tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post6321206812930764893..comments2024-03-27T15:13:24.764-04:00Comments on Computer Science Teacher: Finished Advanced Placement Computer Science–Now what?Alfred Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575057876858763822noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post-55748704555930241782017-06-29T10:19:32.733-04:002017-06-29T10:19:32.733-04:00Need a course or project? Blender and Unity. Kid...Need a course or project? Blender and Unity. Kids actually get jobs because they can run these. They are also fun and require a lot of problem solving.Garthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post-13090273902564096052017-06-29T09:39:37.138-04:002017-06-29T09:39:37.138-04:00A couple of points - one in the case of APCS-A - t...A couple of points - one in the case of APCS-A - the kids SHOULD have knowledge and understanding of an undergraduate major who completed their first in major sequence course - that's what APCS-A is. Same for AP Bio, Chem, etc. <br /><br />This is of course another discussion but if we have students taking APCS-A and they're not coming out with the equivalent with CS1 (language and non-standard programs notwithstanding) then we should drop any charade that APCS-A is a college level class. Of course, if the kids are coming out as strong as students completing CS1 then that's another story.<br /><br />I've always taught my version of the old AB curriculum and I still think that some data structures / algorithms are important after the current APCS-A but they can be integrated into other classes as appropriate as needed.<br /><br />The other comment I wanted to make was on a projects course -- I'm all for projects - all the senior classes I designed were projects based and my SoftDev course had students ready to jump into any startup in NYC but there was also a large amount of "course" in the course, not just shepherding projects. I think that's an important point. If a school is going to teach a course - particularly a public school - there must be value added in that course by the teacher.<br /><br />I've seen plenty of classes, not just limtied to CS, where the kids either use computer based training or just work on their own to learn or discover - without real support of the teacher. I've seen plenty of cases of constructim and discovery learning - things that take considerable preparation and effort to set up and do right and up being "let the kids play with stuff because I don't know what I'm doing."<br /><br />Something to watch out for - particularly when you have some autodidacts in class who make the outcomes seem good.<br />Mike Zamanskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15069276938781711576noreply@blogger.com