ALTERNATE Culminating Activity

As explained in our Google Classroom MEET:

Because of the current distance learning situation, the Culminating Activity has changed.

Everyone will do this ALTERNATE Culminating Activity.

You will learn about computer environments and systems, safe computing practices and emerging technologies (The Ontario Curriculum Grades 10 to 12 Computer Studies 2008). This ALTERNATE CA will allow you to:

• describe negative effects of computer use on human health
• identify measures that help reduce the impact of computers on human health
• describe and use appropriate strategies to avoid potential health and safety problems associated with computer use
• explain how emerging technologies can affect personal rights and privacy
• describe some emerging technologies and their implications for, and potential uses by, various members of society;
• describe some of the solutions to complex problems affecting society that have been or are being developed through the use of advanced computer programming and emerging technologies

Task

I will give you a schedule of videos to watch.

There are 3 videos each week.

Answer questions in full sentences for each video using your SCHOOL Google Docs.

All your answers must be numbered.

Submit 1 Google Doc with the answers to our Google Classroom EACH WEEK.

Please email me from your student account if you would like me to check a draft of your work.

Submitting Instructions

Make a Google Doc with your SCHOOL account.

Give the file this name: Lastname_CA_Week_1. Change the week number accordingly.

Turn it into our Google Classroom by the due date.

Do not hand in a link or share the document with me. Follow these steps 5 steps to hand it in properly: https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6020285?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en

Questions

Answer the following questions in sentence form for each video:

1. What is the title of the video?
2. State a keyword from the title. Define it.
3. State a main point from the first third of the video.
4. State a main point from the second third of the video.
5. State a main point from the last third of the video.
6. List 5 interesting facts you learned from the video.
7. List 2 new words you learned from the video. Define them.
8. What was the best part the video?
9. Why was that the best part?
10. How does this video relate to you as a beginner programmer or as a game player ?

Rubric

The rubric for the ALTERNATE CA is directly below this section. It is titled ALTERNATE CA RUBRIC.

Schedule

Week of April 27 - May 1. Due May 1.

• World of Warcraft Epidemiology - The Corrupted Blood Plague (And Why It Matters) - Extra Credits - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNhP5b9YafM
• Innovation - How AAA and Indie Games Can Learn From Each Other - Extra Credits - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_skCXC9oVA&list=PLB9B0CA00461BB187&index=3
• Hidden Game Mechanics: Design for the Human Psyche - Extra Credits - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLXLlJ7FhJU

Week of May 4 - May 8. Due May 8.

• Game AI - Funtelligence - Extra Credits - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FBGR6vmNeU
• The Skinner Box - How Games Condition People to Play More - Extra Credits - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWtvrPTbQ_c
• Why Do Games Cost So Much To Make? - AAA Game Budgets - Extra Credits - https://youtu.be/ypZZTIOR__Q

Week of May 11 - May 15. Due May 15.

• Frame Rate - How Does Frame Rate Affect Gameplay? - Extra Credits - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL5kOyHWI_E
• The Pacing of PUBG - The Thriller Tension of Battlegrounds - Extra Credits - https://youtu.be/uz9CqEgaIlo
• Overwatch and Asymmetric Level Design - What Makes the Maps Fun? - Extra Credits - https://youtu.be/4DynhzEQtog

THIS IS THE END OF YOUR ALTERNATE CULMINATING ACTIVITY.

DO NOT DO ANYTHING BELOW THIS SENTENCE.

Exception Handling

One last thing before we get to the Culminating Activity ... Exception Handling

Syntax errors are a thing of the past, right?

Picture a calculator you wrote. It asks the user for 2 numbers. What happens if the user inputs a number and a letter?

What happens if your code is syntactically correct, but a combination of both programmer and user error breaks it? These events are called exceptions, fixing it is called exception handling.

Python has a list of built-in exceptions. Python also has a simple tutorial that deals with exceptions as well.

A common exception is ValueError. As a budding computer scientist, you should also understand the problem of division by zero. Python handles it with ZeroDivisionError.

Python Definitions for ValueError and ZeroDivisionError

exception ValueError

Raised when a built-in operation or function receives an argument that has the right type but an inappropriate value, and the situation is not described by a more precise exception such as IndexError.

exception ZeroDivisionError

Raised when the second argument of a division or modulo operation is zero. The associated value is a string indicating the type of the operands and the operation.

ValueError Example

while True:

    try:

        x = int(input("Please enter a number: "))

        break

    except ValueError:

        print("Oops!  That was no valid number.  Try again...")

In this example from the Handling Errors chapter in the Python tutorial, an infinite loop is set up. I modified this from the tutorial:

The keyword try indicates that everything with that indentation (starting at try and ending at except) may cause an exception.

1. If no exception occurs, the except clause (the indentation) is skipped.
2. If an exception occurs, the rest of the try stops, and Python checks to see if the error matched the one you named. In this case, a ValueError. If the exception matched, the code in the except clause runs.
3. If everything in step 2 occurs, but the exception does not match, you should generate an unhandled exception ...

Division by Zero / ZeroDivisionError Example

while True:

    try:

        x = int(input('Please enter a number: '))

        y = int(input('Please enter a number (Make this a Zero to see the error!!): '))

        z = x / y

        print(z)

        break

    except ZeroDivisionError:

        print("Oops!  That was division by zero!.  Try again...")

Exception handling is a necessary component to robust code. Your CA will require it, and when you start handling files, it will become routine.

Culminating Activity

In a team of 2, write an original application or text-based computer game in Python. Plagiarism of any kind will result in a mark of 0 for both students. Please see the course calendar for dates. YOUR CA MUST BY APPROVED BY ME BEFORE YOU START.

Be aware that the complexity of your application has a direct impact on the Knowledge / Understanding and Thinking / Inquiry categories. I will explain this to you again when you propose your game / application.

Your application / game must include:

• Exception Handling
• Functions
• Lists

• Selection and Repetition Structures

• Appropriate Variables Types
• Random Numbers

• Properly formatted source code
• Inline, Off-line and Online Documentation
• Games require very clear win / lose conditions
• Applications require usable information as output
• Only hand in 1 copy of your CA and documentation. Name the files:
  • Lastname1_Lastname2_CA.py
  • Lastname1_Lastname2_CA_readme.txt

Ideas

Hangman

Tic-Tac-Toe

Battleship

Risk

Black Jack

21

Crazy 8's

Connect Four

Text based RPG (Linear RPG vs Open Ended RPG)

Roulette

Slot Machine

Craps

Farkle

Yahtzee

Jeopardy / Other Game Shows

A sport simulator (think Manager or GM Mode)

Pokémon (Or any other build, collect and soup-up 'thing' game)

Electronic version of your favourite Board game

Any small application

Resources

A great Text to ASCII Generator for creating titles- patorjk.com

A great Text to ASCII Generator for creating titles - ASCII Generator

A list of Unicode characters that will not crash IDLE - List of Unicode characters at Wikipedia

A great way to work with a partner and share code is with Multiplayer from repl.it. Remember to create a Python 3 repl and then you and your partner can work on the same code, at the same time.