A few weeks back I blogged about an infograpfic that was making the rounds.

I am so happy to say that the infographic has been updated:

Better, no?

I am so glad to see the update. Gone is the one of blame and the factual errors about the APCS exam. The whole tone reflects their stated purpose of "Teach Girls To Program Before People Tell Them They Cant Do It". Great approach.

I really love that they now include information on stereotype threat. Joanne Cohoon at UVA has done a lot of great work on this as it relates to females in computer science. It is her research at NCWIT the reference at the bottom.? And while we are at it, have you been to a Tapestry Workshop? If not put it on your list for next summer, absolutely will change your teaching. Resources from past workshops are posted on the site, so you can read ahead,

Well done!

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It is that time of year...pool, fireflies, and skipping seniors.

Inevitably I end up with a small group of students in danger of failing computer science because of a ridiculous backlog of missing work. Especially if the student needs the class to graduate there can be a lot of pressure and friction in this situation.

A few years back, after a particularly ugly round I had a brilliant idea - the action plan. I use this strategy to inject sanity into these stressful parent interactions.

It is a two step process.

1. I have the students sign a plan that lists all the work they need to turn in.The key to this is use specific due dates. Dont do the work on time? You dont pass.
2. I get them to sign it and mail a copy home, then call to let the parents know it is coming. Every time they miss an appointment to do the work, I call home.

I cannot begin to tell you how many headaches this avoids. Parents know exactly what is coming, and the student has an exact plan for how to improve the grade. Most of my students now successfully finish their step-by-step plan and end up passing.
For a kid that has fallen behind seeing a list of items listed by date takes an overwhelming problem and makes it doable.

And for the kids that dont do it? It creates perfect documentation of how I tried to help them pass. It has removed almost all of  the tension form those end of the year parent conferences.

You can download a copy here.

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Whew, busy!

This year has been crazy, but the good kind. Over the past two days I have updated my list of what we are doing in the CS Principles Pilot so far this year. If you are interested, the list is here: http://supercs.net

Etsy shop that was selling the flashcards

Let me tell you, weve been busy. Digging into what we have covered so far gives me hope we are really moving towards something.

A side note, the Performance Tasks (nee Portfolio Assessments) have just been updated. If you are in any way working on the CS Principles project you ought to take a look. Of special interest is the new Impact PT that replaces the Internet one from the past two years.

A technique I am using this year goes back to my days as a debater. I have printed out all of the Learning Objectives on flash cards. Each time I lesson plan on a particular topic I pull the cards that relate. This approach has really let me see the connections in the topics as we go through the material, and has sparked some new ideas for journal topics.

If there is any interest let me know and I can try to post the flash cards as a pdf for folks to print out.

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For the end of the year my AP students are working on projects. This year I left it very open ended, use anything in the lab and just make something awesome.

They can make with code or something physical. I have students doing everything from a scratch version of Doom to building a cell phone signal amplifier.

One of my favorites at this point is this - the Inside-Out Computer. The parts are all recycled from a couple of old 486s that were donated. Once we can find a non USB mouse the plan is for them to load Linux on it.

Im pretty excited about having this in the lab next year when we need to teach hardware. 

I am particularly excited about this for next year when we go over computer hardware. Having a running computer while you point out all the various parts and pieces seems like it will be very helpful.

Basically theyre attached all the parts to an old plastic crate using zip ties. The have booted it up several times and it works perfectly, except for the no mouse thing.

We have five weeks from the AP exam until the end of the school year, which is a lot of time to fill. In order to get grades on the books I give them a daily Ted Talk to watch and respond to on a discussion board. More on that later.

Update: Another student turned in their final project today. It is a bike with a chainsaw motor added to make a moped. Did all the welding themselves. I was kind of expecting a poster, then they rolled this in:

Amazing!

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Computer memory is an important part of the computer because it allows it to store vital information that you will need. Whether the information is in the form of data, pictures or sounds, a computer with a lot of memory can store it. There are basic types of computer memory and you will need to know a little bit about each to ensure your computer is running effectively.

Random access memory or RAM is the same thing as your computer memory. RAM is the main memory center, so essentially, it is the most important. The reason RAM is so crucial is that it is used to store your files and programs and it affects many other computer aspects as well.

DDR computer memory can be bought to increase the amount of memory you have, but first you will want to learn a little more about your computer. Understanding how it works will help you work better with your computer.

The more RAM computer memory your computer has, the faster it will work for you. If you find that youre computer has been very slow lately, you might want to look into buying some DDR for it. If you arent sure what to buy or how to install it, its best to let a professional do it this time around. You will find that all electronic stores that sell RAM will offer optional installation services for a small fee. If you choose this option, it would be a great idea to ask them exactly what they did so you can do it yourself if the need ever arises again.
But, if you know a little something already about computer memory, why not install your DDR program yourself? It will save you some time and money and your computer will be back to working at optimal speed in no time. Either route you choose, dont neglect the health of your computer. If it starts working differently than it ever has, get it checked out or troubleshoot the problem yourself. This will ensure that it stays working great for years to come.

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