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June 28, 2007
Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, Georgia
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Session Descriptions
SpelBots: Using Robotics to Inspire Computer Science and Information Technology Learning
From movies such as "iRobot"to the animated feature, "Robots", young people see robots depicted as heroes or villains. The popularity of robotics in the media can lead high school students to become curious to the technology behind present day robotics research. This presentation will describe how, at Spelman College, we are using advanced, entertainment robots to inspire and teach students computer and robotics technology using a tactile and visual learning approach while also improving teamwork and communication skills. We will describe how we are using robotics to inspire middle school to undergraduate students to pursue education and research in computer science and information technology fields. Finally, we will show excerpts from the soon to be released documentary, "The SpelBots"”, produced by Spelman College and Turner Studios in Atlanta, GA. The SpelBots were the first all-women, African American team to compete in the international "world championships"of robotics and artificial intelligence called RoboCup.
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Troubleshooting the Lab
Managing a computer lab as a teaching space and balancing the needs of the students, the teacher and the technology itself can be one of the most challenging part of teaching computer science. How should the room be set up so that teaching can happen in a way that maximizes the use of the technology while minimizing the distraction to students? What are the different ways to handle the “people problems” with students? With tech support people? With other demands on computer lab time? Where do you go for help when there is no tech support or when building or district tech support is unable or unwilling to help? How do you figure out if the problem is hardware, software or "people ware?" Who do you talk to when no one else in the building understands what you are trying to do? We'll discuss these and other issues and provide some lists of resources. Participation from the audience in the form of questions and better answers is welcome and encouraged.
Download Presentation, PowerPoint, 1.67MB PowerPoint Instructions
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Beyond the First dimension - 2D Arrays in Java
Two-dimensional arrays in Java have some features which are different than some other languages. This session will clarify any questions you have about the nature of 2D arrays in Java. You will also get a chance to see two customized Java classes that were developed to teach 2D array concepts. The files for these classes will be provided to all attendees to take back to their classrooms.
Download Presentation, PowerPoint, 1.30 MB PowerPoint Instructions
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Alice - Using 3D Animation to Teach Introductory Programming
This session presents an innovative approach to object-oriented programming using Alice, a 3D animation and program visualization tool. Concepts of visualization and the central role of this technique will be illustrated. The Alice software is designed for novice programmers and supports development of programs for Pixar-like animations with objects in 3D virtual worlds. A demonstration of the software (developed at Carnegie Mellon University) will be included in the presentation. The software and instructional materials have been developed and tested for effectiveness in NSF-sponsored studies and are freely available to teachers. The instructional materials cover fundamental programming concepts: classes/objects, encapsulation, inheritance, methods/parameters, conditionals, and iteration. Participants will gain an introduction to this motivating, high-impact strategy for attracting today's students to computing.
Download Presentation, PowerPoint, 1.48 MB PowerPoint Instructions
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Introductory CS: Curriculum & Resources
Many excellent materials have been developed by CS educators and organizations, but finding them can be difficult, especially for teachers who haven't yet formed connections in the CS education community. This session focuses on resources created to support the activities and topics for Level III of the ACM Model curriculum with particular emphasis on the CSTA Source Web Repository, a searchable database of projects, lesson plans, presentations, and other instructional resources that have never before been collected in one place and made available to all CS teachers. These resources have been contributed by teachers, university faculty, and partners in industry and have been deemed relevant and useful to the CS educators' community.
Download Presentation, Word Document, 83 KB Word Instructions
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Hello Dynamic Web Development! —Good-bye Boring Web Design!
Explore this self-contained learning package for Visual Web Developer, a web page design tool from Microsoft. Visual Web Developer that lets your students easily design .NET Active Server Pages as well as standard web pages.
Download Presentation, PowerPoint, 17.6 MB PowerPoint Instructions
Download Handout, Word Document, 57 KB Word Instructions
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Do you Google?
If you think that Google is a search engine, then you're on the right track. But, Google services offer so much more for the connected educator and student. With some major development, Google provides so much more than the search engine that you may use regularly. Learn how to enhance your classroom online experience with all that Google has to offer.
Download Presentation, PDF, 874 KB PDF Instructions
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An Introduction to the GridWorld Case Study
This session will provide teachers with an overview of the GridWorld Case Study that will be included on the 2008 AP CS Exams. Ideas on incorporating the case study into the AP curriculum, how to develop resources, and interesting features of Gridworld will be discussed.
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Presentation, PowerPoint, 497 KB PowerPoint
Instructions
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The Computer Science Unplugged++ project
The "Computer Science Unplugged" project is a novel approach to getting children interested in computing without the distraction of using a computer. Many free resources are available to help K–12 teachers run activities in computing or math classes. This year a new phase of the project called "Unplugged++" has been launched. Thanks to sponsorship from organizations including Google, "Unplugged++" includes a richer and growing selection of free multimedia resources, books, a "non-programming" competition, and many more innovations. In this session, we will demonstrate unplugged activities ranging from binary number representation to parallel sorting to how faxes work. These activities are "open source" (available for free download), technology free, kinesthetic, conceptual, require few materials and cover many areas of computer science.
Download Presentation, PDF, 75.1 KB PDF Instructions
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Do it with Flash!
Draw, animate, program javascript, program OOT, integrate audio/video/movie clips and publish to the World Wide Web with FLASH! You can even interact with a back-end SQL data server. Flash has ‘grown up' and is the de-facto standard for web-marketing and communication for many industries. Sit back and enjoy a whirlwind demonstration of all of these concepts complete with sample student assignments, demonstrations and a relaxed Q&A session. There may even be some magic for you to take back to your school!
http://www.dbeesoft.com/flash2006/
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Personal Robots for Education: Can Robots Re-Invigorate Computer Science Education?
Georgia Tech, Bryn Mawr College and Microsoft have joined forces to create the Institute for Personal Robots in Education. IPRE's mission is broad: to employ robots in education at all levels from middle school to graduate school. Our initial target, however, is introductory undergraduate computer science. IPRE's investigators expect to show that by empowering every student with their own personal robot, purchased with the class textbook, we can improve retention in and attraction of students to computer science.
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Teaching Computer Science in Urban Schools
This session will report on the successes and obstacles urban computer science teachers face as they work to recruit and retain traditionally underrepresented students in K–12 educational settings. Drawing upon research and subsequent intervention programs in Los Angeles Unified School (LAUSD), this presentation will begin by reviewing results of a 3–year study which examined the structural and psychological barriers preventing females, African Americans, and Latinos from pursuing computer science in inner-city schools. Next, the session will consider how relationships between schools, districts, and universities can support the creation of classroom cultures which attract urban students to computer science. The session will conclude with several specific recommendations for teachers and administrators to broaden the participation of girls and students of color in K–12 computer science education.
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Presentation, PowerPoint, 8.15 MB PowerPoint
Instructions
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Simpler is Better: An Introduction to Python as a Teaching Language
Python is a free, portable, very-high-level, object-oriented programming language. Its simplicity and elegance make it a perfect language for beginning programmers and enhance the productivity of experienced professionals. Python is now a standard tool in many areas of software development and has found a home at places like Google and NASA. Using Python as the primary language in our CS curriculum at Wartburg College has allowed our students to focus more on fundamental concepts of computer science and less on arcane language issues. This talk is an introduction to the Python language emphasizing its uses in teaching, especially for introductory programming courses.
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The Future of Geography and Other Disciplines: Applications of Geotechnologies
Do you remember coloring maps in geography class? Chances are, that's one of the reasons that geography was your least favorite subject. Times have changed, and geography is now on the cutting edge of technology, engaging students using GIS and GPS to increase spatial awareness. Geotechnologies are also becoming increasingly mainstream in other academic disciplines, such as science and business, as well as in every day life as more and more people have GPS in their vehicles to make stopping to ask for directions obsolete. GIS allows users to gather, manage, and analyze data and incorporate its spatial attributes which is what truly makes GIS unique. The applications of geotechnologies are relevant to everyone and we must equip our students with the technology and skills to make effective decisions for our future.
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Presentation, PowerPoint, 1.52 MB PowerPoint
Instructions
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Program Your Own Games with XNA
XNA Game Studio Express is a new offering, targeted at students and hobbyists for game development. XNA Game Studio Express is based on Visual C# Express 2005 and lets developers target both Windows and Xbox 360. Come in and learn about XNA, its evolution and how to leverage it to create your own games on Windows and the XBOX 360. Bring your laptops and follow along, hands-on. (Installation bits will be provided on site.)
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Presentation, PowerPoint, 2.79 MB PowerPoint
Instructions
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Wiki Websites in the Classroom
Collaborative websites such as Wikipedia have become very popular in the last few years. As an educational tool in the classroom, "wikis"enable students to simultaneously create and edit online documents. In this session, we will examine how to install and configure a wiki, address and solve security concerns, and discuss strategies for using wikis in the classroom. Alternative technologies will also be considered.
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Media Computation: Putting Computing in an Inviting Context
At Georgia Tech, we have been creating a two semester sequence of courses (essentially equivalent to the CS AP A & B content) around the context of creating and manipulating media. Students in these classes learn about loops by writing progrms negating and generating grayscale version of pictures; they learn about array manipulation by writing programs to splice sounds; they learn about linked list manipulation by composing music through nodes filled with MIDI notes; and they meet their first tree as a "scene graph." We call this approach "media computation." The results are compelling: Dramatically higher retention rates, particularly among women and non-technical majors, and renewed interest in computing degrees. I will show off student work and present some of our research findings.
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Get a "Second Life"!
This workshop will help you understand the potential and value of Second Life as an interactive media platform, where you can construct buildings, create clothing, host events, stream media, and create highly interactive and compelling environments. This workshop will help you identify and position the value of Second Life in education. Sign up for an avatar – http://www.secondlife.com – it's free!
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How the Internet Works and Who Cares
Ever wonder about TCP/IP, NSP, gateways, syn & ack, etc.? We will define/describe these and other terms/concepts while providing an overview of how the Internet works from your desktop (connected to a LAN or dial-up) to the far reaches of the Internet (or next door). A variety of instructional aids will be used and made available as will a list of references to further information appropriate for non-techies. We will also discuss why this information is useful for teachers and students.
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Presentation, PowerPoint, 252 KB PowerPoint
Instructions
Download
Handout, PDF, 84.9 KB PDF
Instructions
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Broadening Participation in Computing: Making Computer Science Relevant for All Students
The opportunities are incredible. The possibilities are endless. So where are the students? What’s it going to take to attract and retain students in computer science and information technology courses? How can we help students connect what happens in the classroom or the clubhouse with their “real” lives? Join me in examining how we can begin to change the image of computing, invite students to explore STEM careers and engage them in developing the skills they’ll need tomorrow - today.
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