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What does "name your large 5A high school in the suburbs" do when there is a fire?
They evaluate the entire building.
What do we do at Dallas ISD?
Put the fire out.
Seriuosly. I’ve helped put a couple of fires out, mostly restroom, one Home Ec. Last month, we had two fires in the district, and in both cases, we put the fire out and went
Fire Damages Lincoln High Camus in Dallas, classes to be held.
This is one of my lost posts from the DNS problems, but VERY revelant
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22686809/
This is really true in the computer science classroom, as the best I can hope for in a sub is a babysitter. Physically things are not too bad. The hall pass is missing and I’ve alerted the administrators AND replaced it.
As for learning — not as many assignments got turned in as I would like.
This six weeks was very hard for my webmastering students. We did Flash, and it is not a piece of software I am comfrtable with. We’re using an older version and the online tutorials do not work as well as they could. Plus we don’t have a book or other reference. Debugging Flash is hard for me. Doing Flash is hard for the kids. The good news, is that now we are doing Dreamweaver and I am very comfortable with it.
My computer science kiddos are just not putting the time and energy into the class they need to. The majority are not taking it seriously and are not asking for help. They waste a lot of class time.
The good news is that the PreAP kids are doing the best.
And my favorite CS kiddo has gained an new appreciation for me, because she got stuck on Monday, and i called in on Tuesday and got her unstuck over the phone.
I still think the trip was worth it, but it did make the week even harder — I was gone Thursday and Friday, which were the end of the six weeks. Also gone Monday and Tuesday. Monday traveling and Tuesday recovering and grading(and I did work all day Saturday and Sunday!). I never would have gotten the work graded if I had came in , as it was, I finished about 2:00 pm.
Wednesday was ELA testing day and only 7th period met.
And now we are out for spring break….
So, here’s the WIkipedia entry. There is actually a binder that was published, that has lesson plans. I know, because it is sitting on my desk.
I’ve downloaded a copy and a program called DOS Box and am working on getting it setup so that the kids can play it easily.
If I got nothing else from the workshop — I’ve gotten this! A program that entertains while teaching problem solving.
Quoted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incredible_Machine:
The Incredible Machine – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Incredible Machine (aka TIM) is a series of computer games that were originally designed and coded by Kevin Ryan and produced by Jeff Tunnell
I agree with the entire article and she says it so well. It was very nice to meet Barb there.
Computer Science Teachers Association
I have just returned from the Game Development in Computer Science Education (GDCSE) conference. I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the 10 Electronic Arts Scholars. The conference was sponsored by Microsoft and Electronic Arts in cooperation with ACM and SIGCSE. It was an intense conference and I did learn some interesting things.
One of the presenters at the Conference mentioned "The Incredible Machine", and one of the first things I’ve done today was to look for it in my closet in my classroom. I found it and I found the original Teacher’s Guide.
I couldn’t help it, when the presenter mentioned his company owned it, I had to comment on how cool it was. So now I’m going to try to get it to run.
Company was GarageGames and they make TorqueX which I am planning to play with.
Unfortunately the floppy doesn’t work, and my current mission is to find it on the web — we "own" 28 copies!
I agree with Alfred completely. This was the BEST workshop I’ve ever been to and here’s why.
1. The conversations. After every block of sessions, I ended up at a meal where we discussed the previous sessions and how to use the information. That has NOT happened at other workshops.
Quoted from http://blogs.msdn.com/alfredth/archive/2008/03/03/game-development-in-computer-science-education-day-1.aspx:
Being at a conference on a cruise ship is different from being on a land based conference. For one thing we are out of range of shore based Internet and cell phone coverage. For another there are not the same distractions that one sees on land. Oh sure there are stores and swimming pools and the casino. But all the places to eat are on the ship and you can’t really go that far without seeing people who are also on the conference. What happens is that people wind up talking to each other – a lot!
2. The lack of snarkiness. AP Computer Science teachers are snarky. They have their cliques, and they have their courts. If you don’t long belong to one of those, you are just left out period. After having said this, I should probably never attend another AP CS conference again, but then oh, well, I’ve always been left out.
3. The level of interaction. I never felt in over my head. I did a lot at the last CMU AP CS conference. I always felt that I could take something out of the workshop and bring it back to my school and disctrict. However, I will admit I skipped all the robotics sessions — it bugs we that we can’t afford them, and I did skip the sessions on how to set up college curriculum. I do that on a regular basis, and have a master’s degree in it.
All in all, it was good, I recommend the cruise format — and the Landry / King company did a fabulous job of taking care of us. Carlyn and Vera provided top notch service, and I really appeciate the private room.
My cell phone came in REAL handy. I haven’t seen the full bill yet, as Cingular is processing it and March 3 is the first date of my cell phone month.
However, I was on the Cingular network all day Thursday, all day on Friday, or most of it, and then again on Monday morning. I was able to get some grading done on Thursday and Friday, which is a good thing. I was also able to commincate with some students.
It was even better in Miami at the airport, I was waiting on a plane for about 4 hours and was able to get quite a bit of grading done, more if I had had a power outlet, I didn’t want to completely drain my battery, not sure why.
This website gives lots of good travel information, and this type of article in particular is one of the two reasons I did not go on shore: http://www.frommers.com/blog/2008/02/next-time-cruiseline-tries-to-sell-you.html
The first reason though was because it was the only downtime we had, and I need to de-stress, de-frizz, and just relax for a few hours. And the best thing I did on the trip was to have a cute Austrialian gal french braid my hair — which de-frizzed me. I didn’t have to touch a brush for three days she did it so well. It really simplified my life. And the price was reaonable.
I drank the Koolaid and was good — but I already like that flavor.
I will be honest, this is one of the best events I’ve ever attended.
Better than TCEA, better than SIGSCE in Auston, and we won’t talk about the AP Workshops….
The premise is: Microsoft and their partners in the game industry are having trouble attracting people wo work for them. There are two issues: One issue that there are not enough applicant to hire, and the other issue is that the ones they do hire often do not have what they feel are "basic skills".
The sessions we went to addressed both. Some concentrated on the first issue — attracting students to computer science since game programming is motivating to a lot of students. Some concentrated on the skills that game programs need.
They also addressed the overall problem — which is decreased enrollment in all computer science programs.
The best thing about this workshop, is I was treated with respect and as an equal.
I also got to play some Xbox — that was just a few hours each night, and I got to be one of the first people to play a particular game written for the Zune.
I’d LOVE to go back.
I am having fun! I’ve had trouble being able to stay in workshops, mainly due to diabetes issues, but it is getting better.
Microsoft, especially Kent, is treating me exceptionally well. Their representatives are fantasic, and I love the ship. As always the first day was very rough, but at least I didn’t fall out of bed.
More when I actually have time to write something thoughtful.