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NCLab Learning Plan

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Python Course Screencast Video Recorder

Education Department, Reno NV

Salary: From $75 per recorded video

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Script, record, and caption screencast videos to accompany NCLab Python II course.

Each video is approximately 2 to 3 minutes in length, depending on details (maximum 5 minutes).

Approximately 30 videos are needed (15 videos per Unit, Units 1 and 2)

Videos are tied to new concepts or skills – typically associated with demo levels in the course.  

Use language and examples in the course tutorials.

A subscription to the course and outline with bullet points will be provided.

Deadline:  All videos should be completed by the end of May 2018 – sooner if possible. Start date: March 1

REQUIREMENTS

Experience with the Python programming language.  An experienced user understands the practical implications of instruction, can convey what is important, understands good practices, and avoids misleading statements.

Clear, pleasant, and enthusiastic voice.

Native English speaker.

Computer equipped with headset or high quality microphone for recording.  Quiet place to record (no background noise). Subscription to Camtasia or equivalent screencast software will be provided if needed.

Understanding of how to present information to new learners.

Able to collaborate online with NCLab education staff on a regular and timely basis.

Screencast experience.  Provide a sample of previous work.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Submit inquiries, resume and availability to: Sheila Bunch, Director of Education.  sheila@nclab.com

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NCLab Learning Plan

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Happy Holidays From NCLab

Dear Colleagues, Partners, and Friends:

On behalf of the entire NCLab team, let me wish you a wonderful holiday season and much success in the New Year 2018!

This was hands down the most successful year in the history of NCLab. Here are a few numbers:

Our student user base grew to almost 40,000.

Our students solved more than 1,000,000 course levels in 2017.

We were featured on the global Hour of Code page, and more than 150,000 new students were introduced to our courses in just one week this December.

We won educational awards in both institutional and homeschooling spaces.

We received our first outside investment, and strengthened our team via several key hires.

We opened many new doors both in the U.S. and in other countries including Australia,  Malaysia, South Africa, Peru, Mexico, Poland, UK, and Germany.

We would not be able to grow without your support. Your input, feedback, and ideas are invaluable to us. Thank you SO MUCH for being with us, and helping us achieve our goal which is to make high-quality STEM education available to all learners. We will have more great news coming up shortly. Stay tuned, and Happy Holidays!

Pavel Solin

President and Founder

P.S. All our courses went through significant improvements. Keep reading to learn more!

Karel the Robot Grows Up!

NCLab’s flagship course went through huge improvements:

Illustrations were upgraded to appeal to older audiences.

Based on user feedback, many levels were improved and several new levels were added.

The course flow was smoothed out based on automated anonymous feedback messages numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

Task descriptions were clarified, and code templates improved.

The overall student success rate improved by 32% compared to the previous year.

The Karel course was enhanced with a number of exciting new coding projects such as reading and writing in Braille, sorting algorithms, decimal-binary conversion, decimal and binary addition, and more.

The Karel app was upgraded to include variables, multiple objects in a square, and other new features.

Virtual Robotics Added to Python I

The Python I course is an excellent introduction to Python for beginners; particularly for girls. In a visually engaging way, students learn Python syntax and all basic concepts including for-loops, if-else conditions, while-loops, variables, functions, and lists. The course is based on the Python Turtle which, in NCLab’s version, allows students to extrude their drawings to 3D, and export the files to print on 3D printers or cut on laser cutters.

Recently, the Turtle was equipped with LIDAR and color sensors. The LIDAR sensor allowed us to create new tasks related to robotics, such as line-following algorithms, maze-navigation algorithms, autonomous car algorithms, random walks, and others. Thanks to the color sensor, students can now learn practical skills such as how to read and write barcodes:

Python II to be Released in January!

This course is very different from the dozens of online Python courses which in fact just walk students through the list of Python commands. The NCLab Python II course is an advanced Python programming course where students learn Python while exploring practical computer science concepts such as API design, logical gates and binary adders, bitmap and vector graphics, and more. As students progress through the course, they are assembling an impressive coding portfolio which can be attached to a resume. This portfolio contains:

a comprehensive suite of simulation tools for logic gates and binary adders,

a powerful image editor based on Pylab,

a toolkit for manipulating bitmap images,

custom object-oriented implementation of the Python Turtle, and much more.

New 3D Modeling Projects Added

The 3D Modeling course in NCLab has revolutionized the instruction of Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG). CSG is one of the most fundamental engineering skills of the 21st century, but not many teachers are familiar with it. What makes our course unique is that teachers do not require prior knowledge of this subject at all, and furthermore, the school or public library does not need to purchase any expensive commercial software. Students learn in NCLab at their own pace using tutorial videos, examples, and a carefully designed sequence of automatically graded projects with gradually increasing complexity. Here is a sample drone project:

Click here for more details, and to see the drone fly!

You can also walk through the construction steps of the drone frame with our Hour of Code “Let’s Build a Drone” project.

Thank you very much for reading.  We look forward to working with you in 2018!

Your NCLab Team

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Submarine

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Biplane

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Minecraft Skeleton

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Tank

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Python Isn’t Just Important. It’s Essential.

I recently volunteered at my local library to host an NCLab workshop, and I was amazed (though not surprised) by how easily people of all ages came together to converse and learn about programming. It made me wonder what makes a programming language like Python—which the 8-year-olds in the class were wielding with the same satisfaction that computing gave me when I was their age—so much more accessible than other languages. Programming languages often rise to prominence, then fade into obscurity as more powerful and useable languages emerge. Yet the Python Programming Language is still here—and as the fastest growing code in the world, it’ll be here for a very long time, folks.

Source: Stack Overflow

  Python is powerful, readable, and used pretty much everywhere. Once learned, you can harness the language to access a nearly limitless supply of useful tools and opportunities for discovery. Want to build a website? Build it using Python code. Looking to end homelessness in your city? Python is perfect for analyzing data, so get to it. Want to make art? The artist-friendly Processing Library offers full Python support.

Processing.py allows you to make beautiful art with minimal code.

  I suppose you could call Python a phenomenon, if you’re fond of that word. Few languages have grown so fast, and Python has been adopted by thousands of companies around the world as their language of choice. I use Python to create video games that tell personal stories. Sharing my code with scientists and artists who can read and understand it has been an extraordinary experience.

I continue hosting NCLab workshops and I even helped secure a 3D printer for our library, allowing us to print models in the 3D Modeling course. Since taking an interest in computers I’ve learned how to program in seven languages, but I’ve never quite seen anything as clever as the Python-based PlaSM CAD software. A lot of output for very little input—that’s the idea. It’s the reason I use computers. At every workshop I see students create models that typically take weeks of practice under other CAD software. I try a piece of Python code in the PlaSM CAD software and it just works.

When I leave the students at the workshops I host, I know they’ll be running home to learn more than what the Karel Coding course has already taught them. And I also know that some of them will go on to program things that they’ll cherish forever. I know this because I’ve done it myself. The value of creating something unique—and truly your own—cannot be overstated. These kids are learning to give life to their creative ideas with a brilliantly designed language that allows them infinite freedom for exploration.

You don’t need to be a programming master to learn Python. All you need is curiosity.

And a computer.

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Free Classroom Trial

Your full name

Enter your full name

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Please enter your phone

Your school

Enter the School name

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CSTA NOV 3D Campaign

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3D Modeling - Tutorial Videos

3D Modeling Videos

Karel course videos

3D Modeling app videos

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Python Coding Videos

Python Coding Videos

Python app videos

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Python I and Turtle Coding - Tutorial Videos

Python I and Turtle Coding Videos

Python I course videos

Turtle app videos

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Karel Coding - Tutorial Videos

Karel Coding Videos

Karel Course

Karel course videos

Karel App

Karel app videos

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System Administrator

Development Department, Remote position

Salary: $25 per hour and up to $2.000/month based on experience.

Position type: Part time, remote.

Travel:  Occasional travel for trainings and presentations.

On the Job Training: Limited to course interface and specifics.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

Bachelor (4-year) degree, with a technical major, such as engineering or computer science.

Systems Administration/System Engineer certification in Linux.

Four to six years system administration experience.

Experience with Python programming and MongoDB administration

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

System Administration Engineering and Provisioning

Engineering of system administration related solutions for various project and operational needs.

Install new / rebuild existing servers and configure hardware, peripherals, services, settings, directories, storage, etc. in accordance with standards and project/operational requirements.

Install and configure systems such as JIRA or Asset Management applications.

Develop and maintain installation and configuration procedures.

Contribute to and maintain system standards.

Research and recommend innovative, and where possible automated approaches for system administration tasks.  Identify approaches that leverage our resources and provide economies of scale.

Operations and Support

Perform daily system monitoring, verifying the integrity and availability of all hardware, server resources, systems and key processes, reviewing system and application logs, and verifying completion of scheduled jobs such as backups.

Perform regular security monitoring to identify any possible intrusions.

Perform daily backup operations, ensuring all required file systems and system data are successfully backed up to the appropriate media, recovery tapes or disks are created, and media is recycled and sent off site as necessary.

Perform regular file archival and purge as necessary.

Create, change, and delete user accounts per request.

Provide Tier III/other support per request from various constituencies.  Investigate and troubleshoot issues.

Repair and recover from hardware or software failures.  Coordinate and communicate with impacted constituencies.

Maintenance

Apply OS patches and upgrades on a regular basis, and upgrade administrative tools and utilities. Configure / add new services as necessary.

Upgrade and configure system software that supports JIRA or Asset Management applications per project or operational needs.

Maintain operational, configuration, or other procedures.

Perform periodic performance reporting to support capacity planning.

Perform ongoing performance tuning, hardware upgrades, and resource optimization as required.  Configure CPU, memory, and disk partitions as required.

Maintain data center environmental and monitoring equipment.

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NCLab's Commitment to Empowering Students with Disabilities

We’re in the unique position of making systems smarter in order to make people smarter. When the programs we use become more intelligent, so do we. When anyone can access these intelligent programs—even students with disabilities—our learning environments become more robust and can boost the potential of every learner. So it’s not just about creating the next best STEM course—it’s also about creating opportunities for every individual seeking an education.

At NCLab we care about students with disabilities and special needs. Our courses work extremely well for autistic students, hyperactive students and students with limited mobility. And soon, all of our courses will be available to vision-impaired students as well. We’re not quite there yet, but the road map has been drawn and the challenge is currently being met with progress. NCLab’s CEO, Pavel Solin, has made a commitment to learn Braille by the end of 2017. Take a look at Pavel’s Braille-friendly keyboard.

Seeing students have a relatively simple time learning Braille symbols. The symbols resemble Morse code—each letter is expressed in a 3 x 2 matrix (3 rows and 2 columns) of dots, and each dot can be “on” or “off,” resulting in 64 possible combinations (26). This allows for all 26 letters of the English alphabet, single-digit numbers, and other special symbols and words.

  Karel the Robot is currently NCLab’s most advanced learner of the Braille alphabet. He can already recognize all of the letters of the alphabet without looking at them. Watch this video showing how he does it.

And finally, here is the Karel program that allows him to read the Braille alphabet. Click on this image to view, run, and even edit the program: