Arrr! I hope everyone had a swashbuckling day this past September 19. As you no doubt knew, September 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day – an unofficial holiday in which people from around the world are encouraged to have fun and talk like pirates, saying things like “Arrrr” and “Ahoy, matey” whenever possible. The holiday is the brainchild of John Baur and Mark Summers, who started celebrating it among their friends in 1995. Since then, it has been popularized by Dave Barry in his columns and it now draws hordes of visitors to the Talk Like a Pirate Web site (http://www.talklikeapirate.com), and has even spawned books and a clothing line.
As a teacher, I am always looking for examples and applications that bring a sense of fun to my classroom. Over the years, Talk Like a Pirate (TLAP) Day has been a favorite of mine and my students. One year, I brought eye-patches for my entire class. Have you ever tried to give a 1-hour lecture with an eye patch on? Let me tell you, it’s not easy. Plus, it is a challenge to keep your focus when a room full of students are all staring back at you with eye patches.
The great thing about an inspiring idea, is that it can be adapted to different courses. I have used it in CS0 courses, where I have given students a Web-based pirate translator and asked them to play with it and make additions to its vocabulary. I have used it in CS1/CS2 courses in which students wrote translators from scratch, including some fairly complex text processing and GUI-design. I have even used it in a more advanced Web Programming course, where students implemented server-side translators that could select from different languages for translation (such as English to Pirate, or Pirate to Spanish). Some of these are described in the presentation I gave at the Nifty Assignments panel at SIGCSE 2004:
http://nifty/stanford.edu/2004/TalkLikeAPirate
Or check out my latest translator version at:
http://dave-reed.com/TalkLikeAPirate.
Granted, talking like a pirate may not be your thing. But keep on the lookout for inspirations like this that allow you to bring some fun (or should I call it “flair”) to your teaching. As teachers, we need to convey a sense of creativity and excitement about computing, and sometimes being a little silly helps.
And mark September 19 on your calendar for next year so that you are prepared to talk like a pirate, ya scurvy dog!
Cap’n Dave Reed
CSTA Board of Directors

In 1988 David Macaulay’s classic The Way Things Work was published. In 1998, he followed up this very successful book with The New Way Things Work, which includes a chapter entitled “The Digital Domain.” This chapter begins with a very entertaining explanation of bits and binary arithmetic in a story that involves crating up pumpkins from a pumpkin patch. I had the good fortune to come across this story just before going to an elementary school to introduce the concept of binary numbers.
The plan was to teach children in 5th, 4th, and 2nd grade how digitized data is represented, using the “Count the Dots” activity in CS Unplugged:
http://www.csunplugged.org
The story was a great lead in, but I had no idea how timely the lesson was until after I presented it. Without realizing the connection, I brought big round, scalloped edge, orange sticky notes with me to use as dots on sheets of paper showing 1, 2, 4, and 8 dots. The sticky notes looked just like pumpkins! Moreover, the timing of the lesson, in the latter part of October shortly before Halloween, couldn’t have been better, to attach the idea of pumpkins and binary numbers to something familiar in the childrens’ experience. Even the 2nd graders got it.
Just a few more notes: The 5th graders had no problem including 16 dots on a sheet of paper, so we could represent larger values with them, but 2nd graders are not ready for that. 2nd graders are, however, good at doubling, so even though they haven’t started multiplying in their math lessons, they do get the binary concept. I made individual sets of small cards for each child so they could practice representing numbers in binary, individually or in pairs. In the future, I will have the students build the large sheets of paper with the orange sticky note dots with me to increase their understanding. I will also have them make their own sets of individual cards and draw pumpkins on the cards for the dots. I showed YouTube videos (links from CS Unplugged and MathManiaCS) demonstrating counting in binary. The kids enjoy that and it is something they can try for themselves, counting on their fingers. Another link goes to a page where a clever piano keys activity for binary numbers is found.
A great introduction to binary numbers that can be used in an introductory programming class at the high school level can be found at:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/courses/teachers_corner/45338.html
And more motivation comes with the Cisco Binary Game:
http://forums.cisco.com/CertCom/game/binary_game_page.htm
Be careful…this one is addictive!
Macauly, David. The New Way Things Work, Houghton Mifflin Company. (1998).
ISBN 10: 0-395-93647-3.
http://www.csunplugged.org
http://www.mathmaniacs.org
http://www.mathmaniacs.org/lessons/01-binary/Binary_Piano/
Contributed by Kathy Larson

Hurray! It’s over! Another school year in the books. AP and IB testing are complete. Final exams are submitted, printed and ready to administer. It’s time to sit back, relax, and enjoy life!
Wait, not so fast you say. What about next year? What about summer professional development programs? What about new textbooks, new programming labs, and new content? And, oh by the way, just what will I be teaching next year? No more AB level for my AP students. How many smiling faces will I see in September? What third prep awaits the unsuspecting Computer Science Teacher?
So goes the life of the high school computer science teacher. For many of us, teaching computer science is an avocation, not exactly a hobby, but certainly not our primary job. Many computer science teachers have two or more other classes they must teach in order to have that one section of AP or IB or just plain old Computer Science. How much effort is involved in our avocation as compared to our other classes? What can we do to better manage our time and control our destiny?
I don’t have a solution. Unlike many of you, Computer Science has been my focus. However, looking ahead to the 2009 – 2010 school year, I see one section of AP Computer Science (20 students), one section of IB Higher Level Computer Science (6 students), 2 sections of Computer Programming with Alice (40 + students), and 2 sections of AP Statistics (40 + students). I see changes in both the AP and IB curriculum (though thankfully not major) and a new textbook (maybe one I can actually use). And don’t even ask me about professional development this summer! Between AP, IB and CSTA commitments, I think I will get to relax for a week or two in August.
My school’s total AP and IB examination numbers were up this year, over 1000 AP Exams and over 1200 IB exams (school population about 1800), and my AP and IB exam numbers showed some increase over past years. However, the Computer Science numbers are not growing as fast as other courses. We know there are major curriculum changes on the horizon for AP and IB Computer Science. How will that affect us?
What can we do? We need to be our own advocates, actively recruiting students by tying Computer Science to 21st Century Skills, touting the good jobs that are solving today’s real-world problems in a collaborative environment. We need to break the stereotype of computer scientists as loner nerds who seldom bathe and eat only junk food. While that image sells movies, it isn’t real and is hardly attractive to the kinds of students we want to recruit.
Where do we start? Join us in Washington, DC in June at the CS & IT Symposium (www.csitsymposium.org). Network with other computer science teachers to form professional learning communities, local CSTA Chapters, or just a valuable resource. Convince your guidance directors and building administrators that computer science is a viable career path for our talented students.
Personally, I intend to put my feet up, unwind, and enjoy the next few weeks as the school year winds down. Then, it’s off on a whirlwind tour of the US, seeing old friends and making new in the pursuit of improving Computer Science education. Won’t you join me?
John Harrison
CSTA Board of Directors

CSTA has spent the last several years arguing for rigorous computer science courses in high school, for emphasizing critical, computational thinking skills, and for standards-based curriculum. Many teachers have told us of their struggles in these areas. At the XImplosionX blog, Patrick Godwin has written High School Computer Science: A Student’s Perspective echoing our thoughts.
While some of the problems he outlines are outside our ability to fix, some of them are achievable. What do you think about his call to emphasize style over syntax and teaching theory before practice?
Michelle Hutton
CSTA President

Becoming an effective problem solver is an important skill for our students to master. And, just as important is developing strong interpersonal skills. Our students must be able to communicate effectively with human beings as well as with their computers. They should be able to effectively communicate with technical and non-technical colleagues. As computer science teachers we stress that computer science is more than programming. Yet in some of our courses, most of the assignments are programming assignments.
Writing across the disciplines is a focus at all levels of education. How can we incorporate writing into our computer science curriculum? What are examples of good writing assignments? How do we grade a writing assignment?
I find that the most successful writing assignments are those that give very specific requirements and offer some ideas for research. I try to follow the format below.
The Assignment: State exactly what you expect as a final product.
Example: You will write a 3-page paper (double-spaced, 11-12 point font, 1 inch margins) that addresses one (or more) of the topics listed below. The paper will be graded for content and clear presentation of material. This paper must have content that is supported by references; therefore, include bibliographic references. It should be your own work based on your research. The paper should be submitted (uploaded) by day and time.
Goals: Why are you assigning this paper?
* to explore concerns about topic
* to research a bit of history and some of aspects of the potential problems of topic
* to practice your writing skills by preparing a paper expressing your opinion about this topic based on your readings and research
* to take notice of your how your environment fits into the picture of your research
Possible Questions/Topics for Paper Focus: List here a few possible start points.
* Much of the controversy about topic focuses on something here. Why is topic such an important issue now?
* Topic can be an effective tool for learning because…
* Reflecting on the intersections of real-life and topic….
* What are the pros and cons (or advantages and disadvantages) of topic
* List the impact of topic as it relates to your chosen area of interest (art, literature, medicine).
Some resources: List at least 5 resources here.
Writing assignments take longer to grade than math problems but they are no more difficult to grade than computer programs. And, most times, the logic is easier to follow! Although the following procedure might take some time, I find it works quite well.
1. Require the student to complete an almost final version of the paper. This version should follow the requirements listed in the assignment.
2. Now conduct a peer evaluation. Pair your students. Have them swap papers. The goal of this peer review is to improve the paper. You can choose to do the peer review in a variety of ways, I alternate between the two listed below.
* Require the reviewer to complete a comment sheet that you provide. See the following url for an example. http://euclid.butler.edu/~sorenson/teaching/comments.html
* Have the reviewer list three things the paper does well and then offer three suggestions for improvement.
The peer reviewer is also responsible for checking that the paper meets all the requirements set in the assignment description. You can collect the peer review with the final version of the paper or you can informally read them over before the final version of the paper is due.
3. Base your grade on:
* content and correctness (most weight here)
* grammar and mechanics
* clarity and style
Presentation, both written and oral, should be an integral part of any course, including computer science. You may follow the written assignment with an oral presentation or the oral presentation can be a separate assignment on a second topic of interest. Some guidelines for giving (and grading) an oral presentation are listed below and can be found at: http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~johnson/teaching/research_skills/basics.html
The Presentation
Opening
1. Does your opening gain the group’s attention?
2. Does it establish rapport with the group?
3. Does it indicate what you intend to explain?
The Key Points
1. Are your key points clearly expressed?
2. Are your examples interesting?
3. Are your qualifications of the key points clearly expressed?
4. Is each key point summarized?
5. Are the summaries clear?
6. Are the beginnings and ends of the key points clearly indicated?
The Summary
1. Does the summary bring together the main points?
2. Are your conclusions clearly stated?
3. Do you come to an effective stop?
Presenting
1. Can the group hear and see you?
2. Do you use eye contact to involve but not threaten?
3. Do you use audio/visual techniques effectively?
4. Are you fluent verbally?
5. Is your vocabulary appropriate for the group?
6. Do you make use of pauses and silences?
7. Do you vary your intonation?
8. Is the organization of your material clear?
9. Do you avoid vagueness and ambiguities?
10. Is the presentation as interesting as you can make
Students at all these levels need to communicate effectively. They must gain experience in reading and critiquing papers, both technical and non-technical. They should learn to organize knowledge in written form and be comfortable and confident with oral presentations. Students should to be able to evaluate their own work and openly defend their own ideas and opinions. It is our duty as teachers to help them learn the communication skills necessary to accomplish these tasks.
A few of my favorite writing assignments have been:
1. Electronic Voting Machines: Based on the HBO video Hacking Democracy. This is a great assignment to give around election time.
* The video Hacking Democracyis available at http://video.google.com/videosearch? q=%22hacking+democracy%22&hl=en#q=%22hacking+democracy%22&hl=en&emb=0
or do a Google Video Search for “Hacking Democracy”
* The story is available at http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/hackingdemocracy/synopsis.html
2. Job Outlooks:
Career overview:
http://www.careeroverview.com/job-outlook.html
http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco1002.htm
3. Second Life: I actually have my students sign up and create an avatar in Second life and then use the following outline:
Your paper should have a clear thesis and supporting discussion. You should include your own experience on Second Life. Some possible choices for topics (or choose your own area of interest):
a. Second Life can be an effective tool for learning because…
b. Artists in Second Life are making effective use of the medium by…
c. There are serious social implications of Second Life….
d. Reflecting on the intersections of real-life and “virtual” economies…
e. The virtual world of medicine has influenced….
f. Is Second Life a place for religious organizations to open virtual meeting places
g. Live music on Second Life enables….
h. Literature has taken an interest in virtual worlds and Second Life
Resources include:
Educators:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/11/13/second.life.university/index.html
Models of Learning:
http://secondlifegrid.net/slfe/education-use-virtual-world
Social Implications:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/nov/13/second-life-divorce
Artists: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/magazine/08flunot.html_r=4&pagewanted=1&ref=technology
Medicine:
http://scienceroll.com/2007/04/16/medicine-in-second-life-virtual-doctors-hospitals-and-of-course-sperm-donation/
Information on grading writing assignments:
http://www.virginia.edu/french/resource/teachers/admin/write.htm
Example of a peer review comment sheet:
http://euclid.butler.edu/~sorenson/teaching/comments.html
Information and tips for oral presentations:
http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~johnson/teaching/research_skills/basics.html
Fran Trees
CSTA Chapter Liaison

May 16, 2009 is Scratch day! This is an international celebration of Scratch, a software environment designed to help students create, learn, and program. Developed by the MIT Media Lab, students ages 8 and over can use Scratch to design their own stories, animations, music, and art. Students can share their projects with fellow “Scratchers” online. And the software download is free!
I have seen Scratch used in education in two places—both successfully. In a low-income community in South Los Angeles, the Computer Clubhouse provided urban youth assistance with Scratch and students created unique projects which incorporated their own images and music. Creating “low-riders” caught on as a popular activity. Computer science teachers I work with in Los Angeles public high schools have integrated Scratch successfully in their courses and report a high level of student engagement as students learn fundamental computing concepts. For either informal or formal computing experiences, Scratch is a wonderful way to introduce young people to computer science.
For Scratch Day events near you, check out the map at http://day.scratch.mit.edu/. If there are no events near you, consider hosting one. It’s a great way to meet fellow educators interested in teaching students to use Scratch.
Scratch can be downloaded at:
http://scratch.mit.edu/
Joanna Goode
CSTA Board of Directors

The University of Washington and a team of high school web design teachers have put together some free curriculum that is well organized, up to date, and full of resources. The curriculum is called AccessIT Web Design & Development I and is an introduction to the design, creation, and maintenance of web pages and websites. Students learn how to critically evaluate website quality, learn how to create and maintain quality web pages, learn about web design standards and why they’re important, and learn to create and manipulate images.
The course progresses from introductory work on web design to a culminating project in which students design and develop websites for local community organizations. The Units cover the following material:
Unit 1: Designing and Planning Web Pages
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit1.htm
Module 1: Website Evaluation and Rubric Creation
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit1/module1.htm
* Lesson 1: Surveying the Possibilities http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit1/module1/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: Developing a Website Evaluation Tool
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit1/module1/lesson2.htm
Module 2: Color Theory
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit1/module2.htm
* Lesson 1: Color Theory in Web Design http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit1/module2/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: Selecting a Color Scheme
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit1/module2/lesson2.htm
Module 3: Web Standards & Accessible Design
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit1/module3.htm
* Lesson 1: Web Standards
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit1/module3/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: How People with Disabilities Access the Web
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit1/module3/lesson2.htm
Module 4: Planning a Website
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit1/module4.htm
*Lesson 1: Organizing a Website
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit1/module4/lesson1.htm
Unit 2: Creating Pages with HTML
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2.htm
Module 1: Pre-Coding
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2/module1.htm
* Lesson 1: Pre-coding
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2/module1/lesson1.htm
Module 2: Basic HTML Markup
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2/module2.htm
* Lesson 1: Elements of Tags
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2/module2/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: Essential Tags
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2/module2/lesson2.htm
* Lesson 3: Common Tags
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2/module2/lesson3.htm
Module 3: HTML Lists
http//www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2/module3.htm
* Lesson 1: Unordered Lists
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2/module3/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: Ordered Lists
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2/module3/lesson2.htm
* Lesson 3: Nested Lists
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2/module3/lesson3.htm
Module 4: Creating Links
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2/module4.htm
* Lesson 1: Linking to External Internet Sites
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2/module4/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: Linking to Pages Within Your Website
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2/module4/lesson2.htm
* Lesson 3: Special Types of Links
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2/module4/lesson3.htm
Module 5: Creating a Data Table
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2/module5.htm
* Lesson 1: Creating a Data Table
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit2/module5/lesson1.htm
Unit 3: Formatting Web Pages with Style Sheet
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit3.htm
Module 1: Introduction to Cascading Style Sheets
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit3/module1.htm
* Lesson 1: Anatomy of a Style
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit3/module1/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: Applying Styles
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit3/module1/lesson2.htm
* Lesson 3: Applying Styles to Data Tables
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit3/module1/lesson3.htm
Module 2: Page Layout Techniques
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit3/module2.htm
* Lesson 1: Layout with CSS
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit3/module2/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: Layout with Tables
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit3/module2/lesson2.htm
Unit 4: Graphics
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4.htm
Module 1: Introduction to Web Graphics
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module1.htm
* Lesson 1: Introduction to Web Graphics
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module1/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: Copyright Law and Graphics on the Web
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module1/lesson2.htm
Module 2: Creating a Web Photo Album
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module2.htm
* Lesson 1: Understanding Web Graphics
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module2/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: Acquiring Images for Web Graphics
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module2/lesson2.htm
* Lesson 3: Cropping and Resizing
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module2/lesson3.htm
* Lesson 4: Adding Images to Your Web Page
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module2/lesson4.htm
Module 3: Creating Navigation Buttons
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module3.htm
* Lesson 1: Basic Shapes and Colors
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module3/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: Working With Text
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module3/lesson2.htm
* Lesson 3: Layer Basics
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module3/lesson3.htm
* Lesson 4: Optimizing GIF Images
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module3/lesson4.htm
Module 4: Creating a Web Page Banner
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module4.htm
* Lesson 1: Basic Image Manipulation
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module4/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: Selection Tools
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module4/lesson2.htm
* Lesson 3: Layer Effects and Blending
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit4/module4/lesson3.htm
Unit 5: Overall Site Design and Management
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit5.htm
Module 1: Website Navigational Systems
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit5/module1.htm
* Lesson 1: Testing the Usability of Navigational Systems
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit5/module1/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: Creating Your Own Navigational System
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit5/module1/lesson2.htm
Module 2: Using an external style sheet
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit5/module2.htm
* Lesson 1: Linking to an External Style Sheet
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit5/module2/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: Stylizing a Navigational Menu
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit5/module2/lesson2.htm
Module 3: Scripts and Server-side technologies
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit5/module3.htm
* Lesson 1: Scripting and the Web
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit5/module3/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: A Simple Javascript Program
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit5/module3/lesson2.htm
Module 4: Validating a Website
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit5/module4.htm
* Lesson 1: Validating Your HTML
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit5/module4/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: Validating Your CSS
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit5/module4/lesson2.htm
* Lesson 3: Validating Your Accessibility
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit5/module4/lesson3.htm
Unit 6: Introduction to Web Authoring Software
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit6.htm
Module 1: Creating a Web Page using Web Authoring Software
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit6/module1.htm
* Lesson 1: Basic Features of Web Authoring Software
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit6/module1/lesson1.htm
Module 2 : Controlling Style using Web Authoring Software
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit6/module2.htm
* Lesson 1: CSS and Web Authoring Software: Controlling Presentation
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit6/module2/lesson1.htm
Module 3 : Site Management using Web Authoring Software
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit6/module3.htm
* Lesson 1: Overview of Site Management Features
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit6/module3/lesson1.htm
Unit 7: Client Website
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit7.htm
Module 1: Client Website
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit7/module1.htm
* Lesson 1: Planning the Client Website
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit7/module1/lesson1.htm
* Lesson 2: Constructing the Client Website
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit7/module1/lesson2.htm
* Lesson 3: Quality Control of the Client Website
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/student/unit7/module1/lesson3.htm
I was quite impressed that the creators of the curriculum made it so that it teaches standards-compliant web design and is itself grounded in national industry skills standards and national education standards.
Finally, the curriculum comes with video lessons for students and teachers to review. You can view the curriculum at http://www.washington.edu/accessit/webdesign/.
Brian Scarbeau
CSTA Board of Directors

As I was grading a movie summary from my Fundamentals of Programming class, yesterday, I noticed the varying insights that the students had to the Charles Babbage movie I had shown in class. This assignment suggested to me that in my computer class I had been applying the techniques of differentiated instruction. I began to think of other ways that I had applied differentiated instruction.
In the same class, my students have been taking advantage of the opportunity to bug test Alice 3. The Alice programming environment gives my students the opportunity to express their solution to the problem in the way that they feel fits the solution. One of the class assignments was to have a Hare take a bow and do a headstand. Another character has “built-in” methods for those tasks. The students have that character perform the tasks to see what a bow and handstand looks like. The Hare does not have the same functionality as the example character. The students were required to design a bow in a different way, but it needed to look like a bow. There were many varied solutions to the problem. The classroom at times was so quiet because the students were working so intently on the program.
It became clear as the hands started to raise, they all had their own solution! Some may have asked a neighbor for some help, but according to Center on Human Policy (http://www.disabilitystudiesforteachers.org/index.php?id=DifferentiatedInstruction) that is ok, in fact it is encouraged! I had the opportunity to view all the solutions, informally access each student and praise each solution.
Tomorrow is a special day at my school. We are expecting a visit from the Distinguished Schools Committee to verify the contents of our application. I do hope that they will visit my programming class so they can view what my students are accomplishing.
Myra Deister
CSTA Board Member

Japan has taken the bold step of recognizing a need for all high school graduates to have a formal computing course and has modified the high school graduation requirements to include a computing requirement.
Effective in 2003, the Japanese Ministry of Education required that, to graduate, all Japanese high school students complete a course of study called “Information”. This course has three basic components:
* practical literacy: includes use of application software such as word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, and drawing;
* scientific concepts of computing: includes number representation, parts of a computer, computer organization, the role of software and hardware, operating systems, and networks;
* social issues: includes the positive and negative impact of computers on business, government, and hospitals; hackers and computer crime; and intellectual property.
Japanese high schools are required to offer at least one of the three approved versions of the “Information” course: version A with an emphasis on practical literacy, version B with an emphasis on scientific concepts, or version C with an emphasis on social issues. Each version of the “Information” course must include basic content from all three components.
Japan requires that all teachers are certified in their appropriate subject area. In anticipation of the new requirement, math and science teachers were given the opportunity to gain “Information” certification by completing a three-week (15-day) crash course in computer studies. The crash course focused on the “Information” Course of Studies as mandated by the Japanese Ministry of Education. Most teachers, feeling somewhat unsure about teaching this content with minimal training, initially offered the A course. It is estimated that approximately 80% of the schools offered only the A course during the first year of the requirement.
This statistic, however, is changing. The original teachers in Japan’s crash course now seem to be more comfortable with the required “Information” concepts and are willing to venture into new content. In addition, new teachers have completed pre-service programs in “Information” Education that include degrees involving computing disciplines (CS, IT, Engineering) as well as a course in teaching CS. In 2009, it is believed that the version B and version C courses are offered more frequently, with the version A course still the only “Information” course offered in more than half of the schools.
Perhaps it is possible for the U.S. to learn from the example set by countries such as Japan, by requiring a computer course of all high school graduates and providing a progressive path that helps teachers move from the practical to the more academic concepts of CS.
Anita Verno
CSTA Board of Directors
Michio Chujo
Kwansei Gakuin University
Sanda, Japan

As the chair of CSTA’s Professional Development Committee, I recently received a request from Mara Saeli, a PhD student at the University of Eindhoven (in the Netherlands), who is seeking some experienced CS teachers to participate in some interesting new research.
Mara is hoping to:
“uncover the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) of Programming (in the sense of Software development) and use this knowledge to broaden the actual knowledge about didactic of Programming for secondary level.”
Mara continues:
“In order to do so I will use two instruments designed and used by researchers in Australia in the context of Science education for secondary school (CoRes and PaPers). The idea is to collect around 40 experienced teachers with well developed PCK and Computer Science background in different countries.”
This sounds like a fascinating project that could provide considerable insight into the teaching of programming, as well as help us to refine our definitions of desired outcomes.
If you would like to consider participating in this project and would like more information, please contact Mara directly at:
m.saeli@tue.nl
Debbie Carter
Chair, CSTA Professional Development Committee