Threads of Useful Learning: Westtown School Samplers is a thorough and engaging look at the needlework produced by students at this Philadelphia-area Quaker boarding school from its founding in 1799 until 1843, when sewing was removed from the curriculum. The needlework - including several types of samplers and embroidered celestial and terrestrial globes believed to have been made only at Westtown - is discussed in the context of the useful education and spiritual formation envisioned by Quakers for their children. Fully illustrated with pieces from Westtown School's own extensive textile collection as well as others in museums and private collections, this work enriches our understanding of this important schoolgirl needlework and the education, religious beliefs, and lives of the teachers and girls who created it.

In this revolutionary book, a renowned computer scientist explains the importance of teaching children the basics of computing and how it can prepare them to succeed in the ever-evolving tech world. Computers have completely changed the way we teach children. We have Mindstorms to thank for that. In this book, pioneering computer scientist Seymour Papert uses the invention of LOGO, the first child-friendly programming language, to make the case for the value of teaching children with computers. Papert argues that children are more than capable of mastering computers, and that teaching computational processes like de-bugging in the classroom can change the way we learn everything else. He also shows that schools saturated with technology can actually improve socialization and interaction among students and between students and teachers. Technology changes every day, but the basic ways that computers can help us learn remain. For thousands of teachers and parents who have sought creative ways to help children learn with computers, Mindstorms is their bible.

Software -- Operating Systems.

Raveler Angie Curtis gets tangled in a historical mystery. “For a trip to Maine for the cost of a book, this is the author to read.” —Kings River Life Magazine Angie’s first auction may turn out to be her last—when she bids on a coat of arms that someone would literally kill to possess . . . Tagging along to an estate sale with her fellow Needlepointer, antiques shop owner Sarah Byrne, Angie Curtis impulsively bids on a tattered embroidery of a coat of arms. When she gets her prize back home to Haven Harbor, she discovers a document from 1757 behind the framed needlework—a claim for a child from a foundling hospital. Intrigued, Angie is determined to find the common thread between the child and the coat of arms. Accepting her reporter friend Clem Walker’s invitation to talk about her find on the local TV news, Angie makes an appeal to anyone who might have information. Instead, both women receive death threats. When Clem is found shot to death in a parking lot, Angie fears her own life may be in jeopardy. She has to unravel this historical mystery—or she may be the next one going, going . . . gone . . . Praise for the Mainely Needlepoint mysteries “Offers a wonderful sense of place and characters right from the very beginning. Highly recommended.” —Suspense Magazine “A cozy debut that hits all the sweet spots: small town, family ties, and a crew of intriguing personalities.” —Library Journal

Get ready for a fun-filled experience of learning Java by developing games for the Android platform Key Features Learn Java, Android, and object-oriented programming from scratch Build games including Sub Hunter, Retro Pong, Bullet Hell, Classic Snake, and a 2D Scrolling Shooter Create and design your own games, such as an open-world platform game Book Description Android is one of the most popular mobile operating systems presently. It uses the most popular programming language, Java, as the primary language for building apps of all types. However, this book is unlike other Android books in that it doesn’t assume that you already have Java proficiency. This new and expanded second edition of Learning Java by Building Android Games shows you how to start building Android games from scratch. The difficulty level will grow steadily as you explore key Java topics, such as variables, loops, methods, object oriented programming, and design patterns, including code and examples that are written for Java 9 and Android P. At each stage, you will put what you’ve learned into practice by developing a game. You will build games such as Minesweeper, Retro Pong, Bullet Hell, and Classic Snake and Scrolling Shooter games. In the later chapters, you will create a time-trial, open-world platform game. By the end of the book, you will not only have grasped Java and Android but will also have developed six cool games for the Android platform. What you will learn Set up a game development environment in Android Studio Implement screen locking, screen rotation, pixel graphics, and play sound effects Respond to a player’s touch, and program intelligent enemies who challenge the player in different ways Learn game development concepts, such as collision detection, animating sprite sheets, simple tracking and following, AI, parallax backgrounds, and particle explosions Animate objects at 60 frames per second (FPS) and manage multiple independent objects using Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) Understand the essentials of game programming, such as design patterns, object-oriented programming, Singleton, strategy, and entity-component patterns Learn how to use the Android API, including Activity lifecycle, detecting version number, SoundPool API, Paint, Canvas, and Bitmap classes Build a side-scrolling shooter and an open world 2D platformer using advanced OOP concepts and programming patterns Who this book is for Learning Java by Building Android Games is for you if you are completely new to Java, Android, or game programming and want to make Android games. This book also acts as a refresher for those who already have experience of using Java on Android or any other platform without game development experience.

Thread painting embroidery is one of the most beautiful embroidery techniques. Often mistaken for painted art, it shows off the true skill of an embroiderer. This book demystifies the technique and shows how easy it is to start embroidering your own stitched masterpieces. For the true beginner and the experienced stitcher alike it will be a treasured guide, explaining the techniques and providing the inspiration to master this exquisite form of embroidery. Over 600 colour photographs support twenty step-by-step projects that range from a simply shaded topiary tree to a three-dimensional hydrangea bouquet. Guide to getting started introduces equipment you may need, explains how to transfer designs to fabric and demonstrates the long stitch and short stitch. Advice on blending colours and stitching shades together to achieve depth and vitality. Provides inspiration and encourages experimentation to create your own designs. Illustrates historical examples and explains how to reproduce and learn from these pieces, while also showcasing contemporary techniques and ideas for finished embroidery. Over 600 colour photographs support twenty step-by-step projects that range from a simply shaded topiary tree to a three-dimensional hydrangea bouquet.

The first sustained study of the vibrant links between domestic craft and British colonialism In the eighteenth century, women's contributions to empire took fewer official forms than those collected in state archives. Their traces were recorded in material ways, through the ink they applied to paper or the artifacts they created with muslin, silk threads, feathers, and shells. Handiwork, such as sewing, knitting, embroidery, and other crafts, formed a familiar presence in the lives and learning of girls and women across social classes, and it was deeply connected to colonialism. Chloe Wigston Smith follows the material and visual images of the Atlantic world that found their way into the hands of women and girls in Britain and early America--in the objects they made, the books they held, the stories they read--and in doing so adjusted and altered the form and content of print and material culture. A range of artifacts made by women, including makers of color, brought the global into conversation with domestic crafts and consequently placed images of empire and colonialism within arm's reach. Together, fiction and handicrafts offer new evidence of women's material contributions to the home's place within the global eighteenth century, revealing the rich and complex connections between the global and the domestic.