Converting Lists of Data to CSV — Using a Colab Notebook Hosted in Gists

I’ve really been enjoying learning about data analysis lately. Part of what’s made it so enjoyable is the use of Colab, which is Google’s version of Jupyter Notebook.

I came across a need to convert some lists of data to a CSV (comma separated values) format so I could paste it into a Google Sheet. Not finding anything online to do I decided to write my own, and here is the product.

The Colab notebook I created has been saved as a “gist”, which is GitHub’s cousin for fast and easy file storage service. The Gist website is also very popular for sharing CSV files, which this search will attest to.

You’ll notice an “Open in Colab” button at the top, which is how you will open the document. A really nice feature is that it is fully usable without needing to save the file anywhere, but for those that do want to save their work, they can, into Google Drive.

When you first run it, you’ll get a scary message that was written by Google’s lawyers. You’ll see from the source code that the notebook’s not doing anything nefarious, so just trust me and click on “Run Anyway”. 😆

Google Colab Warning

This is a preview of the notebook. To open it, click here or on the filename on the bottom left corner of the preview.

Some Python programmers may want to remind me that I could have used Python’s built-in CSV library, but I felt Pandas would be faster, especially for large lists.

I hope some of you find this useful, although I’ll be happy if it gets some of you interested in Colab for Python programming or for data analysis, or even if it just introduces you to the Gist website.

Snippets #4

 

Welcome to the 4th in my series of “snippets” blog posts. See here for previous ones.

GitHub and Macs

Are you using GitHub and on a Mac? Here’s an excellent .gitignore file you can use that will keep all those pesky ._ files out of your repository:

https://github.com/github/gitignore/blob/master/Global/macOS.gitignore

Need to Record System Audio Using Camtasia on a Mac M1 Computer?

Setting up to record system audio using Camtasia on a Mac M1 computer is a bit of a nuisance. See here for the instructions:

https://support.techsmith.com/hc/en-us/articles/360055945312

Data Analysis Content in the Ontario Curriculum? 

My tweet:

https://twitter.com/pbeens/status/1374460114241921028

There were lots of responses! You can check them out here.

Keyboard Shortcuts on a Mac

I recently bought a new Mac but my Mac keyboard shortcut skills are quite rusty. This page has helped me immensely to get back in the groove.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201236

Today’s coronavirus news: Ontario reports record 4,456 COVID-19 cases, 21 deaths; 1,513 patients are currently in Ontario hospitals due to the virus, with 605 in intensive care

It’s pretty sad that Canada’s per-capita rate of Covid is higher than the US. Please, stay home everyone, and get vaccinated as soon as you’re eligible.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/04/11/coronavirus-covid-19-updates-toronto-ontario-canada-april-11.html 

Please Help Me with the Collaborative AQ Providers Resource for Ontario Teachers!

Ontario has a large number of really great AQ providers, but sometimes it’s difficult finding information from them such as registration deadlines, who to contact, etc.

GitHub LogoTo help with this, I’ve created a resource which can be accessed and edited by anyone, provided you have a login account. I’ve decided to put this resource on GitHub, which is an excellent (and free) website for sharing resources and collaboration that I’m trying to teach other educators  about.
Continue reading “Please Help Me with the Collaborative AQ Providers Resource for Ontario Teachers!”

#100DaysOfCode – Come Join the Fun!

Have you wanted to learn how to program but lacked the support? #100DaysOfCode is a formal (but flexible) process with a clear set of rules designed to motivate you. Part of the process involves sharing your goals and progress via social media and your files via GitHub, which is a free online repository website and version control service which many teachers are now using as an alternative to a traditional website.

Come learn how to get started and how the process works. You’ll especially benefit from this session if you never used GitHub and want to learn how easy it can be. Continue reading “#100DaysOfCode – Come Join the Fun!”