Subtitled - what I wish I was doing for my summer vacation.

The image is from the Hacker School this summer. While I am doing AP training and schlepping all over town for swim team practice, other folks are spending three months at what is basically a coding retreat. First off - make sure you read the logo above. It says "Code as Craft" if you arent wearing your glasses.

This is an idea I have been playing with a lot this spring. Obviously in teaching computer science there is a point where students have to demonstrate an ability to program something.

Bu does it always have to be C++/Java/insert your favorite language here?

Maybe not. This last year at SIGCSE I sat in on a talk about knitting patterns as a type of programming language.

Anyone that knows me knows I knit. A lot. And there really is something to this idea.

After you sit down and work in C++ you get a program of some level of usefulness. Knitting patterns you end up with something fuzzy. The sleeves may not be the same length, but you do have an artifact.

The basic idea of using an algorithmic language to communicate a set of instructions is the same. The idea of learning a skill and practicing until your artifact is useful and even beautiful is the same.

So this summer I am trying to think of some ways to incorporate this into my classes next year. Beyond the "make a peanut butter sandwich to teach algorithms" Id like to find a way to show them that these languages are all about creating artifacts. And there is beauty in that.

More info on Hacker School:

• http://www.etsy.com/blog/news/2012/update-on-the-hacker-grants-program/ - very interesting post about the grants given this summer and the rise in women participants
• https://www.hackerschool.com/ - link to the school itself.

Read More..

Fourteen days left...not that anyone here is counting.
The end of the year is always bittersweet. Summer - positive. Goodbyes - negative.
I teach many of my computer science kids for all four years they are in high school. They are going on to great things, but I still miss them.

So this isnt exactly computer science, but it is definitely teaching. And I could use a dose of inspirational.
In the past month I have tried to explain the whole Dave - Eggers/education thing to at least five people. Heres a summary:

• Ted Talk - while I am not a writing teacher, per se, this is exactly what I am trying to create in the lab. I watch this several times a year, always good for inspiration.
•  Teachers Have It Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of Americas Teachers - I have not (yet) read this. Seriously folks, it is the end of the school year. If I make it to the end of the day without getting caught in a food fight I am doing really good. It is on my summer catch up list, promise.
• The documentary - Heres an NPR story about the documentary AMERICAN TEACHER. As a computer science teacher one of my grumbles is, well, other teachers grumbles. When they complain about lack of planning time I try to remain calm - most other subjects have age-appropriate books with worksheets and practice problems. Over my 15 years of teaching computer science I have probably written five or six textbooks. Notes, worksheets, projects, the whole thing. These things are in short supply for computer science teachers.
  
  One of the main points of his work here is the amount of money spent on textbooks, $8 billion. Now I do not mind developing materials for my classes, curriculum work is actually part of what I enjoy most about teaching. It is just sad that out of that huge total the computer science teaching community is so under supplied.

So here it is - a little reminder of why we do what we do. Something to get you over the hump until summer. Just curious, where do you find inspiration?

Read More..