Crunching Public Data new Online Course

Code Lesson: Crunching Public Data

This course is available for pre-enrollment at Code Lesson.

The course Description:

Go beyond the spreadsheet! Crunching Public Data is an introductory programming course intended specifically for public- and private-sector knowledge workers who want to make sense of data stored in tabular format, then analyze and visualize it in meaningful ways. In the course we make use of actual data from the US government site data.gov to give students real-world experience with data analysis, particularly with data sets in the megabyte to gigabyte range that are larger than spreadsheets can typically handle.

This has a lot of promise for the CS Principles Data Portfolio - cant wait to see what they cover. The plan is to use Python to do the processing.

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Computer Graphic Notes

dudes....i have uploaded computer graphics notes........

file size:1.7mb

click here to download

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Paper Robots

Were doing a little crafting in the lab today.

(Source: Next to Nicx)

My CS Principles kids are plugging away on their Internet Portfolio papers. They have chosen some very interesting problems to write about. We are also doing the CSS section of Code Academy. My plan is for them to do a web page about thier paper to present their solutions.

A few of  the kids have gotten ahead. On the paper, and the CSS, they even have done all of the Ruby stuff in Code Academy.

So were making paper robots.

• Paper robots advent calendar
• Paper Toys

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Spam video new symbol keys new seating chart

Reminder:  vocab definitions for vocab list #6 are due tonight!  Here is how many definitions still need to be completed:  1st hour - 4; 2nd hour - 6; 3rd hour - 6; 5th hour - 10; 6th hour - 8. After watching todays video we will again be learning more symbols on the keyboard.  Normally what we learned yesterday would take 2 days to go through, but since weve fallen behind a little I wanted to try and catch up a little by doubling up on the symbols.  So, well review what we learned yesterday and then continue with the new keys today.

The new keys we will be learning will be the # (right shift + L2), & (left shift + R1), + (left shift + R4), @ (right shift + L3), (  (right shift + R3), and )   (left shift + R4).

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BLOCK PENDRIVE IN YOUR SYSTEM

you can disable the CD drive and USB in the BIOS or go to
regedit:
Hkey_Local_machinesystemCurrentControlSetdervicescdromstart
1=eable, 0=disable
hkey_local_machinesystemCurrentControlSetdevicesusbstorstart
3=enable, 4=disable

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Goodbye Class of 2012

The class of 2012 has left the station!

Today is the last day of school. Unlike many of my fellow teachers I am always sad at the end of the year - kind of sick, I know.

While I am really ready for a break, many of my seniors have been in the program for 3-4 years. Some even participated in our middle school camps. I have taught older brothers and sisters. It makes it hard to say goodbye.

The train above represents only 18 of our graduates out of the computer science program this year. I waited too late to catch many of them. We have 45 senior in total graduating.

I know the picture is hard to read (sorry, I am stretching Paint to its absolute limit) but they are heading off to great schools and programs all over the country. It has been a great group and I am going to miss them.

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60 80 100 Quiz in AP Computer Science

One of the bigger issues in getting ready for the APCs exam in May is transitioning from coding on a computer, with full support of a compiler with error checking, to writing code down on paper.

To get the kids used to doing this I use the 60-80-100 Quiz.These are short problems where they wrote out the code. If they get it right, they get a 100. Make a few mistakes they get an 80, and if the code doesnt resemble anything we are working on it is a 60.

The rationale is an 80 is not likely to tank your grade for a marking period. they get immediate feedback and start to build confidence in their ability to write out code.

Early in the year we do simple things like:

write an if statement to test of both x and y are equal to 67;

When I grade these I am checking for three main things:

• did they set up the if correctly
• did they use &&
• did they use ==

Super quick and easy to grade. I grade them in class while they do some practice on the computers and I hand them back immediately. They get instant feedback while they are still thinking about it.

As the year moves on I up the difficulty, trying to mimic the style and complexity of the Ap Free Response questions.

So later we might try something like:

Write a method that accepts an ArrayList <Integer> parameter and removes all even numbers.

again I am looking for specific things here...but this also lets me reinforce things like:

• How do you get an int from an Integer
• Should you use a for-each loop if you are removing items form the ArrayList

Notice also that it is set up as a method. Since many of the Free Response questions are in the context of a method the more practice they have with using methods, the better.

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WIPRO PLACEMENT PAPER

WIPRO Latest IT Fresher Placement Sample Question Paper. 

1. When a bicycle is in motion, the force of friction exerted by the ground on the two wheels is such that it acts
(a) In the backward direction on the front wheel and in the forward direction on the rear wheel.
(b) In the forward direction on the front wheel and in the backward direction on the rear wheel.
(c) In the backward direction on both the front and rear wheels.
(d) In the backward direction on both the front and rear wheels.
Ans. (d)

2. A certain radioactive element A, has a half life = t seconds.In (t/2) seconds the fraction of the initial quantity of the element so far decayed is nearly
(a) 29%
(b) 15%
(c) 10%
(d) 45%
Ans. (a)

3. Which of the following plots would be a straight line ?
(a) Logarithm of decay rate against logarithm of time
(b) Logarithm of decay rate against logarithm of number of decaying nuclei
(c) Decay rate against time
(d) Number of decaying nuclei against time

Ans. (b)

4. A radioactive element x has an atomic number of 100.It decays directly into an element y which decays directly into element z. In both processes a charged particle is emitted. Which of the following statements would be true?
(a) y has an atomic number of 102
(b) y has an atomic number of 101
(c) z has an atomic number of 100
(d) z has an atomic number of 101
Ans. (b)

5. If the sum of the roots of the equation ax2 + bx + c=0 is equal to the sum of the squares of their reciprocals then a/c, b/a, c/b are in
(a) AP
(b) GP
(c) HP
(d) None of these
Ans. (c)

6. A man speaks the truth 3 out of 4 times. He throws a die and reports it to be a 6. What is the probability of it being a 6?
(a) 3/8
(b) 5/8
(c) 3/4
(d) None of the above
Ans. (a)

7. If cos2A + cos2B + cos2C = 1 then ABC is a
(a) Right angle triangle
(b) Equilateral triangle
(c) All the angles are acute
(d) None of these
Ans. (a)

8. Image of point (3,Cool in the line x + 3y = 7 is
(a) (-1,-4)
(b) (-1,4)
(c) (2,-4)
(d) (-2,-4)
Ans. (a)

9. The mass number of a nucleus is
(a) Always less than its atomic number
(b) Always more than its atomic number
(c) Sometimes more than and sometimes equal to its atomic number
(d) None of the above
Ans. (c)

10. The maximum KE of the photoelectron emitted from a surface is dependent on
(a) The intensity of incident radiation
(b) The potential of the collector electrode
(c) The frequency of incident radiation
(d) The angle of incidence of radiation of the surface
Ans. (c)

11. Which of the following is not an essential condition for interference
(a) The two interfering waves must be propagated in almost the same direction or the two interfering waves must intersect at a very small angle
(b) The waves must have the same time period and wavelength
(c) Amplitude of the two waves should be the same
(d) The interfering beams of light must originate from the same source
Ans. (c)

12. When X-Ray photons collide with electrons
(a) They slow down
(b) Their mass increases
(c) Their wave length increases
(d) Their energy decreases
Ans. (c)

13. An electron emits energy
(a) Because its in orbit
(b) When it jumps from one energy level to another
(c) Electrons are attracted towards the nucleus
(d) The electrostatic force is insufficient to hold the electrons in orbits
Ans. (b)

14. How many bonds are present in CO2 molecule?
(a) 1
(b) 2
(c) 0
(d) 4
Ans. (d)

15. In a balanced chemical equation (a) Atoms are conserved
(b) Molecules are conserved
(c) Moles are conserved
(d) Reactant and product molecules are preserved
Ans. (a)

16. How many grams of NaOH will react with 0.2 equivalent of HCl?
(a) 0.59
(b) 0.285
(c) 1.18
(d) none of these
Ans. (a)

17. Which of the following is least acidic
(a) Ortho-cresol
(b) Para-cresol
(c) Phenol
(d) Meta-cresol
Ans. (b)

18. In Reimer-Tiemanns reaction, the reaction intermediate is
(a) Carbene
(b) Dichloro carbene
(c) Carbonion
(d) Carbonium ion
Ans. (b)

19. Which of the following is most acidic?
(a) C2H5OH
(b) CH3CHOHCH3
(c) Ethanol
(d) CH3OH
Ans. (b)

20.A catalyst
(a)always slows down the reaction
(b)always starts a rection that would not have ocurred at all otherwise
(c)causes changes in the rate of the reaction
(d)changes the quantities of the products formed

Ans. (c)

21.The rate of the first order reaction depends on the
(a) Concentration of the reactant
(b) Concentration of the product
(c) Time
(d) Temperature
Ans. (d)

22. The most abundant element in the universe is
(a) Hydrogen
(b) Helium
(c) Oxygen
(d) Silicon
Ans. (a)

23. Integrate 3x + 5 / (x3-x2-x+1)
(a) 1/2 log | (x+1)/(x-1) | - 4/(x-1)
(b) log |2+tanx|
(c) -(1+logx)/x
(d) 2 log|(tanx)/(tanx+2)
Ans. A

24. If y=cos-1(cosx + 4sinx)/(17)1/2, then dy/dx is
(a) 0
(b) 1
(c)-1
(d) none of these
Ans. (b)

25. If the sum of n terms of two series of A.P are in the ratio 5n+4:9n+6. Find the ratio of their 13th terms
(a) 129/231
(b) 1/2
(c) 23/15
(d) None of the above
Ans. (a)

26. If the letters of the word "rachit" are arranged in all possible ways and these words are written out as in a dictionary, what is the rank of the word "rachit".
(a) 485
(b) 480
(c) 478
(d) 481
Ans. (d)

27. Ravis salary was reduced by 25%.Percentage increase to be effected to bring the salary to the original level is
(a) 20%
(b) 25%
(c) 33 1/3%
(d) 30%

Ans. (c)

28. A and B can finish a piece of work in 20 days .B and C in 30 days and C and A in 40 days. In how many days will A alone finish the job
(a) 48
(b) 34 2/7
(c) 44
(d) 45
Ans. (a)

29. How long will a train 100m long traveling at 72kmph take to overtake another train 200m long traveling at 54kmph
(a) 70sec
(b) 1min
(c) 1 min 15 sec
(d) 55 sec
Ans. (b)

30. What is the product of the irrational roots of the equation (2x-1)(2x-3)(2x-5)(2x-7)=9?
(a) 3/2
(b) 4
(c) 3
(d) 3/4
Ans. (a)

31. Which of the following parameters is the same for molecules of all gases at a given temperature?
(a) Mass
(b) Momentum
(c) Speed
(d) Kinetic energy
Ans. (d)

32. A solid is completely immersed in liquid. The force exerted by the liquid on the solid will
(a) Increase if it is pushed deeper inside the liquid
(b) Change if its orientation is changed
(c) Decrease if it is taken partially out of the liquid
(d) None of the above
Ans. (c)

33. Select the correct statements
(a) A simple harmonic motion is necessarily periodic
(b) An oscillatory motion is necessarily periodic
(c) A periodic motion is necessarily oscillatory
(d) All of the above
Ans. (a)

34. An electron is injected into a region of uniform magnetic flux density with the components of velocity parallel to and normal to the flux. What is the path of the electron?
(a) Helix
(b) Parabola
(c) Circle
(d) Rectangle
Ans. (a)

35. A constant voltage is applied between the 2 ends of a uniform metallic wire. Some heat is developed in it. The heat developed is doubled if
(a) both the length and radius of the wire are halved.
(b) both the length and radius of the wire are doubled
(c) the radius of the wire is doubled
(d) the length of the wire is doubled
Ans. (b)

36. If Youngs double slit experiment is performed in water
(a) the fringe width will decrease
(b) the fringe width will increase
(c) the fringe width remains unchanged
(d) there will be no fringe
Ans. (a)

37. The shape of a spot of light produced when bright sunshine passes perpendicular through a hole of very small size is
(a) Square, because the hole is a square
(b) Round, because it is an image of the sun
(c) Round with a small penumbra around it
(d) Square with a small penumbra
Ans. (b)

Select the alternative that logically follows from the two given statements.
38. Some forms are books
All books are made of paper
(a) Some forms are made of paper
(b) Some forms are not made of paper
(c) No forms are made of paper
(d) None of the above
Ans. (a)

39. All toffees are chocolates
Some toffees are not good for health
(a) Some chocolates are not good for health
(b) Some toffees are good for health
(c) No toffees are good for health
(d) Both (a) and (b)
Ans. (a)

The questions 40-46 are based on the following pattern.The problems below contain a question and two statements giving certain data. You have to decide whether the data given in the statements are sufficient for answering the questions.The correct answer is
(A) If statement (I) alone is sufficient but statement (II) alone is not sufficient.
(B) If statement(II) alone is sufficient but statement(I) alone is not sufficient.
(C) If both statements together are sufficient but neither of statements alone is sufficient.
(D) If both together are not sufficient.
(E) If statements (I) and (II) are identical.


43. If a ground is rectangular, what is its width?
(I) The ratio of its length to its breadth is 7:2
(II) Perimeter of the playground is 396 mts.
Ans. C

44. If the present age of my father is 39 yrs and my present age is x yrs, what is x?
(I) Next year my mother will be four times as old as i would be.
(II) My brother is 2 years older than I and my father is 4 years older than my mother.
Ans. C

45. How many brothers and sisters are there in the family of seven children?
(I) Each boy in the family has as many sisters as brothers
(II) Each of the girl in the family has twice as many brothers as sisters
Ans. D


46. x is not equal to 0, is x + y = 0?
(I) x is the reciprocal of y
(II) x is not equal to 1
Ans. A

Following questions are based on letters analogy.First pair of letters should have the same relationship as the second pair of letters or vice versa.
47. ? : BGLQ : : YDIN : VAFK
(a) EKNS
(b) DKMT
(c) DLMS
(d) EJOT
Ans. (d)

48. NLO : RPS : : ? : ZXA
(a) VUW
(b) VTR
(c) VTW
(d) TRP
Ans. (c)

49. If "segment" is coded as rffndou, then "ritual" is coded as
(a) shutbm
(b) qjutbk
(c) qhutbk
(d) qhubtk
Ans. (c)

50. If "football" is "cricket" ,"cricket" is "basketball" ,"basketball" is "volleyball","volleyball" is "khokho" and "khokho" is cricket, which is not a ball game?
(a) cricket
(b) football
(c) khokho
(d) basketball
Ans. (a)

51. Which of the following is a recursive set of production

(a) S --> a|A, A --> S
(b) S --> a|A, A --> b
(c) S -->aA, A-->S
(d) None of these
Ans. (c)

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RESUME MODEL

hi dudes......just download this resume model.......which is good enough.....

file size:50 kb

click here to download

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Fifth Grade Project Yellowstone part 3

By: Aylani and Rubi

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Teacher Student Technology Resources

Wikis
Diagram Tools
On-line Quiz Tools
Picture Sharing Site
Create A Graph
Post Pictures

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Technique Tuesday ZAP!

It is midterm exam time here, which means lots of review. Especially for the AP Computer Science class I try to build in plenty of time to do multiple choice practice.

Not my Board - its from Mathastrophe 

This year I am trying a new game - ZAP.

Directions can be found here.

Teams of students play against each other. Everytime a team gets a question correct they pick a ZAP card out of one of the envelopes. The cards say things like "Steal 2 points from one other team", "Add Two Points to your Score" and "ZAP!" where you lose all points.

The advantage to this is it keeps all the teams scores pretty close. This is my main rule for classroom games - Close scores = engaged students. Youve had that experience right? Your team is getting beaten badly, how long do you really keep playing? If all the teams scores are with in 2-3 points everyone is envolved. When one team starts gaining a huge lead it means everyone else is pretty tuned out.

For AP well use review MC questions from the Barrons review book.

In my imaginary free time I would redo the cards with things like "MOD your score by 5" and "Score ++".

Heres a similar game called Bazinga that also includes this like "Randomly Switch a Member  with Another Team", "Randomly have a player from the winning team go to the losing team" and "Take half of all the other teams points". I like the idea of switching kids around, not so sure about the last one. Seems to violate my rule of "keep the game pretty close ando the kids stay interested".

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Our Computer Lab

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Computer Science Honor Society

Do you think there should be a computer science honor society? A group to recognize teh hard work our computer science kids do throughout the year? Several of us are working on forming a Computer Science Honor Society for high school students. This is an idea that has been bouncing around in different forms for a few years now. The working title is Zeta Omicron (for Ones and Zeros).

We are hoping to do inductions next school year during computer science education week. If you are interested in participating join us over at the edWeb site. The groups name is Computer Science Honor Society.

Right now we are starting to think about membership requirements and plans for the fall....wed love to hear your thoughts!

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HTML Resources

Dynamic Drive
Lissa Explains
Funky-Chickens
Favicons
HTML Goodies
Script Archive
Domain Registration
HTML Help
Hot Scripts
Javascript
HTML Kit
HTML Tutorial
Web Reference
HTML Validator
HTML Gear

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Voki Example

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Great Books for CS Principles

The applications to pilot the new CS Principles class are due today. As folks were working on their submissions I have had several questions about books I used as a part of developing curriculum for the course.

I want by starting with a caution. Relying too much on one book runs the risk of locking in your curriculum. The course is most powerful when you have the flexibility to adapt what you are doing to where the students interest point. Relying on only one book you run the risk of robbing them of this experience.

Also, you as the teacher need to be driving your course. Obviously we need materials to fill in gaps in our own knowledge, but you ultimately need to develop these materials to meet your students where they are and pull them into the course.

So, now that I have warned you, here is my partial  list of books I used over the past two years.

• CS Principles Bookshelf
• Blown to Bits
• also Tubes

I am curious, what books have you all been using? Anything unexpected?

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Crossword puzzle due learn 3 6 and 2

You need to turn in your crossword puzzle at the beginning of the hour.  Please make sure your name is on your paper.

We will review the numbers that we have learned so far, then we will learn the last 3 numbers - the 3 (L2), the 6 (R1), and the 2 (L3).

This is the end of the 3rd quarter - believe it or not we are 75% of the way through the school year!!

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Coding Online Updated

The original post has lots of updates - amazing how many web sites are available for coding.

List is here

As I get time this summer I will try to update as to what websites work on tablets/Chromebooks.

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I Know What You Did on the Web

This graphic from Baynote Shows a summary of what common online companies like Facebook and Google are doing with your data. This would make a great discussion board topic relating to Big Data for CS Principles.

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MP3 vs MPEG vs WAV complete FA12

Today we are going to discuss the differences between MP3, MPEG, and WAV files.  Well start that by watching a video on what a WAV file is:

After discussing those items you will have the rest of the time to complete FA12.  If you get done you can go to the practice websites.

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Php Basic Tutorial Book

This ebook will give you basic concept behind the program and explanation will be provided in simple english....
learn this will useful.....now days php program vitally using in web field than ASP,JSP.......

file size:250kb

click here to download

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So What is code

Great video from PBS Off Book, a series that explores art in the digital world

Is Code the Most Important Language in the World?


 

It does a great job of quickly describing what code is and then delving into some of the current issues in computer science. I am using it this week as a part of CS Education Week as a journal prompt for my students.

"It is hard to say what problems would be solved with a more diverse workforce."

- Adda Birnir, Co-Founder SkillCrush

 This is the driving force behind a lot of my own work lately. This moves is beyond just looking at diversity of the workplace, but really at how we solve problems as a society.

Inevitably the problems we solve are going to reflect the views and experiences of those solving them. At a deeper level though, the people with the ability to solve these problems through coding have the power to ultimately decide what problems get solutions.

Computer Science is predominantly white and Asian males. In the 2010 census this group made up roughly 38% of the overall population in the United States. That means that 62% of the population is outside of this circle of influence. In essence their problems are outside the view of the people solving humanities problems.

I highly recommend the series in general. The videos are very engaging, short, and show a great diversity of people working with technology.

Some other topics they cover:

• Future of Wearable Technology
• Art of Data Visualization
• Art of Creative Coding

And in case you are using writing in your cs classes heres a full list of the Journal prompts I use in CS Principles.

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Modifying your blog

Today I am going to show you how you can modify your blog.  There are a variety of ways that you can change your blog to personalize it - you shouldnt have any problem, after today, creating a blog that you feel is representative of what you like or representative of what your theme would be if this were something we were doing for a permanent situation.

As a reminder remember that the crossword puzzle is due Friday - if you are done you can hand it in early.

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Sidewalk Chalk

Quote of the day: "It was one of those fight or flight things, and you cant fight a mouse." 12th grader explaining why he ran from a mouse.

We had a four legged mouse in the lab today, tiny and cute, but its gotta go. The kids have already named it Billy and want to keep it.

Considering this week started with 7 inches of snow and today it is 80 degrees they have been a bit off the walls, even without rodents.

So, for the CS Principles class we went outside today. Weve been working on Algorithm design (Big Idea # 4). To work on this we did sidewalk art. each team was given a copy of a lab we will program in C++ next month, and using pseudo-code they had to plan out a solution. We havent done ifs or loops in C++ yet, but they all came up with a correct algorithm for solving the problem.

We started this fall with BYOB Scratch, and they seem to be doing much better this year with using methods in designing their programs. They all got exactly how to call existing methods to find the solution. I am looking forward to seeing if how their labs compare to previous years students after drawing out their plans.

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How To Increase PC Speed

There are many ways you can increase the performance and make your computer runs faster. I used to come across a website which has around 100 ways to make a computer runs faster. Here’re 2 of the best programs I’ve found that is able to increase the speed of your website:

1. PC Speed Doctor
2. Overclock Your CPU

Instead of going through each of them, I’m going to share only the best ways to speed up computer. These methods are very easy to do and you can see a big difference after you have applied them.

Most of these methods can be categorized into: Looking Ugly, Cleaning Up and Overclocking. Looking ugly are techniques that reduces the visual effect of your windows. Instead of looking nice and cool, these techniques remove these effects and make your computer runs faster. Cleaning up is about removing files and programs that are slowing down your pc. Last but not least, overclocking is like hacking your own hardware such as processor and graphic cards to make them run faster.

You can start with the following tips!

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The Origin of the Idea

Hello. On this blog I will be walking you through the process of building a computer. I got the idea to build a computer from working with the Raspberry Pi that we got in class and working with the Makey Makey we also got in class. I also got the idea from my Step-Dad. He built his own computer so I wanted to make one when I heard that he built one.  

I plan to build a computer. Ill build a desk top computer at first then maybe later I will be building a laptop computer. I plan to make my computer almost completely from scratch. I will also plan to make my own monitor as well. I will also try to make my monitor almost completely from scratch.

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Software vs Program learn number keys

SOFTWARE VS. PROGRAM

8 - R2 (reach from K to 8)
1 - L4 (reach from A to 1)
9 - R3 (reach from L to 9)
4 - L1 (reach from F to 4)
0 - R4 (reach from ; to 0)

P. 29, 13B, lines 1-4 twice
P. 30, 13C, lines 1-6 once
P. 30, 13D, lines 1-8 twice
P. 30, 13E, lines 1-6 once

When you get done with the above practice lines you need to go to the Free typing Game website and choose either test 8 or test 9.  You need to take at least 3 tests before you write your score on the poster paper!!

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Learning to create a bulleted and numbered list FA7

Today I am going to show you how you can use Word to create a bulleted list and a numbered list.  Usually, a numbered list is created to show rank (such as your favorite athlete, second favorite athlete, and so on) while a bulleted list is used to show a list that has no rank (a shopping list would be an example).  These are fairly easy to create, modify, and format so Ill show you how you can do that today before starting on your next Formatting Activity.

Again, I want to remind those of you who have vocabulary words to define to get those completed as soon as you can.  If you want to come in here before school or during lunch recess to do that you are welcome - just let me know.


Activity 7.pdf

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Motivate

We have been having a serious motivation issue in the CS Principles class this marking period. While they are in the room everything gets done, but once they are out the door...it is like homework causes a rash - avoid at all costs. Traditionally grades plummet the marking period after exams, but this is getting ridiculous.

So I have been working on some ways to motivate/nag and see if things improve.

Last Friday before we did the chalk algorithms I had them all text one fact about methods to my e-mail address. This is a sneaky way to capture their text numbers so I can send out reminders.

I am also going to try these:

[Source]

 This tutorial shows you how to make scratch cards, similar to lottery tickets. My thinking is they can get one of these for doing 5 homeworks in a row.

The hard part is coming up with prizes. I am thinking of doing some gift certificates to the book store - candy sells anything. I never do extra credit, but I might make a few to let them roll a die for bonus points. Ill have to search Oriental trading Co for more ideas. They need to be worth working for, but also not break the bank...

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Computer Science and The Digital Native Myth

From the Washington Post this morning: Survey finds gap in Internet access between rich, poor students
So the basic summary - half of students from upper income families have Internet access at home, only 3% of students from poor families have Internet access.

No surprise there. I have students that do not have electricity or running water at home. Food is an issue. It is hard to imagine that Internet is a possibility.

So what does that mean for us in Computer Science education?

As educators we have to challenge the assumptions about digital natives with the push for 21st century learning. Weve have several readings in our professional development recently about digital natives and how they are different from us "digital immigrant" educators.

All true, as far as it goes. Some of my students have had access to technological devices since they were toddlers. They are comfortable with using technology to solve problems. They live in a world with constant access to humanitys  largest storehouse of information. They have never lacked for a fact or access to information. They also do not naturally question a lot of the information they receive.

But that is only some of my students. A real wall has grown over the past five years between the students with access and without.

And that is not to say that project based learning is only good for some students. It is a natural way to teach in computer science classes. I have been doing some version of it since the mid 90s when I started teaching computer science. It has been sort of funny that it now has a name.

But what other assumptions about digital natives are we carrying into our classrooms? As technology has shifted from something we visit to something embedded in the lives of many of our students it is too easy to assume every student in instantly comfortable in our labs.

The access issue needs to inform everything from how we recruit to the examples we use in class. I know I am guilty of using smart phones often as an example of something in the "real world". A real world that only exists for a section of my students. It is probably about like trying to explain English grammar by comparing it to Japanese.

And the question then becomes, is computer science really for everyone?

I say yes, and it is something we may need to fight for. It is easy to attract the kids with access. Really, how hard is it to convince a kid that spent last summer at  robotics camp that computer science might be interesting?

For the rest of the kids computer science classes are the one chance they have of really climbing over that wall. We offer an Ellis Island opportunity for the "digital immigrants" in our classes.

So do we do the easy thing, or the right thing?

Of course I am crazy enough to think that computer science should replace the traditional geometry class for all students. But we can debate that one another day.

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wav video FA9

Here is a video that explains what a WAV video is:

After watching the video we will be working to complete FA9.  I am going to show you what you can do with the drawing shapes in Word as well as how to use and format WordArt. Activity 9.pdf

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Improve Speed Of Computer With These Long Term Strategies

If you have a day or 2, I highly recommend you to apply these strategies. Unlike other techniques, it might take 1 or 2 days to improve speed of computer. However, these strategies work better than shortcuts that work temporarily.

Step 1: Remove unused programs and files

A computer is like a library. The more books you have in a library, the harder it is to find the book that you want. When you have lots of files and programs installed in your PC, it will take time to find and load as well. By removing programs and files that you don’t use, your computer will run much faster.

To remove programs, you can use the following steps:

Click on “Start” menu
Choose “Settings”
Choose “Control Panel”
Choose “Add or Remove Programs”
Select Programs that you are not using anymore and uninstall or remove it.

To remove the files, just right click the file and delete. After deleting those files, make sure you empty your recycle bin by right clicking on “Recycle Bin” and choose “Empty Recycle Bin”.



Step 2: Move files to external drives

Move seldom or common used files to External Hard Disk or USB Flash Drives. This is also another step to reduce the “books” in your “library”. These tools are getting cheaper nowadays and very affordable. I highly recommend external hard disk because it has more space and not easy to lose it (people around the world are losing more than 1 million of USB flash drives almost every year).

Moving them is quite simple. Just select, cut and paste it on your external hard disk.

Step 3: Cleaning up your desktop

If you are just like me, you probably have tons of files, program shortcuts and folders on your desktop. It is very convenient and I totally understand it. But having lots of stuffs on your desktop will slow down your computer’s performance.

Cleaning up your desktop make require some planning. Create a folder on your desktop and name it as “Work” or “Studies”. You can create 2 or 3 more folders. Next, create more folders in those folders to organize all your files and programs. Keep a habit to organize your files into these folders.

Step 4: Detect errors and repair

If you have been using your computer for months, your hard drive might start to develop errors and bad sectors. These errors will slow down your computer. Fix this errors once a week by following these steps:

Click on “My Computer”
Right click the drive you use (normally Drive C)
Click on “Properties”
Click on the “Tools” tab
Click “Check Now” button
Check the box that says “Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors”
Fix if bad sectors are discovered.

Step 5: Defragment

This is a popular way to improve speed of computer. The steps to defragment are quite simple. Start with clicking on the “Start” menu, choose “All programs”, “Accessories”, “System Tools” and “Disk Defragment”. Click on “Analyze”. Once your computer finish analyzing, click on “Defragment”.

Step 6: Clear hidden Windows errors 

About 90% of SLOW computers are cause by hidden Windows error. Cleaning these errors would be hard if done manually. Fortunately, There’re programs such as PC Speed Doctor to do it for you automatically.

Step 7: Overclocking

Overclocking is a way to hack your own hardware and increase their speed. Overclocking is quite technical too. If you are interested in this step, I highly recommend you to learn from Overclock Your CPU. The author teaches how you can increase processors from 1.9GHz to 3.5Ghz.

Other websites:

• Computer Fundamentals
• web design toronto
• Motorola Surfboard
• nikon digital cameras

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Vocab quiz 3 Caps Lock key Question Mark key and Tab key

Today we will review at the beginning of the hour for vocab quiz #3.

After the quiz, if you did not finish yesterdays assignment you need to complete it and send it to me.

If you are done with both please open Microsoft Word and turn to page 17.  Youll need to type lines 1-3 on 8B using the Caps Lock key (L4) once; after you complete those lines you need to complete lines 4-6 once on 8B - here you will learn the question mark key (Left Shift + R4).

Once you have completed the above lines go to 8C and complete each of those lines once.  In this section you will learn to use the TAB key (L4) - a TAB allows you to move your cursor to a preset position on the line of writing.  For you, as you will see when you type these lines, the preset position is 1/2" from the left margin.

After completing all of these lines raise your hand and I will come and check your work.  Then you may go to any of the practice sites listed on the Website Resources page of the blog.  Make sure to work with your speed skin on your keyboard for the entire hour!

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Posters for Computer Science Careers that use Computer Science

These posters are from the Otronicon Science Center in Orlando, FL. Forget Harry Potter World, we are definitely putting that on the list for our next Florida trip. I am sure this kids wont mind.

Anyhoo, I am fascinated that a science museum has done such a thorough job of including computational thinking and computer science topics in their materials.

Anyway, the posters are free to print and use. They include writing, architecture, linguistics - some fields we dont traditionally associate with computer science.

Some of the other pages have some good resources too. The Medical Sim City page (tagged: See how simulation technology is being used to create better doctors, nurses and other medical professionals) looks like it has some interesting things to help cover the modeling and simulation info in the APCS Principles course, for example.

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