Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Can Movie Computer Screens Help Us Design Better

NPR did a story recently on the computer screens that we see in the movies. You know the ones with big read “Access Denied” messages that look nothing like anything you have ever seen in real life. The story was called Hollywood's Computers: Telling A Story In A Flash and it got me thinking. My first thought was that students would love creating that sort of thing. But of course many teachers believe, too often correctly, that students spend too much time creating graphical user interfaces and not enough time creating code as it is. On the other hand I wonder if we teach enough about good user interface. Perhaps we can (or should) avoid the effort on creating UIs during the first course but shouldn’t we start somewhere?

I was speaking to students recently and asked them “How many of you have used a computer program that your parents could never figure out how to use?” Lots of hands went up. (Note students will never admit in front of their peers that they can’t use some program.) My reply to the students was that we need to fix that problem and maybe they will be the ones to do it. Well I can hope but can they really if they don’t learn about user interface design? Which actually brings me back to the movie mock ups.

One of the comments on the NPR article by a designer is that the screens have to tell a story. That makes perfect sense in the context of a movie doesn’t it? But what about in working applications? The book “Made To Stick” talks about telling stories as a way to make ideas stick in people’s minds. Good teachers tell stories all the time and we know it works. So could our computer user interfaces tell a story? And if they did would they be easier to use? It’s an interesting idea I think.

So I wonder if students could spend some time creating mock up user interfaces and seeing if they can do a bit of creative story telling. I’m not exactly sure how it would work but Visual Studio and languages like Visual Basic and C# make it pretty easy to do. (You can use the free Visual Studio Express Editions, inexpensive MSDN AA membership or DreamSpark for students to get it) Could we challenge students to make user interfaces that are easy to use, that are expressive, and that just plain communicate better with users. We can follow it (or lead into it) with discussions about UIs that work well or work poorly, that are confusing or simple, that are easy or hard to remember. Can we take lessons from the movie mock ups to create user interfaces that work? Any one know if there is research on this? Does it sound logical to you? Talk it up with students, peers, and others and leave a comment or two here. I’d love to know what others think about this idea.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

DigiGirlz Days Spring Schedule

Well the latest batch of DigiGirlz Days are starting to get scheduled. What are DigiGirlz Days? They are fun, interesting and educational events, sort of like a cool field trip, that show girls what technology and technology careers are about. From the web site:

This one-day event, held at multiple Microsoft locations worldwide, is designed to provide high school girls with a better understanding of what a career in technology is all about.

During the event, students interact with Microsoft employees and managers to gain exposure to careers in business and technology and to get an inside look at what it's like to work at Microsoft. This exciting event provides girls with career planning assistance, information about technology and business roles, thought-provoking exercises, and interesting Microsoft product demonstrations. By participating in the Microsoft DigiGirlz Day, young women can find out about the variety of opportunities available in the high-tech industry and can explore future career paths.

I’ve helped out and one of these events and while men are there they generally have a supporting role rather than a leading role. There are some great women role models out there and Microsoft employees a lot of them. They and other women in professional technical roles really let girls see themselves in the field. Check out the DigiGirlz Day home page to find dates and locations near you. I suspect that more events will be showing up but I want to make sure you know about these early and often as they say. So if you don’t see something near you check back in a week or three and see if new ones have been added.

And if you can’t make it to a DigiGirlz Day there are also some online DigiGirlz Classes.

Experience a new world of fun by exploring our on-line DigiGirlz courses! These classes have been developed with you in mind and will expose you to some of the content that is taught during our DigiGirlz program. Have fun and show your friends and family how creative and innovative you can be.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Interesting links 25 January 2010

Last week’s big news on Twitter? Bill Gates is now using it. Yes, @BillGates is now on Twitter. And he has a new website at www.thegatesnotes.com where he intends to highlight the things he is going and learning. Looks like it will be interesting. And there is lots more interesting links below. Please check them out!

Congratulations Patrick Godwin who has just been named a Microsoft Student Insider. He’s on Twitter  @ximplosionx and blogged about his new role on his blog at Microsoft Student Insider - Programming He’s heading to Redmond next weekend. Hopefully he’ll blog about that trip. (Hint: Patrick if you are reading this. :-) )

Free books! Games! Programming! Fun! Interested in a free e-book about game programming with XNA? Go get yours!

Speaking of fun. Kodu community-based user blog and forums at www.kodux.com Do you Kodu?

On the security front, @JimMacMillan twittered Hacked-passwords analysis: Most common was “123456,” followed by “12345,” “123456789" and “Password,” in that order.” Interesting and somewhat scary look at what people are using for passwords.

And @Safer_Online twittered a link to some great tips for managing your online reputation. And did you know that this Thursday, 1/28 is Data Privacy Day—observed in the U.S. & 28 other countries. Its aim—to raise awareness about data privacy protection.

Now personally I’m a huge fan of the web design course that Microsoft has made available for free using Microsoft Expression Web tools. But here is an interesting HS web design course using raw html. It may be worth looking at for supplemental resources as well as for itself.

Looking for the latest work on various Microsoft products? This list of Official Microsoft Team & Product blogs may be just the resource you are looking for.

The always interesting Mark Guzdial had an interesting observation last week (@guzdial)  “Open Source Development is actually Country Club Development: Hard to get into, mostly white guys.” That was on top of his blog post Open source development needs to grow-up and become education-friendly. Regardless of your feelings about open source there is some interesting opinions and information to start a conversation on the subject there. Check it out.

Will you be at TCEA? HP, Intel and Microsoft will be offering a free teacher Digital Learning Event at TCEA (Austin). You can learn more about it and register here.

These unique interactive forums are one-day events held throughout the United States. Each Digital Learning Event is an immersive experience that provides K-12 decision-makers with state-of-the-art technology solutions delivered in hands-on learning environments.

More of these coming up - Las Vegas: Thursday, 2/25/10 ~ San Diego: Thursday, 3/11/10 ~ Atlanta: Friday, 3/19/10
Boston: Thursday, 4/8/10 ~ Washington, D.C.: Wednesday, 4/14/10 ~ Indianapolis: Tuesday, 4/20/10 ~ Denver: Thursday, 4/29/10 Minneapolis: Wednesday, 5/5/10 ~ Raleigh-Durham: Tuesday, 5/11/10

Are your students interested in getting some Microsoft certifications? Students can get a free second chance at Microsoft Certification exams.

Great post by @kenroyal about FETC, meeting people, etc. And bonus a picture of the two of us together. :-)

Friday, January 22, 2010

So are there or are their not jobs in CS and IT

The other day in my interesting links post I included links to several articles/blog posts. One article was titled - IT hiring increases last month despite broader jobs decline and the other was DARPA feels that the geek shortage is a national security risk. It seems like I see those sorts of articles regularly. In the comments for those articles I usually see stories about IT professionals who are laid off and can’t find jobs. I hear them from friends as well. I also hear stories of college computer science professors who are getting lots of calls from companies who want to hire their graduates.

Mark Guzdial (from Georgia Tech) asks about The disconnect between the Geek shortage and the Geek layoffs on his blog. It’s a question that comes up often. Neither the statistics or the stories from out of work IT people tell the whole story. I wrote some comments as a reply to Mark’s blog but I wanted to expand on them a bit. First a story.

A little over 15 years ago I was laid off from my job in software development. I looked around and realized that the skills/knowledge that I had used to the previous 18 years were pretty much unnecessary. The world had moved from mini computers (my area) to PCs and had done so without out me. So I started rebuilding. I took a large step sideways (into teaching) and taught myself about PCs, new programming languages, and developed other skills. When I was ready for industry I found that industry was ready for me. I know other people who kept looking for the same types of jobs they had been doing for years. Some of them have spent a lot of time out of work. The people who are looking for continuing jobs as mainframe operators struggle – a lot. Those who went back to "school" figuratively if not literally have mostly had steady work.

Not all companies will retrain workers. Companies have a short term attitude and will train people only for short term needs. In computer fields it is largely up to the individual to retrain themselves. Right or wrong that is a fact of life. These days I keep more on top of things and do a much better job of staying current. It is not always easy and I suspect the young people in their 20s are having an easier time of it than I am. But I see not point in blaming them, the companies, or the job market for any of it.

In the long term I think that a formal education in computer science is a huge benefit. I can’t imagine the learning curve I would have had without my schooling. I had a deep base that I could draw upon. had I been completely self-taught I’m not sure I could have caught up with things. Oh some might but that does not strike me as the way to bet.

I do know self-taught people who have never been out of work. They keep teaching themselves new things. They use the same learning skills that got them started to keep themselves going. Other people seem to jump into the job market too quickly. They learn enough to get their first job and for a while they do very well. Then the needs of the job change and they lack the base of knowledge or the learning skills to keep up. They assume that they are so smart and so good at what they do that they will always be in demand. All too often they are wrong.

One of the things I tell students when I do career talks is that if they want a career where they can do the same thing for 30 years and then retire computer science and information technology are not for them. This is a career that requires life long  learning as much as any field I can think of. While at times you may feel like you have to run as fast as you can to keep up you will also seldom be bored. After 34+ years in the field I keep learning new things, doing new things, and growing as a person. If that is what you want this is the field you want. Just my  opinion.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Programming as a super power

From the time I wrote my first computer program about 38 years ago as a college student there has always been a bit of magic about the process. A bit of a super power sort of feeling if you will. Back in those days the average college/university had one computer, perhaps two, and they were kept locked away from normal people. It took special training and permissions to actually touch a computer let alone write a program for it.  As a computer science student I was able to control those powerful computers and make them do things other people couldn’t. I felt empowered in a way I never felt before.

I was reminded a bit of that feeling when I read a recent blog post by Eugene Wallingford (@wallingf) titled “Programming, Literacy, and Superhuman Strength.”

It’s all a good post but I especially like this part:

All I know is, if we can put the power of programming into more people's hands and minds, then we can help more people to have the feeling that led Dan Meyer to write Put THAT On The Fridge:

... rather than grind the solution out over several hours of pointing, clicking, and transcribing, for the first time ever, I wrote twenty lines of code that solved the problem in several minutes.
I created something from nothing. And that something did something else, which is such a weird, superhuman feeling. I've got to chase this.

We have tools and ideas that make people feel superhuman. We have to share them!

There are people out there who Wallingford refers to as non-programmers. In Microsoft we call them “non-professional programmers.” These are people who write programs for fun, for personal satisfaction and to solve personal/business problems.  We, our society, really needs to enable those people.

There are more programs that should be written than professional programmers can ever write. Most of these are small, manageable problems. They range from spreadsheet macros to some programs to analyze large data sets. And games. And programs to solve interesting little problems. And the list goes on.

One of the things I hear when I suggest that all students take a computer science or programming course is “these kids are not going to be [professional] computer programmers.” And that is true. But we don’t say “why teach English? These kids are not going to be professional novelists.” That would be ridiculous. We know that pretty much everyone needs to write well. Like wise we are getting to a point where many more people than ever before really should be able to write some computer code.

Right now people think of programming as some sort of “super power” and something that few can handle. Computer programming is a hugely empowering skill but it is more approachable than many realize. They just need training, tools and opportunity. We really owe it to our students to give them that.

This empowering of non-professional programmers is what the Beginning Developer Learning Center BTW. Young, old, student, experienced life-long learner? There is probably something there for you.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Microsoft at TCEA

In a couple of weeks I’ll be heading down to Austin Texas for the annual TCEA conference. This is one of the biggest and best (we are talking Texas after all) educational technology conferences going. I hope to attend the TA/CT SIG meeting where I always run into some wonderful high school computer science teachers. And friends of mine will be presenting a session about using XNA in the classroom for teaching computer science. I hope to see many friends old and new while I am there enjoying some real Texas BBQ!

Microsoft will also be hosting some workshops during the conference. Microsoft’s sessions will be held in Room 410 located at the Hilton Hotel Austin next to the convention center.

 

Tuesday, February 9th - Room 410

Tips and Tricks for Effectively Integrating Windows 7.0 and Office in the Classroom!

9:00am-10:00am

Click here to learn more and register

Web 2.0 Free Tools for Classroom and Teacher Collaboration including Windows® Live@EDU

10:00am-11:00am

Click here to learn more and register

Horizons: MS Technology Roadmap

11:00am-12:00pm

Click here to learn more and register

Virtualization Solutions – Leveraging Existing Software Investments

1:00pm-2:00pm

Click here to learn more and register

Enabling more Students to Access Technology – Windows® MultiPoint® 2010

2:00pm-3:00pm

Click here to learn more and register

Microsoft Academic Licensing Review and Overview of State Contracts available for Texas Schools

3:00pm-4:00pm

Click here to learn more and register

 

Wednesday, February 10th - Room 410

Using Xbox® 360, Zune® HD and Microsoft® Expression® Studio to Address 21st Century Skills

9:00am-10:00am

Click here to learn more and register

Enabling more Students to Access Technology – Windows MultiPoint 2010

10:00am-11:00am

Click here to learn more and register

Teaching Web Design Classes Using Expression Studio 3 (available free via MSDN-AA)

11:00am-12:00pm

Click here to learn more and register

 
 

Thursday, February 11th - Room 410

Virtualization Solutions – Leveraging Existing Software Investments

1:00pm-2:00pm

Click here to learn more and register

Web 2.0 Free Tools for Classroom and Teacher Collaboration including Windows Live@EDU

2:00pm-3:00pm

Click here to learn more and register

Horizons: MS Technology Roadmap

3:00pm-4:00pm

Click here to learn more and register

Please pre-register in advance for sessions by clicking the links listed below each session. Registration is also available on site.  I look forward to seeing you there.

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Monday, January 18, 2010

Microsoft at TCEA

In a couple of weeks I’ll be heading down to Austin Texas for the annual TCEA conference. This is one of the biggest and best (we are talking Texas after all) educational technology conferences going. I hope to attend the TA/CT SIG meeting where I always run into some wonderful high school computer science teachers. And friends of mine will be presenting a session about using XNA in the classroom for teaching computer science. I hope to see many friends old and new while I am there enjoying some real Texas BBQ!

Microsoft will also be hosting some workshops during the conference. Microsoft’s sessions will be held in Room 410 located at the Hilton Hotel Austin next to the convention center.

 

Tuesday, February 9th - Room 410

Tips and Tricks for Effectively Integrating Windows 7.0 and Office in the Classroom!

9:00am-10:00am

Click here to learn more and register

Web 2.0 Free Tools for Classroom and Teacher Collaboration including Windows® Live@EDU

10:00am-11:00am

Click here to learn more and register

Horizons: MS Technology Roadmap

11:00am-12:00pm

Click here to learn more and register

Virtualization Solutions – Leveraging Existing Software Investments

1:00pm-2:00pm

Click here to learn more and register

Enabling more Students to Access Technology – Windows® MultiPoint® 2010

2:00pm-3:00pm

Click here to learn more and register

Microsoft Academic Licensing Review and Overview of State Contracts available for Texas Schools

3:00pm-4:00pm

Click here to learn more and register

 

Wednesday, February 10th - Room 410

Using Xbox® 360, Zune® HD and Microsoft® Expression® Studio to Address 21st Century Skills

9:00am-10:00am

Click here to learn more and register

Enabling more Students to Access Technology – Windows MultiPoint 2010

10:00am-11:00am

Click here to learn more and register

Teaching Web Design Classes Using Expression Studio 3 (available free via MSDN-AA)

11:00am-12:00pm

Click here to learn more and register

 
 

Thursday, February 11th - Room 410

Virtualization Solutions – Leveraging Existing Software Investments

1:00pm-2:00pm

Click here to learn more and register

Web 2.0 Free Tools for Classroom and Teacher Collaboration including Windows Live@EDU

2:00pm-3:00pm

Click here to learn more and register

Horizons: MS Technology Roadmap

3:00pm-4:00pm

Click here to learn more and register

Please pre-register in advance for sessions by clicking the links listed below each session. Registration is also available on site.  I look forward to seeing you there.

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Interesting Links 18 January 2010

When it rains it pours! I spent last week at FETC in Florida but kept a weather eye out for interesting things to pass on via Twitter (follow me on Twitter @AlfredTwo) and this blog. There sure was a lot going on. This is a larger post that usual which I guess is a good thing. Read though and I’m sure you will find something that is interesting and/or useful to you. Really! Oh and before I forget, a personal highlight of the week for me was being added to the CACM blog roll. Im thrilled to be included on that list which you will really want to check out.

The amazing Rob Miles (@robmiles) had a new blog post:  Free XNA Screencasts Which is about of all things some free XNA Screencasts. :-)

And speaking of games the US Imagine Cup twitter account @imaginecupus sent out this interesting link Microsoft Reveals the Science Behind Project Natal for Xbox 360. Some interesting technology going on here.

@Microsoft_EDU Twittered about using Mouse Mischief to create free, interactive classroom presentations!

Mouse Mischief is a tool that Microsoft makes available free of charge, and that allows teachers to work with Microsoft Office PowerPoint to make interactive presentations. With Mouse Mischief, teachers can add multiple choice questions to their presentations, and large groups of students can answer the questions using mice connected to the teacher’s PC.

Matt MacLaurin (@mmaclaurin) Twittered a link to the Kodu program in Victoria, Australia: 26 schools, 1000 kids, 500 Xbox controllers There is a lot of Kodu goodness at http://planetkodu.com. He also sent out a link to an outstanding Kodu walkthrough (Xbox version) from joystiq: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/02/video-tour-kodu-microsofts-diy-game-builder/

From @MS_Student a link to How to Quickly Create a Movie Using Windows Live Movie Maker's AutoMovie feature. Are you or your students making movies? Want to? Check out the video. The software is free as are other tools that are part of Windows Live Essentials.

The FIRST Robotics season is in full swing. I see from @weemooseus that MIT and FIRST Ally To Encourage STEM Education Careers. This is a good thing. I watched as interest in STEM fields soared at the high school I was teaching at after FIRST Robotics took hold. A great program in my opinion.

Are you up to a contest for equipment for your school? From @unklar I learned that the CDWG -Discovery wireless classroom contest now open

Think about how The 21st Century Classroom - interactive whiteboard, notebook computers, wireless cart, projector and document camera - could extend your teaching power.
ENTER NOW FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN ONE OF THREE GRAND PRIZE PACKAGES including a 21st Century Classroom and a $5000 digital media grant from Discovery Education. Plus, over 20 additional technology prizes!

On the women in computing front from @cuwise I saw that the call for participation open for Grace Hopper 2010. From the Grace Hopper people (@ghc) There is the Indiana Celebration of Women in Computing (InWIC) February 5-6, 2010, Spencer, Indiana 

And Ada Lovelace Day is coming on March 24th: An international day of blogging to raise awareness of the achievements of women in technology and science.

A co-worker sent me a link to an article titled - IT hiring increases last month despite broader jobs decline Is your school preparing students for these jobs? And DARPA feels that the geek shortage is a national security risk. Wow!

On a related note, Mark Guzdial asks about The disconnect between the Geek shortage and the Geek layoffs. Every time we read a story like the one I linked to above we hear lots of stories about IT professionals who are laid off and can’t find jobs. What’s that about? Some discussion at Mark’s blog in the comments.

From the Microsoft UK Partners in Learning people - New Innovids-Partners in Learning Network Join for free-access over 30 videos created by teachers for teachers.

Microsoft opened a new Technology Academics Policy web site http://www.techpolicy.com/ as a forum for academics on the impact of technological innovation in many areas. Well worth checking out.

Lastly, my personal congratulations to the MIT Scratch team as Scratch won a KAPi award at CES in the category of informal learning.

 

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Kodu Game-Creation Tool for Kids Adapted for the PC

I love Kodu and I’ve written about it before (my Kodu blog posts) and I am regularly asked “when can I get Kodu for the PCs in my classroom?” Well now there is a public beta of the PC version out (Kodu announcement) and it doesn’t require Xbox controllers even!

Microsoft is pushing to bring computer programming back into the classroom – and back into the realm of the imagination.

That push comes through Kodu, a game developed by Microsoft Research that invites users to create their own worlds while teaching them the basics of game development. Originally designed as a learning tool for youngsters using Xbox 360, Kodu is now available in a public beta for the PC. The move to the PC platform stands to make the game more attractive to schools. By eliminating the need for controllers, schools don’t need any special equipment – students can start building worlds with just a PC and a keyboard.

The announcement also talks about and has some links to educational usage so far. Good stuff is happening. For example:

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in Victoria, Australia, recently deployed Kodu in an extensive pilot program across 26 of its schools. Students there also are enthusiastic, says Richard Olsen, assistant director of ideasLAB, a research and development lab that explores what technology makes possible in schools. “As soon as I walked into a classroom with a big box of controllers, the kids looked at me like I was Santa,” he said. That enthusiasm continued throughout the three-month pilot. “I really believe that we learn and form knowledge by building things. The beauty of Kodu is that it’s so simple to create whole worlds, yet children gain these complex understandings.”

This is really exciting. Really!

To download the PC beta and get more information about Kodu, please visit research.microsoft.com/kodu.

Brute Force or is there an easy way?

This year being ‘10 has lead to a lot of talk about numbers that look like binary numbers 1/11/10 or 11110 for example. Related to this is talk about palindrome dates. For example with a leading zero 1/11/10 becomes 011110 which is the same backwards and forwards. Of course a purist might point out that the year is 2010 and ask “didn’t you learn anything from the Y2K problem?” Or “real numbers don’t have leading zeros!” But purism is less fun so I ignore those people. Well at least when playing with numbers for fun. But I was thinking a bit about palindrome numbers while driving the other day. Hey, it’s safer than driving while Twittering. I started to think about writing code to count palindrome numbers. As I thought about how to get the computer to generate them I realized that the count could be easily calculated. Of course seeing myself as a programmer before a mathematician my mind went to a program before an algorithm. Silly probably but at least in my defense I worked on a couple of algorithms and thought things through a bit.

There are 19 two-digit palindrome numbers. There are 18 times 9 three-digit numbers. And so on. There is no need to write a program to count them. You can easily build an equation that calculates the number based on the number of digits. Go ahead do it. I’ll wait. Anyone come back?

I think all of us have to be careful when we think about solving problems. We all have favorite tools that we like to use but they are not always the best for the job. Sure you can bank a board with a hammer and get it to the right length but it is not going to be pretty. Using a saw is better for some jobs. Likewise we can’t always assume that the fast or best way to handle all mathematical tasks is a computer program or even a mathematical formula. For example while we can easily calculate the number of 5 digit palindrome numbers generating a list really calls for a program.

Of course there are easy and had ways to do that task as well. You could generate every five-digit number, run them through a method that checks to see if it is a palindrome and only print the numbers that pass the test. But that brute force way is pretty wasteful of time and resources. With a little thought you can come up with an algorithm that just generates and prints palindrome numbers with no waste. I’m leaving that to the student too.

I find that students look for the solution that is easiest to implement with little regard for performance. The AP CS curriculum teaches about performance calculations (emphasis on Big-O notation) but I wonder how much of it sinks in. How often do students apply that thinking to their own code? I suspect not as much as we’d all like. It’s an important topic though. Yes computers are getting faster but problems are getting larger. Somewhere in every problem there is a cross over between the time it takes to develop a really efficient algorithm and how much time it saves in the end. Brute force solutions only work for small problems. This is of course one of the problems with assigning small problems or small data sets for student projects. Ultimately we have to create projects that are manageable for students but that also force them to conceder performance. Failing to do that is a disservice I think. What do you think?

Monday, January 11, 2010

Interesting Links 11 January 2010

I’m headed to Tuesday night. I’m looking forward to helping with some Expression Web workshops and spending time at the Microsoft booth. I’m also hoping to meet a lot of people face to face. One of the events I am looking to go to is the Tweetup that @jswiatek is organizing. If you’d like information on the FETC TweetUp at go here. I hope to see some of my readers there.

I know a lot of people don’t see much value in Twitter. Doug Peterson (aka @dougpete) wrote a blog post titled Twitter in Action that gives two really good and reproducible examples of teachers using Tweeter to bring the world to their students. There is a lot of online collaboration going on between teachers online. Are you part of it?

I finally got around to watching the video of Scott McLeod's talk to the NEA leadership recently.  If you haven't watched it yet you really should. It is all about the effects of destructive innovation on education.

Are you looking for information about careers and estimates of their future career possibilities? Perhaps have students interested in information for planning for their future? The US government has a site about exploring career information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This week @weemooseus beat me to twittering about the call for  proposals for the Computer Science and Information Technology Symposium being open. This is a great conference and presenting there is as valuable an experience as attending the presentations. I urge you to think about sharing something you have found valuable with other Computer Science teachers.

Not a long list this week I am afraid. I think a lot of people are still getting into the swing of things after the holiday break. I know I am. Have any interesting links or resources to share? Please leave a comment, send me a tweet at @AlfredTwo or email to AlfredTh (at) Microsoft.com Thanks!

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Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Intel Schools of Distinction 2010

An announcement arrived in my inbox about applications being open for this year’s Intel Schools of Distinction awards. Microsoft is one of the sponsors BTW. This is a good opportunity to get cash and products for your school to support innovative work that you are doing. Also if you complete you submission in January you will have the chance to win a Netbook.

Does your school demonstrate 21st century teaching and learning environments that promote excellence in math and science?   Enter the 2010 Intel Schools of Distinction Awards and your school could win up to $25,000.  18 finalists will win $5,000 and a trip to Washington, D.C. Six winners selected from the eighteen finalists will receive an additional $5,000 from the Intel Foundation and more than $100,000 in products and services from the program award sponsors.

Application deadline is Feb. 17, 2010 - submit your completed application early and you may win a Netbook. Early bird drawings held every week in January.

This awards program is open to K-12 public, private, charter, parochial schools in the United States, Department of Defense Dependents Schools, and Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. Home schools are not eligible.

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

High School Students Competing Against University Students

I’ve been saying for some time that the overlap between high end high school students and low end university students is greater than many people realize. When the Imagine Cup kicked off back in September I suggested that high school students (16 and older) might want to take a look at competing especially in the game competition. Sure the competition is tough but what is difficult is often the best way to push ones self further. XNA is a great platform and can be very approachable for high school students. Well it looks from this announcement of fall results from the US Imagine Cup (you can find the full list of finalists at the official US IC press announcement) that at least one high school took me up on my challenge.

To win a trip to the U.S. finals, teams are selected as finalists in fall and spring competitions. Yesterday, Microsoft announced the finalists for the fall competition, who will vie for the nation’s Imagine Cup title. Student teams that competed in the fall competition but did not make it to the finals are encouraged to work on their projects and enter them in the spring competition. Contests are conducted in several categories including Software Design, Game Design and Web Design.

The fall finalists include Red Team, Springbrook High School, Maryland. Project: An educational game devoted to physics puzzles.

Students in the U.S. can register and learn more about the event at http://www.imaginecup.us. Students who sign up before the deadline of Feb. 1 may enter for a chance to win the “$10,000 (U.S.) Cash for Students” sweepstakes.

More information about the Imagine Cup and registration details for students outside the U.S. are available at http://www.imaginecup.com. More information on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals can be found at http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals. Up-to-date developments on the finals competition will be available at the official Imagine Cup Blog.

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This is not the first time Springbrook High School has come to my attention BTW. They’ve been trying XNA for a while now. I mentioned them in my blog a year and a half ago (Bootstrapping XNA into High School Computer Science) because they had a video of one of there project games on the school web site. Well there are many more XNA curriculum materials available now. And as is noted above there is still time to sign up for and enter the spring competition. Can your high school keep up with Springbrook HS?

How about one of the other competitions? Software design or web development maybe? The full list of US Imagine Cup competitions is here. Not in the US? No problem. The International Imagine Cup web site is here.

 

Monday, January 04, 2010

Interesting Links January 4th 2010

Happy New Year everyone. Are you back to school or work yet? I took two weeks off and really enjoyed myself. I didn’t spend much time on the Internet as usual so I’m behind on Twitter and blogs and pretty much everything. I had written some posts to appear while I was on vacation so you may have seen them. If not, I actually think some of them are pretty good so please take a look at them. I am sort of proud on the two posts on Monte Carlo Simulations - Roulette and Slot Machines – seriously I think they describe some projects that students will find interesting and you will find educational. Also a post on sample code called Keeping It Simple may be interesting. I’ve been thinking even more about sample code and code reading lately so there may be more coming on that topic.

I was sent a link to an interesting cartoon that shows an instructor showing some serious mathematics and a student saying something like “but all I want to do is learn how to program video games.” All too many students don’t realize that there is a lot of math and physics involved in creating serious games. Some theory is really quite necessary.

So did the kids at your house get an Xbox 360 for Christmas? From @Safer_Online: “Getting the kids a game console this Christmas? Some tips on setting up their Xbox console” A lot of people are unaware that the Xbox, and many other games, have setting you can set.

From @weemooseus who you really want to think about following if you are using Twitter a number of good links recently:

A reminder for teachers in Illinois and Texas - have you seen the Bliink web design contest at http://bliinkcontest.com/. In Texas this is being done in conjunction with NASA.