Newspaper articles for April 2020 from OOU "Lazo Angelovski", Skopje
Coding for kids – the new type literacy in the 21st century
Computer programing is often used when we talk about programing, scripting and coding. It’s the process of designing, writing and testing different source codes. The source code is written in one or more computer languages. The aim of programing is to design instructions, which can be used by the computer to preform different operations or to accomplish a certain programing result.
All of us, especially children, spend most of our free time in front of computers, playing games or searching for different information on the internet. Very often, our parents either give us restrictions or warnings that we spend too much time on the computer, that we spend more time playing rather than using the internet to learn something. However, the truth is that we need to be part of these new technologies and we need to learn about them and how to use them.
Because we are younger, we learn more easy and faster through play or through animated videos, audio or different types of presentations that involve the previously mentioned activities. In addition, these days, children can attend different after school clubs or schools where they are thought how to use algorithms, applications or learn how to use the internet.
By doing this, the children can understand that the computers and smart phones are not magical, but that they need to be programed to do the things we want them to do. As it is the case with learning how to ride a bike, how to write and read, learning how to code is easier if it is thought in younger age.
Coding is fun and interesting. It develops children’s self-confidence and it helps them to learn how to express themselves in different ways. In this sense, coding allows them to be creative, to work on interesting projects and spend their time in front of the computers in a smart way. Learning to code develops the following things in children: computer thinking, creative ways of learning, ability to solve problems, working in teams (teamwork), and the sense of successfully completing a task that productively influences them for future challenges in life.
There are different ways to learn coding. One of them is learning by using online platforms. There are different learning platforms; we will mention some of them:
Code.org – internet website that can be a starting point for beginners. You can find many useful resources, applications even local schools that offer coding lessons to children.
Code Monster – very useful for children. Code Monster has two boxes. The kid code in one box and the result is displayed in the other box. While you “play” with the code, you can learn how each command functions.
Scratch – designed by students and aimed for 8-16 years old children, this simple computer language allows children to build anything they ever dreamed of. There aren’t any confusing lines of code. Instead, they need to move and arrange different code blocks like virtual Lego pieces. The platform is more than just a guide for coding, it’s an online community where programmers can exchange ideas and inspirations.
Swift Playgraunds – Designed for Apple for iPad, Swift Playgrounds is a sophisticated platform. The children can solve interactive puzzles in guided “Learn to Code” lessons in order to learn the basics of coding or to experiment with a wide selection of challenges that allow users to explore many unique coding experiences.
For those who are interested to learn more, you can find additional information about other free websites that offer coding lessons on the following link.
Author: K. Todorovski (7-4)
Photos: internet
The original article is published in the school online digital newspaper IN-formator on the following link
Coding.docx
Interesting facts about Leap year
One year lasts for 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds. These additional 5 hours, for which people don’t often talk about, are in fact the reason for every fourth year to be a leap year.
Leap year or “leap second”
The aim of the leap year is to help the adjustment of the Gregorian calendar to the astronomical one and to allow some of the events, such as the spring equinox, to happen at the same time. However, even the additional day in February every four years, cannot insure total consonance and because of this the scientists sometimes call on the “leap second”. The leap second in fact allows addition of one second in order to accommodate the difference between the precise time, which we measure with hours with atomic clocks and the imprecise solar time, which varies due to the irregularities and long-term slow-down in the Earth rotation.
The first leap year
Julius Caesar introduced the first leap year in 46 BC in his calendar and there was only one rule: every fourth year was a leap year. This allowed for many leap years. Later Pope Gregory XIII created his Gregorian calendar more than 1.500 years later.
How can we know which year is a leap year?
If the last two digits of the year can be divided by four (for example: 2016, 2020, 2024..), that it’s a leap year. The years that mark the end of a century are exempted from this rule. They need to be divided by four thousand in order to be considered leap years. This is why 2000 and 2400 are leap years, but 2100 is not.
The movie “Leap Year”
Amy Adams as Brady and Adam Scott as Jeremy are the lead actors in the movie “Leap Year” which came out in 2010. In the movie, Brady plans to travel to Dublin, Ireland in order to propose marriage to her boyfriend Jeremy on leap day, because according to Irish tradition if a man gets a marriage proposal on this day, he must accept it.
People born on 29th February
Around 4 million people in the world are born on the last day of February during leap year. Usually they celebrate their birthday on 28th February or 1st March. The chances of a baby to be born on 29th February are 1:1.500, which is equivalent to 0,0689%. Famous people who are born on 29th February are: Mel Gibson, Sandra Bullock, Christina Aguilera, Scarlett Johansson, actor James Mitchell, Bulgarian actor Hristo Cheshmedzhiev and many others.
Believes about 29th February
- For people born on 29th February
It’s believed that people born on this day are very creative, different from others and they have a developed sixth sense. However there are opposite believes as well, that bad luck would follow them throughout their life. That is why, many parents decide to write the birthday of their children on the previous or the following day.
According to the tradition, it’s believed that women can propose marriage to men on 29th February. This believe is connected with different historical people, including St.Briged (the Irish patron saint) who complained to St.Patrick that women need to wait too long for their suitors to propose marriage. For this purpose, St.Patrick gave this day to women when they can propose marriage to men (source BBC)
Another believe is the queen Margaret from Scotland (she was only 5 years old at the time) introduces sanctions for men if they refuse marriage proposal from women during leap year (the compensation for marriage refusal was: a pair of leather gloves, one rose, one pound and a kiss).
There are other traditions for the price of “No”. If a man refuses a marriage proposal during leap year, it will cost him. In Denmark, if a man refuses a marriage propasal from a woman on 29th February, he must give her a dozen of pairs of gloves (source The Mirror). In Finland, the uninterested man must give the woman who proposed marriage enough material for her to make herself a skirt.
On the other hand, in Greece, proposing marriage on 29th February is considered bad luck. Couples in Greece avoid proposing marriage on this day by any cost (source The Telegraph).
The town Anthony, which is located on the border between Texas and New Mexico, is a safe-proclaimed leap year capitol city. Every fourth year there is a big festival and birthday celebration for all people born on 29th February.
Author: T. Milchevska (9-4)
Photos: internet
The original article is published in the school online digital newspaper IN-formator on the following link
Leap year.docx