Codes, Computers and Instant Communication

Abstract

This workshop was offered in 2 versions: Codes,Computers and Communicating with Aliens (with references to the encoded transmission from the Arecibo radio telescope in 1974) and Codes, Computers and Instant Communication (with focus on digital encoding of text and images). The common element in both workshops is the binary number system - a simple code that underlies the digital devices we rely on, like computers, cell phones, and digital cameras. A hands-on component of the workshop has students encoding and decoding simple black and white images in binary code (0’s and 1’s), as well as image compression code.

This collection includes: a movie of the narrated slide show, and the handout for the hands-on exercise.