Big Ideas Roundup

My AP CS Principles classes are finishing up Unit 1: Computers in Society.

So far we have covered hardware, from the basics of the CPU to the machine instruction cycle. They have learned binary and hexadecimal and are finishing up

Along the way they have worked together, written, and yet not written a single line of code.

IBM Wild Ducks

Odd for a programming class?

Turns out, what I originally did to keep myself from creating "just another coding class" ended up being a good decision. I have students ranging from absolute beginners to kids that have taken APCS or IBCS.

And anyone that has taught computer science knows that can be a recipe for disaster. The more experienced kids show off, intimidating the newbies, especially those that do not self identify as "good at computers". Most of this material is new to all of the kids, so no one has an advantage, other than working hard.

This also establishes that in this room, everyone has an opinion that counts, we work together and respect where we are int eh learning process.

So today we are finishing up Unit 1. My goal is to summarize what we have done and to start to look at the big ideas (Creativity, Abstraction, Data, Algorithms, Programming, Internet, Impact).

• Fast Start: Based on everything we have talked about, what do you think computer science is? How would you explain it to someone else?
• Finish working on their computer history projects
• Watch this video from IBM: http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/
• Whole Group Discussion - what is computer science
• Poster - do a mind map with computer science  in the middle and the seven big ideas around the outside.
• Test Review (still gotta grade, you know)

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Google Drive folder FA2

To start today I want to have everyone create a folder in their Google Drive for this class.  I dont really care what you call it, but just like a folder on a computer works the folder in your Google Drive will help you stay organized - youll be able to keep all of the formatting activities in this one spot and then know where your information is in case something happens.

We will then start working on FA2 - the purpose of this formatting activity is to help you understand the difference between Save and Save As.


Activity 2Activity 2

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Screenshot FA12

I am going start with showing you how you can take a screenshot on your computer.  Screenshot is one of the vocab words for this week.

After showing you how to take a screenshot we will open Excel and continue working with Excel.  I have several things that I want to show you before you begin working on FA12.  Pay attention as what I will be covering will be part of what you will be expected to do in this formatting activity.


Activity 12.pdf

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Fifth Grade Blog Everglades part 3

By: Ricardo

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Samsung launches the fastest memory of smartphone

Internal memories for smartphones has remained in after in lately . Samsung investigated the problem and managed to pull the market an internal memory , designed for mobile devices , can achieve speed record .



And if for SSDs, for example ,speed record is ~500 MB/s for an internal memory all is reduced to only 140 MB/s , as can Samsung eMMC Pro Class 1500 at reading . At write can about 50 MB/s.
Production has already begun in capacity of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB . The production process is in 20 nm .

http://blog-de-filme-online.blogspot.ro/

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First Week

How do the parts of a computer help us? Find out in this weeks lessons. What is keyboarding? How do you keyboard? Well begin to explore the proper way to keyboard.

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Missing assignments vocab definitions due tonight practice blind assignment

If you look at the west wall (thats the wall opposite the dry erase board) you will see a printout of missing assignments by class.  I try to keep this updated every week - if you have missing assignments your name, along with the assignment, will be listed here.  This is the same information that can be found on Skyward, so it should not be a surprise.  I just like to make sure that you are able to view what you are missing.

If you have a missing assignment that you turn in or complete you may want to go to your class list and cross off your name and the assignment so you are not confused about what is missing.

Todays reminder - if you have vocab definitions for week 2 you need to make sure that you get those definitions completed and posted to the wikispaces page by tonight.  Speaking of Wikispaces - Ive already been contacted by several people to help me help them remember their Wikispaces username.  This is exactly the reason I spent yesterday showing you how to setup a Google Doc file that holds your usernames and passwords to websites - this is now your responsibility.  Creating the file with that information will go a long way towards helping you keep track of that information.

Today we are going to do a little exercise I call blind assignment.  We will warm up first, and then Ill explain how this works.  Todays exercise will be practice, but we will be doing the same thing on Thursday for a grade.  Lets get to it!

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Vocab quiz 8 Word it puzzles

Today we are going to review for the vocab quiz (as normal) at the beginning of the hour.  I do have 2 more things I want to cover regarding the vocab list so Ill talk about those at the beginning of the hour.  When I am done youll then have time to look over the definitions.

Once you are done with the quiz you should complete any missing assignments that you have not yet turned in.  This is the second day in a row that you have had class time to complete missing assignments, which is really more than I should be giving you.  Please use this time appropriately.

If you are all caught up with assignments I have a handout of Word-it puzzles that you can work on (nothing for a grade - just for fun).

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Data Unit Day One

(This is a day by day of the Data: Lets do the Numbers Unit in CS Principles. The overview is here.)

The idea is to grab their attention and get them really thinking about what data means in their lives.

I started with an activity from an Equity Workshop the CSTA held during this years SIGCSE conference.

OK - real quick. Are you a member of the CSTA? If you are reading this you should be. Go ahead - its free. Ill wait.

So the activity goes like this - turn off the monitors and grab paper and a pencil. I do this as our Fast Start, so the instructions are on the board when they walk in.

Tell them you are about to show them some data and they will respond to the following:

• What is your immediate Reaction?
• What questions do you have?

I gave them five minutes to respond on paper. Then they have five minutes to discuss with their elbow partner.

Here is the data:

Blood drive at the local high school reveals 20% of the students were HIV positive. 

I picked this because it is something every high schooler will have an opinion about. We had a blood drive this week, so they had lots of questions.

Their questions were fascinating...they wanted to know where the school was. One student hypothesized that it might be in Africa where Aids is more common.

The wanted to know who collected the data. They pointed out only kids 16 and older can give blood so that might throw the results.

Several groups also asked "is it true?" while working with their partner, but none of them were willing to ask that out loud with the whole group.

The whole point is to get them to really react to data. This is in fact not a true story - I found it on snopes.com (Snopes Article).

Then we talked about WHY they assumed it was true, or were uncomfortable questioning the truth of the data. The two reasons they gave were because their teacher told them and it had a % sign there. We all do that some time.

We then watched the Ted Talk:  Why Google wont Protect you from Big Brother

To pull everything together they did a journal entry about what we covered. I asked them to:

• Reflect on what we have talked about today
• Think about:
• Why is facebook free?
• If data can be false (like our activity) what does this mean for companies collecting data about you?
• Do you own your data?

Here is the listing of what we did:

Starting on Data
Today we are setting the stage for the Data project
• Fast Start: This activity is from the CSTA equity workshop I attended at SIGCSE last weekend
• Gallery Walk - Show off you best Code in the Browser piece (from work they did while I was @ SIGCSE)
• Ted talk - Why Google wont Protect you from Big Brother
• Look at Google transparency report
• Journal response
  • Reflect on what we have talked about today
    Think about:
    Why is Facebook free?
    If data can be false (like our activity) what does this mean for companies collecting data about you?
    Do you own your data?
• Homework - Data Log
  • Between now and next class keep track of times data is being collected about you and your family
  • As a group brainstorm times where data might be collected - what to look for

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Fifth Grade Project Yosemite National Park

By: Jose Luis

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String Immutability APCS A Deep Dive

Content has moved to CodeVAs Teachers Lounge - latest post: 

http://www.supercs.net/2015/03/29/immutable-strings/

The String class can cause a lot of confusion for students as they first start working with code. We often introduce it early in the year, indeed it is hard to do many meaningful things without it. The problem is, as an example of a class data type, it can behave in some unusual ways...

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MakerEd in the CS lab

Twitter chat about Maker ed in schools.

Interesting ideas about creating maker spaces in schools. This is the antidote to standardized testing.

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Keypad review FA3

As a reminder, your crossword is due by Friday - if you have yours done you can hand it in now.  Also, for those of you who have vocab definitions for next week please make sure to visit the Wiki spaces page outside of class and get your definitions entered.

Today we will review all of the keys on the keypad to start the day.

Once we get done with our review, we will be learning how to add Headers and Footers into a Microsoft Word document.  Generally the Header and Footer area is reserved for such things as page numbers, an authors name, or possibly the Section or Chapter that a page is in (or other possible reasons).  You will be entering information into the header and footer sections of a document and formatting what you enter.

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Finish FA3 new symbols

REMINDERS:
Crossword puzzle 1-4 is due tomorrow
Vocab definitions for week 5 vocab list are due next Tuesday

TODAY:
Finish FA3 - it should be emailed (make sure to complete your email correctly)

Once you are done with FA3 you need to open your book to page 43 and type lines 1-9 twice on 18D.  @ = right shift key + L3
( = left shift key + R3
) = left shift key + R4

When you get done with these raise your hand so I can see that you are done, and then you can go to the practice websites.  Tomorrow we are going to begin a speed test tournament (we wont get it all done in one day), and you should see the brackets posted on the walls.  This is simply for fun!!  I will explain that in greater detail tomorrow.

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Data Visualization Videos

Funny how sometimes you come across several unrelated sources and find a theme. Today it is data visualizations.

• Wired article on "How digital cartographers are dissolving clouds and streamlining satellite images, pixel by pixel"
• Couple of videos from PBS Off Book Series - 
• The Art of Data Visualization - this starts with a history of data visualization back with ancient map making
• The art of Creative Coding
• Art of Web Design - good summary of the history of web design and some of the underkying ideas of good web design

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Landscaping

How beautifully youve gotten maintained your yard and landscape speaks quite a lot about your lifestyle. It is the crucial element people are going to notice about your residence. If you want to make your home stand out from others then its good to hire the best lawn maintenance service. This area consists of aspects such as hedging, bonsai tree trimming, and lawn mowing, fertilizing all the fields, taking care of bushes, and regular watering.

All of these tasks may well only be performed by knowledgeable who has good knowledge of horticulture and how to address a lawn as per periodic requirements. It is practically impossible in a layman to do all these tasks by himself. The reasons for that really are plenty. First of all, it requires a large amount of physical strength and discipline for you to complete these tasks on a regular timeline and in a fashion that is in harmony with all the seasonal requirements. That is why homeowners always resort to professional lawn maintenance and maintenance service.

You need to invest fair time period and efforts you need to turn your yard into a sanctuary where you should spend some quite, relaxing, and additionally tranquil time. You can reach that goal without overwhelming yourself or burying using a mountain of workload. All you want to do is track a good maintenance company this kind of tool provide a wholesome service package for within the year and you are set. After that your task is expired.

If it has been too much time since you took care of the lawn and the expense of beginning to lose its luster and lots of the green beauty, a good care company should recover the lost beauty on your yard. It will restore all all the lost life by watering all the fields and by offering grass cutting service now and again. A good lawn care supplier will send dependable personnel wholl determine the conditions of all the lawn. They will designs a unique service plan by requirements trees, soil, grass and other sorts of horticulture factors.

A reliable company will equally offer its clients tips and ways on how to control weed growth. If a particular area of the land is infested with insect damage and pests, the company will diagnose and treat lots of the maladies by applying right fertilizers. Weed control methods that really are implemented by the experts have been environment friendly in nature where they also dont affect the life organisms. Someone who doesnt know all the art and science of landscaping maintenance cant do all these tasks by himself. Therefore, always rely on workers help.

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Crossword puzzle 1 7 due today

You need to hand in your crossword puzzle - please make sure that you have written your name at the top.

Your priorities for today are as follows:

1. Complete 3 of the timed writings on the Free Typing Game website.  Choose a different one of the Classic Tales (#26 - #35) stories to complete for each of the timed writings you do.  Write your best score on the sheet on the wall.
2. Complete test #25 - thats the 10-key lesson test - youll use your keypad to complete this.  Its been a while since weve worked on these so this will be a good review.
3. Complete any missing work during class.  Check the pages on the wall - if you get anything done it might be wise to cross it off so you arent confused the next time you look at the sheet on the wall (I can give you a Sharpie if you would like one).
4. If you do not have any missing assignments you can go to the practice websites.  I will be selecting individuals to compete in the bracket competition.  We have several individual competitions that need to get completed to get brackets updated.
5. If you have not yet posted definitions to the wiki spaces page for next week now would be a good time to get that done.  I dont normally offer class time, but Ill allow it since Im in a good mood today  :-)

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Clean Your Computer From A Virus

Having a virus on your computer can slow down your computer, install spy ware, or let hackers into your computer to steal your information.Knowing how to clean your virus-infected computer is easy. Here are some tips to show you how.

As soon as you thing your computer might be infected you should disconnect your computer from the Internet and any networks you computer might be on.This is to ensure that the virus does not spread to other computers.If you have an anti-virus program installed make sure it is updated first then run a full system scan. The anti-virus might not detect the virus if the program is not updated.

Some anti-virus programs will detect the virus, but will not be able to remove it.
If that is the case, you can get a different program but downloading it from a non-infected computer or you can go to your local computer store and get a different one there.

Most anti-virus programs will ask you to restart you computer after it is finished scanning. Once you restart you computer run another scan to make sure that the virus is gone. When you restart your computer make sure that it is still disconnected from the Internet and other networks.

The best way to combat against viruses is to be cautious of programs and files you download. Do not open any e-mail messages or attachments you do not recognize. Get a good anti-virus program that is updated frequently and run system scans regularly.

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Chalk Talk

We just finished Algorithms and methods last week. I focused on the connection between using methods in C++ and designing good algorithms to solve problems. This is a change, this year I introduced methods before we did ifs and loops. My thinking is if the students start by using sub routines we dont have to undo bad habits later. So far it has gone very well.

We did BYOB - Scratch right before Winter Break to move from learning about the Internet to programming. Nice (and unplanned) side effect, it has made methods in C++ much easier for the students. I wish I had designed this nice transition. The reality was that day two of methods one of the kids turned around and yelled across the room "This isnt hard - its just like all those blocks we did in Scratch before Christmas".

Well, duh.

Sidewalk Chalk

So the Friday before the test we had one of those days. Any public school teacher knows those days. I lost power to 1/3 of the lab (future reference the breaker box is in the boiler room, panel 4). And a mouse, four-legged kind. A very active mouse.

There is a point where no matter how beautiful your lesson plans are, you just have to dump and run. Kids were distracted and we really couldnt do our computer practice. So we went outside.

I borrowed some chalk and put the kids in teams of three. I gave each group a copy of the lab well do at the end of next unit. The lab has them design methods for a calendar program. They have to count the number of days left in a month, return the total number of days in a month, then using these they have to count the total number of days between two dates.

We havent done ifs or loops yet, so this is not something they could code in C++, but I was curious to see how they did. They each had to sketch out an algorithms they could use to find a solution.

The solutions were great. Every group figured out that they could use the first two methods in a loop to count the days. This is a program I have done in the past with students and they often struggle with this concept. I am curious to see if the coding is easier this year.

And the mouse is gone- I caught in a cup later that day and he was released back into the garden.

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Pinterest and Teaching Computer Science

Spring is here. I know some of my teaching friends to the north are still getting the occasional snow but for us it has been sunny and in the 80s. 

I love the end of winter, but as a teacher it is a mixed blessing. All the sudden you are fussing about the lengths of their shorts and trying to keep them somewhat focused on whats happening INSIDE the classroom.

So if you are in need of some inspiration here is my Pinterest board where I keep track of ideas that might apply to computer science.

Drawing from our sidewalk chalk last spring.

My favorite idea of the last year was doing sidewalk chalk to do algorithms and pseudocode. Will I ever make homemade sidewalk chalk? Probably not, but the recipe is there if you get the urge.

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Its the end of the year as we know it and I feel fine

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?

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Virus Blocked Your Task Manager

If Your virus blocked task manager and registry tools.
just download this tool to unblock task manager...

just download this tool to unblock registry tool...

file size:100kb

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Obama Talks Computer Science

OK - this is an oldie but goodie. Then Senator Obama:

We are finishing the year in CS Principles by programming arrays and looking at data. Here Obama is being interviewed at Google. The question starts "What is the most efficient way to sort..."

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Crossword puzzle due speed test tournament beginning!

Please make sure to hand in your crossword puzzle with your name on it.

We are going to begin the speed test tournament.  When we do this we are going to use the Typeracer website.  Here are the steps to follow:

1. On the half sheet of blue paper write both competitors names 
2. The competitor listed as Player #1 needs to go to the Typeracer website, click on the "Race your friends" link, then write down the entire URL - that means you also need to include the "http://" part of the URL.  Hand the blue sheet to Player #2.
3. Player #2 will enter the URL in the address bar of their browser.
4. When both players are ready, TYPE!!
5. When you are done, circle the winner and then give the blue sheet to Mr. Pardoe.
6. Names will be written in appropriate spots on the bracket, and then when the next round is ready youll complete these steps again with your next opponent.

This is meant to be an exercise in which you are keying, but ultimately this should be fun!  There is nothing wrong with being a competitor, but I do not allow putdowns in the room.  This should be a welcome diversion from the monotony of keying out of the book, not a way for you to make fun of someone else.

We will go through 2 rounds today - everyone will compete twice.  Once we get done we will review the keys we learned yesterday, and then if we get done with that youll have time at the end of the hour to play the keying games.

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Learning the keypad

As a reminder there is no vocab quiz this week.  However, this is a great time for those of you who still have vocab definitions to post to get those completed.  There are 4 vocab weeks left, so that means that most of you (if not all of you) will still be responsible for defining words on at least one occasion.  Please use this time (meaning this week when you dont have a vocab quiz) to get these definitions posted so it isnt hanging over your head and you dont have to scramble on the last day possible to get your definitions posted.  Trust me...youll feel much better knowing that youve got it done and out of the way!

For today we are going to start with learning the keypad numbers.  This is the completely separate set of number keys out to the right of the alphanumeric keyboard.

The crossword puzzle that you are getting in class today will be due Friday.  It covers lists 1-6.

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And the Pig Had My Clothes In Its Mouth

Things overheard in the lab today - all good stories should end this way.

1) You know you teach at a rural school when...I also get offered live chickens and produce, so it is pretty good overall.
2) I both do and dont want to know the rest of this story. And no, I didnt ask. I used my super power, the teacher glare, we were all left hanging.
3) For the love of all that is holy this year needs to end.

Yup, we are still in school. It seems like every other teacher I know is out for summer break now. Pictures on Facebook of fabulous travels. And of course all the best people are at the APCS Reading this week.

And here I am trying to make teenagers learn, which according to all the people I spend my day with - specifically those between 14 and 18 - is completely unreasonable. Their brains are full, and it is sunny, so really I am mean. And nasty.

The funny part in between all of the grumbling they are actually working pretty hard. Except maybe the pig kid.

My intro classes are doing Codeacademy for their final project - make a web page about anything you want. Except pigs.

The AP kids are finishing up their final projects - thus the inside out computer project. The APCS Principles kids are finishing up the programming portfolio, so all in all some good stuff is happening.

And this is why I teach. Most days are pretty good, if not downright hilarious, and sometimes despite ourselves some information gets planted in their heads.

Nine days left people. Not that I am counting.

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Spam video finish FA6

We will begin today with watching a video on what Spam is, then also going over a couple of the other vocab words (HTTP, phishing, and emoticon).  Here is the spam video:

After the video and our short discussion on the other vocab words youll have the rest of the hour to complete FA6.  Make sure to follow all of the instructions.

Once you complete FA6 youll need to go to the practice websites.  If we are able we will continue our bracket competition - this will obviously be dependent upon both opponents having completed FA6.

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RSS video FA6

Today we will start by watching the following video on what RSS is.  After completing that video we will begin learning about inserting symbols into a document, and then complete FA6.

Activity 6.pdf

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Nokia closes and factory of Finland

Nokia closes in August and factory of Finland ,as part of the measures designed to reduce company  costs with 1,6 billion euros to in 2013. Nokia manufactures phone at Salo , it is last factory of Finland . Latest mobile phone made in Finland exit from production line on 25.07.2012


About 1000 of people remain unemployed at Salo,a town with 55.0000 of people . Production of phone will be about only in Asia , as do majoritatea competitors .
Moving will allow a flexible production , depending on market demand , but and can of to deliver quickly terminals .
A year ago , Nokia close factory in Romania . And in 2012 did layoffs large enough at factory in Hungary .
http://blog-de-filme-online.blogspot.ro

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Arrays in AP Computer Science

Ive been asked by a few folks for some help with teaching 1-D arrays in the AP Computer Science class. I went ahead and posted it in a public drive in Google Docs:

APCS Arrays

I am sharing with the full understanding that I cannot type or spell, so the typos are a part of what you are getting. I am also pretty sure these are not complete - I add a lot as we go.

We start 1-D arrays as a part of our third unit where we go over Strings and Arrays. Arrays are such a big part of the AP I think the earlier they are introduced to them the better. Then for each unit we cover we can use arrays as a part of our practice problems. So when we do methods we can practice arrays as parameters...you get the idea.

If you are interested here is my pacing guide for the year. We start after Labor Day, so it is tight. I am still adding dates, but it should be complete through May by the end of the week.


So, how do I teach arrays?

First off, I flip. So for homework the students copy the notes. This means in class we have a lot more time for practice.

Every day they start off with a fast start that reviews the topics we have covered. We then do a lab lecture or some some type of dependant practice. In a lab lecture I put small problems on the board and they code them. So for 1-D arrays I might ask them to declare an array of 15 decimal values. Then I check to see that they did it correctly. Next we print the values int he array, and I check. Then we initialize the array to the values 0.1, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, etc. and I check. Point being this lets me catch the tiny mistakes they make in the beginning and they are more confident in their coding.

For the 1-D arrays we do a practice power point where the students write out their answers on whiteboards to make sure they understand the indexing.

Once we have done some practice together they work on independent practice and I float around and answer questions and generally nag them to get to work.

Really 90% of teaching is nagging, dont you think? This is just how I structure my nagging.

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Tenth Week

Third, fourth, and fifth grade students are continuing to build their keyboarding skills with Type2Learn. Students are encouraged to practice their keyboarding skills outside of their computer lab time with BBC Dance Mat Typing. Theres a link on the right side of screen under "lesson links."

Fifth grade is working on a persuasive performance assessment. Each class is researching a national park, then using that information to persuade others to visit that park. Theyve each chosen to use one of the following tools to present their persuasive piece: Publisher, PowerPoint, Voki, or Word. Some students are writing scripts for commercials they will create using green screen technology. Well be posting all of the projects on the fifth grade blog, so check them out in a couple of weeks.

Fourth grade is exploring Publisher and the different templates available within the program. Were creating personalized greeting cards for friends and family this week.

Third grade is continuing to explore and learn about Excel. This week we discussed how to select a graph to best display the data. Once we selected a graph, we explored all of the cool features to customize our graphs!

Second grade is previewing simple machines for their unpcoming Forces of Motion unit in Science. First, we discussed pushes and pulls and explained how clip art images illustrated a push, pull, or both. After that, they were introduced to four types of simple machinces and we discussed how they make work easier for us. Finally, they chose a partner and began to edit a PowerPoint template by adding text and clip art images to the slides. After previewing in presentation mode, we saved our PowerPoints. The second grade teachers will then allow the students who completed their presentations to present them to the class or another class during this unit.

First grade has mastered how to locate and interact with the first grade blog from the schools website. This week we are practicing our basic addition and subtraction facts with AAAMath.com! We know that in second grade we are expected to answer 100 basic addition and subtraction facts in 5 minutes or less. This website is a fun way to practice those basic facts! Were also learning about contractions with BrainPOPjr.com and Sadlier-Oxford.com.

Kindergarten has mastered how to locate and interact with the kindergarten blog from the schools website. This week we are practicing our combinations using illuminations.nctm.org.

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Underwater Spaghetti Internet Cables

So sometimes in teaching you add a little fun fact into a lesson and that one little grain of sand takes over.

Underwater Internet Cables

I know, it seems totally random. But for two years in the APCS Principles pilot the students have been totally transfixed by this. It was a tiny picture off to the side of the notes and their questions. It led to a great conversation about the physical structure of the Internet and equity of access.

So look at this map:

I asked the kids what they notice first - many of them talked about how many parts of the world have very limited connections. This makes for a great writing prompt for their journals.

Just found these interactive maps - they let you explore these cables ad see where the connections are.

• Interactive Cable Map - this one lets you click and see details about where the lines are connected to various countries
• Interactive Cable Map with List of Cables - This one has a nice listing to the side of all of the major cables
• Collection of Maps-picture 5 - 8 that moves through the growth of users from 2002 to 2008 is pretty impressive

As an interesting comparison, here is a map of the first underwater cables laid int he mid 1800a that made up the telegraph system:

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Modify Google signature Complete FA8

We are going to start by modifying your Google signature, so youll need to log into your Google account to begin with.  As I went through the day yesterday I began to realize that instead of having problems with people copying the wrong web address we can just make a permanent change to your signature by adding a link to your your blog in your signature.

Once we get done with that you will have the rest of the class period to complete FA8.  This should be emailed.  Make sure that you attach a Microsoft Word file (not a Google Doc), and you will be working with your speed skin on your keyboard.

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AVIRA ANTIVIRUS

guys worrying about virus in your system.......
please use AVIRA ANTIVIRUS software which is free of cost.........
which mainly focus on spreading virus from pendrive...........

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1st full week learning new keys

THIS WEEK:

Learn the following keys on the keyboard - H, E, I, R, O, T
Google - Add a signature and add a contact
Technique grade sheet

TODAY:
We will spend the beginning of the hour reviewing the home row.  After reviewing we will then add 2 new keys - the H and the E. 

What we are using is called a QWERTY keyboard (you should be able to find where QWERTY is on the keyboard); there is another keyboard called the DVORAK keyboard, but it is very uncommon (designed in the early 1900s; see image below).  The QWERTY keyboard has been in existence since 1870, but didnt become really popular until about 15 years later.  Ever since that time, however, it has been the standard for keyboard layouts.

The purpose of the QWERTY keyboards layout is to avoid having keys stick together as they were being typed - the idea was to have a layout in which you alternated using your hands often while typing - this helped to eliminate having the typewriter arms get stuck.  The DVORAK keyboards purpose was to have the most commonly used keys on the home row - thus your fingers moved less while typing, but the problem was that the keys got stuck more often.
 

Just a few things to keep in mind as you are keying:

1. When keying your forearms should not be resting on your thighs.  Remember that your fingers are the only "things" touching anything - everything else on your lower arm should not be touching the keyboard, countertop, or anything else.
2. If you keep your keyboard at the edge of the countertop you will avoid having issues with #1 above.  This will also be a benefit when it comes to the technique sheet and grading.
3. The speed skins will move slightly as you are typing - I understand your frustration in this regard, but do the best that you can.
4. In order to be able to key at a proficient level you need to fight through the urge to constantly look at your keyboard (thats part of why we have the speed skins).  This will probably be a "weird sensation" - you are used to using your visual senses to help you accomplish what you do on a daily basis.  However, we want to get to a point where looking at your keyboard is not necessary.

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Preventing Bing Page Popping on Windows 8

Preventing Bing page popping up every time you connect Internet on Windows 8 

 

As Microsofts new Operating System started rolling out, everyone out there wanted a copy of it as soon as possible.  For that regard, Microsoft did very well delivering its new product via its various channels, most popular of it being Online purchase download option.

With its new operating system hitting most number of computers to date, people started having some strange issues that they never had with their old operating systems.

One of the troublesome issue with Windows 8 is that whenever you get connected to internet on Windows 8, sometimes a Internet Explorer or your default browser launches automatically with Microsofts Bing page.  Some people find it useful as they dont need to launch their browsers automatically, but few are getting this annoying as if your Internet interrupts for a minute and then restores back, the popup comes up again giving you a headache.


The link which it opens:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=219472&clcid=0x409

Which redirects to Bing.com

In the post, we will be following a simple method of fixing this issue.  With a simple registry entry modification, we can overcome this problem.

Heres how to fix it:

Open Registry Editor by opening Run Command by pressing Window + R key and type regedit.

From left folder view panel, navigate to the following registry key shown in below image.

Right click EnableActiveProb.. and click Modify...

In Edit Box, just make sure your Value data: contains 0, not 1.  If it is 1, change it to 0, click Ok and Restart your computer.

You will not get that Bing start page every time you will connect to your Internet on Windows 8.



Enjoy..
Comments welcome...

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Best Diet Ever Teaching my Butt Off

Seriously - crazy year, but good crazy. Great classes, great kids.

But the reality of teaching Computer Science in high school is a lot to expect. I teach 5 different subjects in a total of 7 sections. I have students assigned to me during my planning and lunch. I run a club, I tutor, I nag I cajole. I work evenings, and weekends, and for the record I have never taken a summer off. 

And some days I look down and realize I am dressed like Ms. Frizzle from Magic Schoolbus.

If you find me wearing this please call someone.

There are very few materials genuinely good materials out there for HS kids. Yes, Exploring CS and Codeacademy are changing that landscape, but compare these to what the average Spanish teacher or Algebra teacher has and it is pretty thin.

On the upside all this skipping lunch and running around means I have lost weight, which is great going into the holiday season.

So as I wind down 2012 I am super thankful for the opportunity to teach computer science. Happy to be out there trying to make it easier for the next group of CS teachers. Happy to have met so many great people along the way.

Have a Super New Year folks!

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Cache video complete FA10 vocab definitions

The below video will explain what your computers cache is.

As another reminder, remember that if you have definitions for week 8 those need to be completed by tonight.  If you are not done with yours you may want to come in during lunch recess or 7th hour.

Youll have time to complete FA10 today in class.  Once you get done with FA10, if you have any missing assignments you should work on those.  If you do not have any missing assignments then you can go to the practice websites if you are not going to do the bracket competition today (the sheets will be handed to you if you are going to be doing the competition today).

As a note regarding FA9...I started grading those yesterday, and each one takes several minutes to grade, so it is completely likely that it may take me the rest of the week to get all 5 class periods graded.  Those take a long time to grade, so if you havent submitted your FA9 yet you should do that ASAP to avoid losing points for turning it in late.

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Finish FA7 tie up loose ends

You will have the hour to complete FA7.  When it is done you are to email it to me - it has been a while since you emailed an assignment to me so make sure that you include the 5 parts to an email when you send me your assignment.

Once you get FA7 done you have several options:

• any missing assignment from class (new missing assignment sheets are posted on the west wall)
• post definitions on the wikispaces page 
• work on and complete the crossword

If you have all of these done you can go to the practice websites.

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End of 1st Quarter

As we have talked about all week, today is the last day of the Quarter.  Make it a good one!!

We will review for the quiz at the beginning of class, and then when I let you know you can go to Classmarker and take the quiz.

Once you have completed the quiz, if you have any missing assignments you are to work on whatever is missing.  If you do not have any missing assignments and you are "behind" with the speed test tournament, then Im going to have you compete today to try and catch up so that we have everyone in the same spot.  This means many of you will not be competing in the tournament today - I just want to get everyone in the same place since we had several people last week that were absent when we did this.

If you have everything done then you are welcome to go to the practice websites after the vocab quiz.

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Blogs

What is a blog?
A blog is a website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. The name is taken from web log.

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