Document Library Available

Posted on by Dottie

Over the course of our meeting planning and preparation we have developed a series of “How To” documents as reference material for the projects we work on. We are putting these together into our on-line library for easy reference. Starting off, we have documents on Web site development with Glitch and GitHub, Responsive Web Design with Bootstrap, Python Flask for Web Development, and Visual Studio Code for Web Development. We will be adding more and updating along the way.

Go to FVGCC Document LIbrary

2020-2021 Remote Schedule Announced

Posted on by MMaki

Last FVGCC Meeting for the 2019-2020 school year took place on Zoom. We said farewell to 4 amazing Seniors who will be continuing their educations at Iowa State University, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Nebraska, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

FVGCC is very excited to announce our schedule for the 2020-2021 school year. Due to ongoing concerns about Coronavirus within our communities, we have decided to run a remote schedule. If schools move to in person learning and we feel it would be safe to meet while following all health guidelines, we will update our schedule as needed. All meetings will be heald on Zoom.

We will begin with the basics of software development, using Python and Codesters.com. As club members feel comfortable with that, we will move on to HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Python in Glitch.com. Along the way, we will learn about GitHub, have webchats with industry professionals, and build some cool stuff. In past years, club members have teamed up and participated (and won prizes!) in local hack-a-thons. 

2020-2021 FVGCC Schedule

October 2 – Welcome! Introduction to Slack and Codesters

October 16 & 23 – Jump into Codesters (Python)

November 6, 13, 20 – Codesters (Python), GitHub, & Intro to Glitch (Guest Speaker John Wright from Stack Overflow to talk about GitHub)

December 4, 11, 18 – Website UI: HTML & CSS in Glitch

January 8, 15, 22 – Putting it all together: JavaScript & Python in Glitch

February 5, 12, 19

March 5, 12, 19

April 9, 16, 30 – Can we meet in person yet??!!??

May 7 – last meeting and farewell to our Seniors!

March 13, 2020 – Meeting at 25N

Posted on by Robin

This week we will have a mini code-challenge hack!

The Challenge: Build an on-demand analog clock in Codesters.

  • The application should ask the user “What time is it?”
  • The user should be able to type a time in standard 12 hour digital format. Example:  2:34 (am & pm is not necessary)
  • The UI should display an analog clock face with the time requested by the user
  • The application should be able to give feedback when the input is invalid
  • After the analog clock has been displayed, the user should be offered the option to enter another digital time

See you then!

January 24, 2020 -Meeting at 25N

Posted on by Dottie

January 24th meeting cancelled due to weather!  We will follow this agenda for the January 31st meeting

AGENDA & NOTES:

WELCOME/REVIEW

  • Welcome any new members
    • Make sure everyone is signed up in GroupMe, Slack, Codesters, and GitHub
  • Any questions, comments, or ideas from our last meeting?
  • Any additional info/skills/setup needed for members attending Hack For the World hackathon in Naperville on February 1

Set up Mac and Windows laptops for:

  • Python, pip (Python’s package installation manager), and IDLE
    • Practice Python Create a simple Python program using terminal or command window and/or IDLE
    • Practice pip: Use pip to install PyGame and Kivy
  • PyGame:  modules for creating Python games including Sprites, sounds, and more
  • Kivy: framework for creating cross-platform UI in Python
    • Practice: create a simple app in kivy
  • Visual Studio Code: Code editing with rich editing capabilities,including Intellisense, debugging, code snippets, and more
    • Practice: create a simple Python program in VS Code
    • Practice: Edit a PyGame in Visual Studio Code

Instructions for installing all of the above:

More Good Stuff to Try:

Enhanced Python Flask app on Glitch: We previously looked at a simple Python Flask app together that accepted user input for a Dream to add to a list kept in memory. We now have a working prototype that incorporates a Snake game and uses persistent storage to keep a leaderboard in a file https://glitch.com/~rainbow-brie

Classes: Use of Class as a data structure in Python. May demonstrate/practice in Kivy and is also used in the above Python Flask app

Web Sites in VS Code/Connecting VS Code to Glitch: We will not have time to do this as a group during tonight’s meeting, but if anyone is interested in creating/editing/debugging Web sites in Visual Studio Code and/or connecting your Glitch projects to Visual Studio code for editing here is a guide:  Web Sites and Glitch in VS Code

January 10, 2020 – Meeting at 25N

Posted on by Dottie

As we start off our 2020 New Year we will meet at 25N tonight.

Agenda & Notes:

Welcome/Review

New or Continued Topics for Tonight

  • Discuss plans for the Naperville hackathon
    • Hack For the World Web site
    • What type of technology would you like to use?
      • Build a Web site
      • Create a game?
      • Other ?
    • What skills should we practice in preparation?
  • Enhance your Web site with Bootstrap
  • Help with setting up Python environment on laptops as needed/wanted