Welcome to the McMaster Computing and Software Outreach Website brought to you by the McMaster Department of Computing and Software with generous support from The Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation

Whether you are a student, teacher or parent we hope to provide you with the resources you need to learn and have fun with Computer Science and Software Engineering!

If you have any questions or comments, please contact us.

Software: Tool for Change Workshops

Starting May 1st

We invite grade 8 classes to come to McMaster for a full day of hands-on workshops and discussion about Software:

• how its misuse caused major disasters;
• how it could be used to solve many of the biggest problems we face;
• how it is creating more jobs than any other field;
• how you can get involved with software, as a hobby, in high-school, college or university;

and most importantly

• how it works!

You will experience real software-development activities:  in the lab you will create a game, and in the classroom, you will learn how to recognize a real-world problem which can be solved using a computer, you will develop a strategy for solving the problem, and then we will explain how to analyze the limits of your proposed solution, and how it compares to the best solutions.

Space is limited, so please ask your teacher to contact Tina Macala at McMaster Computing and Software Outreach at 905-525-9140 x 24614 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to reserve a spot.

Software: Tool for Change pyVenture Program Setup and Download

Macintosh

1. Setup and install python for mac (the python version that comes on most mac systems will suffice). However, you may want to install so you have the program (IDLE) that the children used in the lab to run their program. You can do this by following the following link (linked version 2.7.4 for mac - automatic download): Download For Mac 10.6+
2. Download latest version of the code used in the labs: Download

Windows

1. Setup and install python for Windows: Download For Windows
2. Download latest version of the code used in the labs: Download
3. To run the program, extract the zip file downloaded from step 2, view the contents of the folder (there should be many files), then right click on pyVenture.py (or in some cases just pyVenture) and click "Edit with idle"
4. If the above step didn't work, locate IDLE on your PC and open it. Click file > open. Then navigate to your downloaded and extracted file from step 2, then click on pyVenture.py

To download our program with a zombie monster demo click here : Download

Click Here to download our startup script: Download