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
Magic 8 Ball and Projects From Real Life
There has been a 12 inch tall Pez dispenser on my desk for a couple of years now. It’s a great visual aid for talking about stacks. Today I got a Magic 8 Ball as...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
A Loop By Any Other Name
My first programming language was FORTRAN IV. As I recall we had Do loops. They worked pretty much the same as what we call For loops in most languages today. We...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
How Many Words in That Text?
One of the projects I have used for years is a letter counter program. The idea is to count the occurrences of each individual letter. It’s a nice project thatAbout...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
What Time Is 30 Minutes From Now?
Got the proctor guide for the PSAT that I have to proctor next week. There is a chart to help proctors determine stop times that are 25, 35, 50, and 60 minutes...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Michael Backus Alaska Middle School Computer Science Teacher
Every so often I run into a computer science teacher’s work online and ask myself “how have I never heard of this person before?” This week I listened to a podcast...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
ACM/CSTA 2020 Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing
Applications for the ACM/CSTA 2020 Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing are now open. The deadline is 12 January 2020.The AwardThe ACM/CSTA Cutler-Bell Prize...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
2019 Champions of Computer Science Awards
Know a student or teacher or administrator who has achieved something this year to increase access and quality of CS education. I can think of a number of people...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
The Problem Of Cheating on Programming Projects
This seems to be the year a lot of people are really getting concerned about cheating on computer science programming projects. There has been some discussion of...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
If Statement Programming Projects
Over the years I have used a number of projects to give students practice using if statements – especially those that involved nesting or checking lots of values...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Book Review: "Tools and Weapons"
"Tools and Weapons" by Brad Smith and Carol Ann Browne is a look at some important computing issues through a Microsoft lens. It is a pretty revealing look as the...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Password Checking Tools
Neil Plotnick shared some Password Checking Tools on Facebook recently. I’ve used some of these in the past and find them useful and instructive. https://howsecureismypassword...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing
This is a great program for high school girls interested in technology. I have had several students get awards at the state level and they all say it has been a...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
The Scratch Course For Teachers
This looks like a valuable free professional development course for teachers interested in incorporating Scratch into their curriculum."The Scratch Course" is a...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Updating and Expanding Programming Projects
I’m always looking for new projects. I found an interesting example in the book “The Creativity Code” (Creativity Code review here). It was a poem generator that...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
What I Want from Computer Science Education Professional Development
The CSTA 2020 Call for Proposals is out and as usual it has me thinking. Two questions come to mind. One is, what can/should I propose to present? The other question...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Vicki Davis Interviews Alfred Thompson
Over the summer Vicki Davis interviewed me for her Ten Minute Podcast. Vicki and I have been friends for a number of years and it is always a pleasure to talk with...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
And So It Begins–School year 2019 2020
Tomorrow (Monday) I will meet the new freshmen in my study hall. And I’ll finish getting my room ready for the new school year. First day of real classes is Tuesday...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Question Technology
One of the interesting t-shirts I saw at CSTA 2019 last week said “Question Technology.” That might seem to be a strange slogan at a computer science education...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
It’s Really About the Teacher
CSTA 2019 gave me a lot to think about. Today I was thinking about what was impressive and I thought about the Tuesday lunch panel. Microsoft brought a panel of...
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson