Titled “Unplug the Internet,” my nifty assignment is an unplugged simulation of how the internet works. Because students are taking on the role of different parts of the internet (DNS, router, client/server, TCP, etc) they are able to build a connection with that vocabulary. This year, I had my AP CSP students facilitate the simulation to my CS1 class as a review for their AP test. They gave lots of positive feedback and for the rest of the year referred back to the person playing the role in class discussions. Find out all the information about my nifty assignment here!
What do I want my students to leave my class knowing? It’s not the nitty gritty details of syntax and memory management. Rather, I want them to see computer science in their everyday activities. I want them to see their coding, iterative design, and critical thinking skills as tools in their toolboxes. And, I want them to have the skill set to investigate and research new ways to use these skills to solve problems. To prove to themselves that they have these skills, I end the year with a final project that I call their “Passion Project.”
Long story short, I ended up writing my own Taboo game to review vocabulary words. Check it out on Replit.com! The game currently offers the choice between AP CSA and AP CSP lists of words, but leave a comment if an important word is missing.
9-12, Advanced Topics, AP Computer Science Principles, Computer Science I, Hybrid Learning, Uncategorized
A few weeks ago I decided to work through this Mixtape tutorial on Repl.it that utilizes the Spotify API. While an excellent tutorial on it’s own, especially for someone teaching themselves, I saw an awesome opportunity to expand each part with rich discussions and discovery activities. Over the course of a few lessons, students explore HTTP requests, discuss the values set forth by the Developer’s Terms of Service, interpret JSON objects, write basic HTML, make use of Flask and Python, and put it all together in the original tutorial’s Mixtape project.
Never too late to the recursion party! Looking at traditional examples from a pedagogical standpoint.
Simulations has always been a fun topic to explore with my computer science students. I know AP only includes it for a lesson or two, but I luxuriously explore it for a few periods since my students have already had some programming experience. If your students are familiar with Python, I’ve got a simulation for them!
Now that we’re about a unit into the year and I’ve both formally and informally gathered feedback from the students, I’ve made some adjustments to my individualized learning model. The commitments I’ve made to the class as a result include…
Inspired by my students, research proposing that meaningful work could help close the gender gap in tech, and my hope that students might see themselves in their work, I revamped my sixth grade curriculum to be framed around computer science for social good. Here’s my lesson plan for day 1 of class.
At the CSTA 2020 Conference this year, I attended Pam Whitlock’s excellent and informative session on what she refers to as “individualized learning.” The concept is relatively simple: students take a pre-test and then work through a series of modules for the unit at their own pace. The modules provide opportunities for students to choose how they want to learn and class time can be used to work with small groups or individual students. Here’s my plan of attack.
Since I always feel short on time, I try to find out what they already know while doing fun activities that set the tone for my classroom. I want students to know that it’s okay to laugh and have fun, try something even if they’re not sure, ask questions, and work together.