markm208
Joined 15 years ago
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38
Submissions
29
Member since
Mar 17
Recent submissions
Comment · 4 years ago
Comment · 7 years ago
I have struggled with the speed at which I can write code live in class. It is hard to do it fast enough to keep students interested. It is also difficult to show even moderately complex programs from start to finish.
I have created a tool that allows me to move quickly through my code where students can still see how the solution evolves. I can comment at interesting points in the development of the code and attach hand drawn pics and screenshots. Here are some examples:
https://ourcodestories.com/markm208/Playlist/All
(Click on the >> button to move from comment to comment. These work best on a big screen)
I show some of these in class before asking the students to work on a related problem. I require the students to view the rest outside of class.
My students really like these. They prefer them to textbooks (no surprise) and videos covering similar material.
The tool to create these 'playbacks' is free and open source (currently a VS Code plugin). I have also created the site to share these with others. I am looking for feedback.
Comment · 8 years ago
I am the creator of a new medium to guide others through code examples. I call them playbacks.
This is an intro book on Python. I have also written books on [C++](https://ourcodestories.com/markm208/Playlist/2) and [Clojure](https://ourcodestories.com/markm208/Playlist/4). I am looking for feedback on the medium.
I am also looking for others to write their own books/tutorials and to create professional portfolios to show potential employers how they do their work. Storyteller is a free, open source tool to create playbacks. Our Code Stories is a site to host them. Authors can post their playbacks for free, make them private, or charge a fee for others to access them.
If you are interested in creating your own playbacks and need a little help getting started reach out to me and I’ll help.
Comment · 10 years ago
I already posted to the original but thought I would chime in. I like the idea of guiding someone through some code with a narrative. Your tool is very helpful for this.
I have a similar tool but it allows the comments to be added to the code as it evolves:
https://github.com/markm208/storyteller#storyteller
The main difference being that the context of the comment is always in line with code at the point the comment is made. One other difference is that a person can add drawings and audio to their comments.
Comment · 10 years ago
I am working on a tool that allows developers to walk others through their code. It can certainly be used purely for teaching others but I think there is also value in having developers reflect on what they have done in their workflow:
Comment · 11 years ago
I think the 'live' part of streaming might introduce a high noise factor.
What if the programmer could finish a programming session and then go back and see exactly what they have done and reflect on it? What if they could highlight just the interesting parts and leave the uninteresting parts on the cutting room floor? What if they could supply a reflective narrative describing how and why the code evolved? I think these types of experiences would provide more valuable learning experiences than the typical live code stream.
This is what I am trying to accomplish with my project called Storyteller:
http://www.storytellersoftware.com
There is a longer video demo here:
(Earlier in the life of the project I also emphasized the tool as a version control tool/replacement but I am backing away from that for the time being)
Comment · 11 years ago
Was there any reason why this wasn't timed for the summer months?
It seems like a lot of entrepreneurial college students would love to spend their summer working on their ideas. Perhaps it just came together at this time but in hindsight I wonder if summer is a more logical time since students have the free time anyway. The 12K would allow them to easily live/eat too.
I can even imagine involving college professors and students. Then it might disrupt entrepreneurship education in higher ed.
Comment · 11 years ago
There is something that I have been working on:
I have more 'books' on C++, python, SQL, web dev, dart/flutter, clojure, ruby, and more:
https://markm208.github.io/
I use these for the programming-focused cs courses that I teach instead of having the students buy bloated textbooks. The students prefer them to books (no surprise) and videos (somewhat surprising). The code is searchable and copy/pasteable so the students actually use it.
The tool is free and open.