP6 / MySQL Programming for the Absolute Beginner

Web sites today are actually web applications. If you want to really do anything interesting, you need to know how to program on the web server. This book explains exactly how to do that using the free and powerful PHP programming language. After learning to program on the server, learn how to create powerful and flexible databases with MySQL and connect to these databases with your PHP code. No previous programming experience is necessary, but some web development (HTML and CSS) would be helpful.

2009

Game Programming, The L Line

Learn to build your own computer games. No previous programming experience required. The first few chapters teach programming in the powerful free Python language. Use the Pygame library to learn how games are built. Includes sprites, audio, collision detection, scorekeeping, and the animation loop. Includes a free game engine to vastly simplify building your own games.

Wiley Press 2007