Communications of the ACM
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How the “Frontier” Became the Slogan of Uncontrolled AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been billed as the next frontier of humanity: the newly available expanse whose exploration …
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Priming the Computing Teacher Pump
Where are computer science teachers going to come from? That’s the big question. OK it is one of the big questions about Computer Science for All. IncreasinglyFinding...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
The Struggle To Keep Programs Simple
Debugging code is hard. Really hard. The more complicated the code the harder it is to debug. Brian Kernighan said it well.But oh do my students write clever code...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Is that a Trick Question?
For me at least writing test/quiz questions for programming students is hard. Most of what I assign and grade are projects but sometimes I like to toss out a quiz...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Does Anyone Read the Error Messages?
I suspect most if not every Computer Science teacher has had this conversation:Student: Hey, I’m getting an error.Teacher: What error are you getting?Student: I...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Thinking About CS Textbooks
There are a lot of subjects where I found textbooks to be very valuable when I was a student. History for example. One of my degrees is in Sociology where I read...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
How Hard Is That Programming Problem?
A recent blog post by Mark Guzdial (Learning Computer Science is Different than Learning Other STEM Disciplines) has my mind going in a bunch of different directions...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Computer Science Education Things I'm Watching in 2018
This time of year I like to think about what might happen in the year ahead. 2018 looks to be an interesting year for computer science education. There is a lot...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Looking Back on Computer Science Education in 2017
Time to look back on the past year I think. I wrote a post in January about what I was watching (Computer Science Education Things I’m Watching in 2017) so I think...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
What Do You Do Besides Write Code?
A bunch of years ago I read an op-ed piece in one of the news magazines. I forget the one but the piece itself has stuck with me for years. The Op-ed was written...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Some Thoughts on Drag and Drop Block Programming
I’ve toyed with drag and drop or block based programming for a bunch of years now. I even keep a list of block programming platforms. But this year I am reallyAppInventor...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
CS Educator Interview: Sheena Vaidyanathan
Sheena is a wonderful innovative teacher who I have know for several years. We also served on the CSTA Board together. She works across grad levels (K-8) at a school...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
How (Some) Schools Sabotage Computer Science Education
There are many problems getting more computer science into schools. There is a shortage of teachers. There is a problem with room in the schedule. I could go on...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
A Rose By Any Other Name Gives An Error
There is an old computer science joke that goes more or less like this:There are two hard things in Computer Science: cache invalidation, naming things, and off...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Learning From My Students
Some days I think my greatest edge over my students is that I am better at debugging than they are. Well there is that I actually read documentation as well but...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Resources for Teachers and the AP CS Principles Tasks
If you are teaching Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles for the first time as I am you probably still have lots of questions about the performance tasks...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Joint Task Force on Cybersecurity Education Draft Report
The Joint Task Force on Cybersecurity Education is working on curriculum recommendations for post secondary schools but I think their work will be of interest to...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Can’t We (Computer Science people) All Just Get Along?
There is some real momentum in growing computer science for all people in the US. Even the Trump administration seems to be behind it (more or less). The pot of...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
CS Educator Interview: Adam Newall
With increasing interest in computer science before high school these days you may have noticed that I have a number of K-8 teachers in this series. Several ofBootstrap...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
CS Educator Interview: Mike Zamansky–the update
When I last talked to Mike Zamansky for this blog he was teaching computer science at Stuyvesant high school (one of New York City’s entrance exam high schools)...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson