Get your bird bot for only 99.00!
You can crank robot code in Java or in Python.
It sounds like Scratch will be an option later on down the road.
This looks pretty cool!
Tag Archives: Really Cool New Stuff
Kodu Cup
What up yo? Well, the Kodu Cup is up yo! 3D game creation for moolah and prizes! Okay, so rapping / slangy stuff is clearly not my forte, but you get the picture. This contest looks very cool and my students are really excited about getting in on the game creation action. I hope to have several projects entered into the contest by my students and may even get my 7 and 9 year old sons into the mix as well. I may eventually put together some Kodu materials and include them with my other curriculum materials.
You can find more information about Kodu at the main Kodu site – Kodu
CS News – Lots of Jobs in Tech
According to the article and several others I have read lately like it, there is high demand for mobile app developers.
A few great quotes from the article :
“Because of the labor shortage, companies do some pretty incredible acrobatics to attract good talent. That means it’s a good time to be a graduating senior with a degree in computer science.”
“If you can develop software applications for mobile devices, you’re sitting pretty.”
I have quite a few students interested in developing apps and the Android platform seems to the most popular choice. The environment is easy to use and apps can be developed quite quickly.
TCEA Panel Summary – What is the Future of AP Computer Science?
Today in Austin, Texas at the TCEA state convention, Bill Dunklau organized a panel to discuss the proposed AP CS Principles course. Bill served as the panel moderator. Teresa Dahlberg, representing NSF, and I served as live panel participants. Several others participated via Skype.
Bill provided an intro and began the AP CS Principles Pilot awards. Awards were given to the colleges currently piloting courses based on the AP CS Principles framework. Various awards were presented to recognize the different approaches used to deliver these pilot courses.
Teresa provided an overview of the AP CS Principles course, an explanation of the combined efforts of NSF and the College Board, and the rationale behind the development of the course. Related information can be found at http://csprinciples.org/
Dan Garcia from UC Berkeley spoke about his CS10 : The Beauty and Joy of Computing course. He provided some examples and supporting feedback from some of his students. Scratch BYOB is the main environment used to create projects in this class. Information can be found at http://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs10/sp11/
Teresa provided a bit more information on the NSF role in the project and some slides from Owen Astrachan. Related information can be found at http://csprinciples.org/
I presented some slides from Larry Snyder and gave an overview of the CSE120 University of Washington course. LightBot and Processing are the main environments used to create projects in this course. Information can be found at http://www.cs.washington.edu/education/courses/cse120/11wi/
We finally were able to get Jody Paul up on the big screen via Skype. Jody spoke about the Living in A Computing World course he teachers at Metropolitan State College of Denver. Scratch and LightBot are the main environments used to create projects in this course. Information can be found at http://livinginacomputingworld.org/
Chris Stephenson wrapped up the panel via Skype. She provided information about the role of CSTA.
Hopefully, the panel discussion provided useful information to all that attended.
Other related Links
LightBot – http://armorgames.com/play/2205/light-bot
Scratch BYOB – http://byob.berkeley.edu/
Processing – http://processing.org/
CS News – Google Hiring Android Developers
Google Hiring Android Developers
The mobile app market appears as if it will never cool down. I have several students working on Android apps and I guess I will have to do the same at some point just so I can remain one of the “cool kids”.
CS News – AI Translates Poetry
I am always looking for articles and such that provide students with real examples of how Computer Science affects all disciplines. Here is another great example.
CS News – Scratchable Devices
This is really cool and just makes Scratch even more fun to use.
SIGCSE in Dallas – Vol. I
Sign up an attend SIGCE in Dallas, Texas in March of 2011 if you have not already done so.
Dallas is a great city and SIGCSE will be packed with great presentations and discussions for teachers at the high school and university level. http://www.sigcse.org/sigcse2011/
Need a place to stay? The Embassy Suites at Market Square is nearby and a great place.
http://embassysuites1.hilton.com/en_US/es/hotel/DALFWES-Embassy-Suites-Dallas-Market-Center-Texas/index.do?brand_id=ES&brand_directory=/en/es/&xch=768816798,YAKFDSX51UQVYCSGBIUM22Q
Need a place to eat? Babe’s Chicken House if Awesome! The one in Roanoke is the Best! If I ever steer you wrong on food, I will pay for your meal!
Check my blog later for more SIGCSE inside information.
CS News – Fish Modeling and Robots
There are some great things going on with robotics these days.
Computer modeling is really cool as well and appears to be helping in many different areas.
AP CS Principles College Pilots
The following colleges will be piloting the new AP CS Principles course in 2010-2011.
Metropolitan State College of Denver – http://LivingInAComputingWorld.org
University of California Berkeley – http://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs10/fa10/
University of California San Diego – 09/23/2010
University of North Carolina at Charlotte – 01/10/2011
University of Washington – 01/03/2011
I will update this later once the other courses come online.