CS1 Community Site
Promoting your High School Computer Science CoursesWhether it's to boost enrollment or improve diversity, I would like to hear how other teachers are promoting their computer science courses. |
Welcome to CS1!Welcome to the CS1 community forum. |
Squeak: Learn Programming with Robots ReviewTextbook Title:
Squeak: Learn Programming with Robots Post
Textbook Website:
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Learn to Program with Phrogram ReviewTextbook Title:
Learn to Program with Phrogram Post
Textbook Edition:
1st
Textbook Year:
2007
Textbook Publisher:
Addison-Wesley Professional
Textbook Website:
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How to Think Like a Computer Scientist: Learning with Python ReviewTextbook Title:
How to Think Like a Computer Scientist: Learning with Python Post Textbook Edition:
1st
Textbook Publisher:
Green Tea Press
Textbook Website:
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HtDPTextbook ReviewTextbook Title:
How to Design Programs: An Introduction to Programming and Computing
Textbook Year:
2003
Textbook Publisher:
The MIT Press
Textbook Website:
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Harvey Mudd College Introductory CS CurriculumThis is a great breadth-first multi-paradigm introduction to computer science using Python. Syllabus Degree Program:
Both cs majors and non-majors
Syllabus Website:
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Building Java Programs: A Back to Basics Approach ReviewTextbook Title:
Building Java Programs: A Back to Basics Approach
Textbook Edition:
1st
Textbook Year:
2007
Textbook Publisher:
Addison Wesley
Textbook Website:
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Introduction to Computing and Programming with Java: A Multimedia Approach ReviewTextbook Title:
Introduction to Computing and Programming with Java: A Multimedia Approach From the Preface: Textbook Year:
2006
Textbook Publisher:
Prentice Hall
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Introduction to Computing and Algorithms ReviewTextbook Title:
Introduction to Computing and Algorithms From the back cover: Textbook Year:
1997
Textbook Publisher:
Addison Wesley
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CS Promotional VideosResource Title:
Why Choose CSE?
Resource Source:
University of Washington
Resource Website:
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Karel the RobotSyllabus Website:
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The Journal for Computing Teachers (JCT)Resource Title:
JCT
Resource Source:
ISTE
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Attending the AP ReadingI attended the AP Reading as a Reader in both 2006 and 2007 and just wanted to write about what a positive experience it was. The AP Reading lists among its participants a roughly even split of both high school and college level educators. There are textbook authors, workshop leaders, AP Exam developers, as well as about 100 other participants who are all passionate about computer science education. The interaction between the participants is really my main reason for attending. The added bonus is the fact that we get to learn precisely how the AP exam is graded whic Resource Title:
AP Reading
Resource Source:
College Board and ETS
Resource Website:
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CS4HS at CMUI attended this workshop in 2006 and feel as though I am still thriving off the energy and information that was offered at this great event. I and dozens of other k-12 teachers were presented with a wealth of fascinating lectures and activities provided by some of CMU’s more prominent professors and researchers as well as others from Google, and elsewhere. Topics ranged from Computational Thinking, to CS Unplugged, to broadening participation in our cs classrooms, to lessons in using food to teach great ideas in CS. We learned about computational biology, careers and Resource Title:
CS4HS
Resource Source:
CMU
Resource Website:
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Javabat WebsiteI considered this website a personal gift as I discovered it just weeks before my students were scheduled to take their AP Computer Science exams. This site (created by Nick Parlante at Stanford) provides students with dozens of great practice problems with immediate feedback concerning all possible test cases and which were successfully handled and which were not. It has exercises in Recursion, Arrays, Strings, Logic, and even a section based on AP CS free response questions from years past. Great for homework, in the lab, as lecture examples, or for self-study. Now Resource Title:
Javabat
Resource Website:
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Nifty Assignments WebsiteThis is a great website for educators looking for extra (and fun) programming assignments. Resource Title:
Nifty Assignments
Resource Source:
nifty.stanford.edu
Resource Website:
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CSTA WebsiteCSTA (Computer Science Teachers Association) is a fairly new organization that is steadily growing more relevant for K-12 computer science education. They provide curricula, research, videos, posters, and much more. Check out their website! Resource Title:
CSTA Website
Resource Source:
ACM/CSTA
Resource Website:
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CMU Summer Java Workshop for APCS TeachersFor many years this workshop has been one of the highlights of my summer vacation. The workshop presenters Mark Stehlik (Teaching Professor at CMU and former Chief Reader for the APCS exam), Don Slater (Lecturer at CMU and consultant to the APCS Exam reading since 1990), and Judy Hromcik (former member of the APCS Development Committee) have continually done a fantastic job providing new and relevant material year after year for AP computer science teachers. Located on the awe-inspiring campus of Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, PA, this workshop has been a draw for many interesti Resource Title:
CMU Summer Java Workshop for APCS Teachers
Resource Website:
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Sign up for the AP Computer Science Listserv/Digest/Electronic Discussion Group (EDG)When I started teaching AP Computer Science for the first time I felt isolated in my high school. While other teachers had other teachers to talk to about how best to approach a given topic or lesson, I felt that not only was I the only computer science teacher in the building, I soon realized that I was the only person in the building who knew anything at all about computer science in general. Having this discussion group to read through every morning and to send the occasional question to, was a godsend and provided me with a wealth of materials, ideas, workshops, and connecti Resource Title:
The AP Computer Science Listserv/Digest/Electronic Discussion Group (EDG)
Resource Source:
AP Central (College Board)
Resource Website:
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Computer Science UnpluggedComputer Science Unplugged is a series of learning activities that reveals a little-known secret: computer science isn't really about computers at all! Resource Title:
CS Unplugged
Resource Source:
Mike Fellows, Tim Bell, Ian Witten
Resource Website:
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The BlueJ Development EnvironmentThe BlueJ environment was developed as part of a university research project about teaching object-orientation to beginners. The system is being developed and maintained by a joint research group at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia, and the University of Kent in Canterbury, UK. The project is supported by Sun Microsystems. Resource Title:
BlueJ
Resource Source:
Deakin University, University of Kent
Resource Website:
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Achieving Gender Equity in the High School CS ClassroomI found that the simple acting of writing a promotional letter for the introduction to CS course and mailing it to all the students (both male and female) that performed well in either Geometry or Algebra II increased not only the quality of my students but more impressively, it almost completely evened out the gender ratio in my classrooms. I went from having around 20% female students to just under 50%. Strategy Degree Program:
High School
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Reasons for Choosing PythonLanguage Name:
Python
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Lois Delcambre’s Intro Course from Spring ‘09 Syllabus Degree Program:
Both cs majors and non-majors
Syllabus Website:
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