A lot of people seem the be ready for spring. I’m enjoying the snow in my yard and around the area. Inspired in part by the Winter Olympics going on my family and I went snowshoeing in the woods over the weekend. I’m ok with a bit more winter. How about you?
I have a few good links to share this week. Near the end is a set of links with different takes on the idea of computing or programming anyway as a replacement for foreign languages in school. Let’s start with a video though. A student talking about how she has become interested in computer science and how she wants to use it to improve the world of medicine.
Why STEM? Why Now? Featuring student Ifrah Abshir
Teaching sorting? You may want to check out this video of 15 Sorting Algorithms in 6 Minutes.
There are no computer science teachers in NY Well not on paper. Read what some people (including some I know) are doing to correct this situation.
Coming in March – The UK Hour of Code The Hour of Code was a great success in the US - now for the United Kingdom
Rebecca Dovi pointed me to some posters by the Orlando Science Center called Career Bytes. PDFs free for the download.
Career Bytes
These posters were created by Orlando Science Center as part of an educational series for Otronicon. The idea was to highlight career aspects and information beyond just computer programming that are not always associated with the videogame and modeling and simulation industries.
The idea of substituting a programming language for learning a second natural language has been a big discussion point lately. Here are a couple of links that discuss the issue.
- Computer programming would satisfy foreign-language requirement under Kentucky bill
- States could count computer programming as foreign language skill
- CS is not a foreign language by Gas Station without Pumps
- Computer Science is Not a Foreign Language by Amy Hirotaka at code.org
- Why Counting CS as a Foreign Language Credit is a Bad Idea On the CSTA Blog
- Learn to code? No: Learn a real language
- Some of my take was posted at Computer Science Has An Identity Problem FWIW
The Best Job of 2014 Has Been Announced. Is your school teaching what is needed to prepare students for these jobs?
The Top 10 Best Jobs:
- Software Developer
- Computer System Analyst
- Dentist
- Nurse Practitioner
- Pharmacist
- Registered Nurse
- Physical Therapist
- Physician
- Web Developer
- Dental Hygienist
The sorting video reminded me of the classic "Sorting out Sorting," which I first watched in first year university (in 2003, so we thought it was really "classic"): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJwEwA5gOkM
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