Category: Blog

Thoughts on NXT

Nice graphical programming language.  Quite expensive – though it is motivating for students to see their robot respond to their commands.

Can do the same things with Alice (Free) and Scratch (Free) but aren’t driving robots. 

I’d rather do the same thing with Java (and perhaps there is one, I think so) if I am spending the money. 

Leon says that there is Java but it is very advanced Java. 

Quote of the day:  Many things done in Java are done in a tedious way!

Leon solves that program with an Expo class.

Spent the rest morning on how he has students learn Java rules

Slight technical difficulties so filled moments while we were sneaker-waring files by talking about pedagogy.

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Lego Robots

Spent a lot of time installing the software, listening to rules in using robots, etc.

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Lab – Lecture approach

Provide programs that illustrate what you are lecturing – I believe that the A Plus Material is set up the same way.

 

The first set of Lego robot programs display data – basically “Hello World!”

The second set of Lego robot programs show how to use variables.

 

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On Break now

While the new teachers were learning how to do Gridworld – the four experienced teachers built lego workshops. two males and teo females. the other female had built them before and she did help me a lot and we beat the males.

We’re at John Paul II Catholic High School and Leon Schram is presenting.  The facility is wonderful and Leon has been doing this AP thing even longer than I have.

The facility here is gorgeous.  The students have their own computers so Leon provided a few notebooks and desktops for people who didn’t have them, or didn’t bring them.

Has full technology set up with technical support.  Nice big LCD TV, two projectors, and a regular white board.  Will be interesting to see how he implements.  The desks are set up with wired connections, and they have wireless network.  Today, at least, I’m using my 3G router.

I’m going to try to live blog on a network, and work on a network.

We will get a full set of presentations each day via CD.  Will have to pull out my external CD Drive.

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First focus is on getting everyone on the same page with the same files. 

And in the meantime, I’m having problems with the ATT 3G network.  May be plugging into their wired network.

Which I did end up doing.

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Most of the morning is getting everyone on the same page.

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After introductions, Leon went over the AP Audit process.  As of the moment, I am showing that I need to be updated in August.  So far, as long as you are at the same school and same course, you don’t have to make any changes.

The AP administrator just needs to update everything in August.

Leon lets new teachers use his syllabus as long as they are actually teaching with his syllabus.

Make sure you use the correct terms or your syllabus will not be approved.

Leon has shared two Syllabus one with and one without PreAP.  By the way, because of my student backgrounds, I think PreAP is extremely important, and won’t let a kid in AP without it.

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Leon says that time is a huge issue and that is why you should teach PreAP Computer Science.  My issue is that many of my students have not touched computers since 7th grade – last required Computer Course.

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Discussed the fact that students are pushed into the AP track in English and Math in elementary school.  AP Computer Science is one of the few AP Courses that stand alone, and have no path from elementary school.

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Short break

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Time Management

Boy howdy, he’s right on this!

Biggest problem is getting enough material covered before the exam.

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Showing us how to create an executable Jar file

I’m not sure why I want to do this. 

They don’t work with DOS boxes and they don’t work with Applets.  Doesn’t make sense to work with an Applet, and the DOS box thing is the reason I’m not sure I care.  We’re using A+ materials in Dallas, and very few of those labs are not DOS box.

We’re going through the process, and I am STILL not sure why we are doing this.

By the way, I’m not providing his directions but you do have to follow them to the exact sentence.  This is a carriage return that if you don’t provide it, it won’t work.

I think he did it to make a teaching point, not a programming point.

In fact, a lot of today is set for the new teacher.  That’s okay.

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Gridworld

Since I am an experienced teacher, I was sent out to build a Lego robot.

Man, I hate AP Workshops.  Not because of the content, but because of the length.  They are usually 4 1/2 days, from 8:30-4:30 and end around noon on Friday so people can fly out.

I accidently signed up for one that was 5 1/2 days and couldn’t figure out why it seemed so long <smile>

It’s been several years since I’ve been and some major changes – timing is good because AB has been gone for a year.

Actually looking forward to the new knowledge, just not looking forward to sitting in a chair for 4 1/2 days. 

The program just told me to update but I don’t see any new features—anyone know what they might be?

My favorite summer gig’s are camps. I love camps, because you can do the fun stuff without any of the hard stuff. I’ll do that in August. By the way, fun stuff is showing how to do new stuf and letting kids learn how to do things. Not fun stuff is writing and grading tests.

Speaking of the not fun stuff – that’s my second favorite summer gig. I don’t get why other teachers don’t do this – we have to have a final one way or another, and I would MUCH rather get paid extra to write a final and not have to grade it. Our final is much better, statistics wise. I’ve got about 10 questions to rewrite on the Fall exam, haven’t seen the Spring.

I did get some bad news – some of the schools are moving from the regular CS I to PreAP. That’s a shame as I see a definite difference in CS I and PreAP students and I hate to see the CS I kids lose the opportunity. My CS I kids just cannot handle the PreAP work.

I have also heard that CS I is being dropped completely from one school.

I’ve always been very careful to use the name a student wants me to use, even if I feel like I am talking to a dog – over the 18 years (yeah, I’m rubbing that in but for a reason) I’ve had two kids with dog names.

One had the same name as the dog I grew up with and wasn’t a normal name.

The other one is the name of a really famous beagle and it wasn’t Uno. But now I am off topic.

My family calls me Kathy still – and everyone called me Kathy until I hit middle school. In fact, I thought my given name – Kathleen – was a dirty word, since it was used only when I misbehaved.

This caused a real problem with my first grade teacher who called all students by their “roll name”. I went for weeks, seriously, very unhappy and wouldn’t explain it to anyone. I don’t remember it myself, but the family tells me. I’m really bad about not talking when I’m upset – and I’ve even taken that to the internet.

Anyway, I switched to Kathleen when I started going to large schools. I was one of 15 or so Kathy’s, but the only Kathleen and I liked that. In college, they called me Kat, which was cool too. My favorite nickname is Kath, and I actually know someone who went by Kath, which is why I have a lot of accounts with the username kathweaver.

But definitely on the internet, I’m kath or Kathleen – NEVER Kathy. So I was a bit surprised when I was called that on a blog post by a good friend. He’s fixed it already and it was all cool. But names are really important.

My real point though – as teachers, it really important we use the names the students want us to use – it helps build a good classroom relationship.

 

It was interesting.  The workshop was too focused on elementary – I wasn’t the only one that felt that way – and not enough on high school.

I need to sit down and look at the materials, as there is some things at the beginning of the year where doing some group work might be good.

Basically Kagan is very structured group work, getting kids to discuss things and work together.  Since I tend to do the opposite in computer science – have the students work independently and give them more work than they can accomplish, Kagan isn’t as useful as it could be.

However, it was interesting.

Oh, and their software was amusing.  Several things weren’t set up well, and she said – well just run it this way – and I couldn’t help myself, I had to comment loudly, well, why couldn’t they just write the program right.

Just finished my 18th year of teaching.  One of my more interesting years.