December Programming Contest Report

We had over 200 students in 74 teams representing 26 schools join us today for a programming competition hosted in conjunction with UW CSE's DawgBytes program!  The event was generously sponsored by Microsoft TEALS.

Dozens of teachers and industry volunteers made this possible by hauling furniture, herding students, creating huge stacks of empty pizza boxes, judging problems, hunting for speaker cables and more!  All of your contributions were invaluable to making this event a success.  Thank you.

Congratulations to all of our participants!  Our winners:

• Novice 1st: Olivia I., Emma L., Cillian M. from Roosevelt High School
• Novice 2nd: Mike L., Nate O., Aaron V. from Ingraham High School
• Novice 3rd: Connor H., Ryan V., Kevin B. from Kamiak High School

• Advanced 1st: Angela R., Matt W., Colin W. from Tahoma High School
• Advanced 2nd: Edward S., Colin W., Alex H. from Garfield High School
• Advanced 3rd: Alex B., Mohammad A. from Interlake High School and Newport High School

Top represented schools were Kamiak (7 teams) and Cleveland, Garfield, Holy Names, Issaquah, and Tahoma (6 teams each).

Please share results and pictures with your students!

November Meeting: Mobile Device Programming, Sat 11/17 at 10am

(Edit: notes posted)

Our next meeting is this Saturday, Nov 17th, 10am to noon featuring the topic of Mobile Device Programming.  Cell phone and tablet App's have taken the world by storm and provide an excellent way to interest students in programming.  On Saturday we will be hear from several teachers using this inspiring technology including:
- Michael Braun from Rainier Beach presenting his experience using Windows Tablets & Phones to teach his Intro to CS class teaming with TEALS volunteers, direct from the recent NY Times Article.
- Lauren Bricker will talk about her unit on mobile development also using App Inventor.
- Earl Bergquist will share the apps he learned this summer using MIT Android App Inventor that is part of a University of Oregon "Intro to Apps" class taught by Steve Fickas.

We will also discuss how these programs can fit into a variety of school's CS programs, the current challenges getting these into the classroom (there are still answers to be found), and share additional thoughts on the rise of the app.  I hope you can join us.

MIT App Inventor requires an online connection, a Google account and takes several steps to get installed & running.  If you would like to try it out with us during the meeting, you can start with these install instructions http://appinventor.mit.edu/teach/curriculum/setup-instructions.html .

Note: our December 15th Meeting will be our PSCSTA Programming Contest.  Have your students sign up today!

2012 December Programming Contest

Registration is now open for the December 15th programming contest!  See the programming contests page for the registration form and more details.

The event, generously sponsored by Microsoft, will take place at the University of Washington Paul Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering.  Check-in starts at 8:30am and the award ceremony should finish around 2:15pm.  Students will solve programming problems in teams of 2 or 3 using the programming language of their choice.  They will also hear a brief talk by UW professor Magda Balazinska.

The registration cost is $24 for teams whose payments are postmarked by November 23rd.  Teams may then register until December 10th for $30.  Lunch and snacks will be provided.

It's bound to be a fantastic event and we look forward to seeing your students there!

October Processing Workshop, Sat 10/20 at 10am

Workshop resources.

Our next meeting is Saturday, October 20th. Join us 10-noon to participate in a Processing workshop led by Susan Evans and Hélène Martin. Edward Jiang will come by for the last 5-10 minutes to discuss StudentRND.  We will informally swap ideas noon-1pm.

Processing is a programming language and environment that builds on Java to simplify the creation of visual and interactive programs. Its simple environment, trimed-down syntax and rich graphics libraries make it an ideal prototyping tool and have led to its use in a broad range of educational contexts.

Susan Evans from Cleveland high school has been using Processing as the context for exposing her students to programming concepts in her CS Principles course. She has been adapting curriculum she developed with Larry Snyder in the context of UW's Computer Science Principles pilot course.

Hélène Martin from UW Computer Science & Engineering used Processing during week-long summer camps for middle and high school students. Participants particularly enjoyed how easily their applications could be put on Android mobile phones.

We will discuss contexts in which Processing is an appropriate teaching tool, present tried-and-true projects and give participants a chance to try it out for themselves. Please bring a laptop with Processing installed.

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We have arranged for free parking in the C12 parking areas (just across the street from UW CSE).

When checking in with one of the gatehouse attendants, please state that you have arranged parking under “CSTA MEETING”

Please see this map to review the locations of the different C12 areas and the gatehouses (blue pins).

Fostering Tech Talent in Schools

Here is a link to an article in the New York Times about Microsoft's activities in the Seattle area, promoting Computer Science education in the high schools.  Kevin Wang is in the news again.

September Meeting, Sat 9/22 at 10am (new start time)

(Edit: notes posted)

Our first real chapter meeting of the year is this Saturday, Sept 22, from 10am - Noon (socializing &  networking following till about 1pm), in the usual place, the 6th Floor Atrium of the Paul Allen Center (CSE building) on the UW campus.  Make sure to note the new earlier start time for our meeting at 10am.

Topic: Attracting and Retaining Students, hosted by Ashley Myers

• Round-table discussion around how to bring a diverse group of students into a K-12 computing program and continuing to keep them engaged.
• Discussion of making an inviting lab space, cool projects, clubs, planning for Computer Science Education Week, and other ways to increase visibility of your program.
• Presentations from local IGNITE and DigiGirlz programs too!

Hope to see you all there. More details on this and future meetings on the Meetings page.

Cheers,

Earl B.

We have arranged for free parking in the C12 parking areas (just across the street from the building).

When checking in with one of the gatehouse attendants, please state that you have arranged parking under “CSTA MEETING”

Please see this map to review the locations of the different C12 areas and the gatehouses (blue pins).

2012 - 2013 Meeting Schedule

Dear chapter members,

At our August meeting, we developed a plan for this year's chapter meetings. It promises to be another great year of CS education discussions.

As usual, the meetings will be on Saturdays, hosted by the UW CSE Department in the lovely 6th Floor Commons room of the Paul Allen Center.  However we have changed the start of our meetings to 10am so they do not take up the middle of your Saturday.  The new meeting time is 10am to Noon for presentations and then Noon till about 1pm for socialization and networking.

The detailed schedule is posted on the chapter website (www.pscsta.org) under the Meetings tab. A summary version is below. BLUE items are student event days, rather than teacher meetings. We also have a Google Calendar version on the Meetings web page.

Hope to see everyone at the September 22nd and other meetings.

Cheers,

Earl B.

Sep 22, 2012: Attracting and Retaining Students, Ashley Myers

Oct 20, 2012: Processing, Hélène Martin

Nov 17, 2012: Mobile Device Programming, Earl Bergquist

Dec 15, 2012: WINTER PROGRAMMING CONTEST, PS CSTA Team

Jan 12, 2013: Building a CS Program of Study: Beyond Intro & AP CS, Brett Wortzman

Feb 9, 2013: STEM Out!, PS CSTA Team

Mar 23, 2013: SICSCE Report and Exploring CS & CS Principles Update, Stuart Reges

Apr 27, 2013: SPRING PROGRAMMING CONTEST, PS CSTA Team

May 18, 2013: Physical Computing, Hélène Martin

Jun 22, 2013: End of Year Wrap Up & Social, All

Next chapter meeting this Saturday, May 19

Our next chapter meeting is this Saturday, May 19, from 1:00 -- 3:00 back in our usual venue, the UW CSE building.

We're not sure exactly what we'll discuss (Stuart says there isn't that much to report from  this year's SIGCSE conference), but it's sure to be a good time.

See you there.

CS&IT Conference - July, 2012

The Computer Science & Information Technology (CS&IT) Conference is the only international conference specifically developed for K-12 computer science educators. This year the conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Irvine on July 9th and 10th, 2012, in Irvine, CA. To see the agenda, register for the conference, or reserve your reduced housing rate at the Hyatt, visit www.cstaconference.org.

UW CSE Inspirational Teachers

Two of our chapter members recently received a nice recognition.

Hélène Martin and Lauren Bricker were fêted by the UW CSE department, having been nominated by current undergrads in that program as secondary teachers who inspired them in high school or community college classes.

Read more about the award and the event here: UW CSE “Inspirational Teacher” dinner.

Congratulations, Hélène and Lauren!

April 2012 Programming Contest Results

Another successful competition has come and gone! We had 27 teams participate from 12 schools, 12 judges from industry, and 10 advisors. 

Amazon.com was our official sponsor! They provided us with many judges, 17 pizzas from Zeek's, tons of snacks and breakfast items, drinks, shirts for everyone, gift cards, and two kindles! Plus they let us use their facilities and provided us with a Tech Talk! We are very thankful for all their support of our contest.

Contest Winners:

Novice - 1st Place - Roosevelt High School - Team "x4x1x9xHeAdShOt" - Galen Caldwell, Kevin Ault, Grant Price

Novice  - 2nd Place - Roosevelt High School - Team "java.lang.Objects" - Kilian Folger, Sam Dixon

Novice - 3rd Place - Interlake High School - Team "while(true) WIN" - Alex Boulton

Advanced - 1st Place - Tahoma High School - Team "Q" - Colin Wallace, Ashton Ohms

Advanced - 2nd Place - Garfield High School - Team "By (Ge|J)orge" - Derrick Gasaway, George Matter, Jorge Bretzke 

Advanced - 3rd Place - Lakeside School - Team "QTPi" - Nat Mayer, Karisma Gupta, Chinmay Nirke

The rest of the results can be found here.

Contest Problems, Student Data, Judges Data:  Available here

Spring Contest Lineup

Registration is now closed for this Saturday's PS CSTA Spring Programming Contest, sponsored by Amazon.com.

26 teams from 12 Puget Sound area high schools will be participating.

Read about the lineup here: http://goo.gl/0CtvL.

Spring Programming Contest

Registration is now open for the PS CSTA Spring Programming Contest !

Please join us on Saturday, April 28, for this great event. Register your team by April 22 to participate.

Amazon.com is sponsoring the contest and it will be held at their South Lake Union Campus.

See the Programming Contests page of our site for full details.

After the AP Exam

You've prepped them for the AP exam and many of them have sat for the test. Now there's between 4 and 8 weeks left of the year - what *do* you do with your students?

Lauren Bricker will give a short presentation on what they do up at Lakeside and show some example projects that have been done. We can follow up with a discussion and brainstorming session of other ideas.

This Saturday's monthly meeting will be (NOTE the CHANGE) from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and in Room 503 of the Paul Allen Center, due to the NCWIT awards that afternoon.

Hope to see you there!

March Meeting

Greetings, all.

Our March meeting will be held on Saturday, March 17, in the Paul Allen Center for CSE at the UW.

BUT, this month, we'll meet from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm and in room 503, because there is a ceremony at 1:00 pm for the Washington State NCWIT award winners that some members will attend.

The topic of the meeting, facilitated by Lauren Bricker, is Advanced CS Projects, or ideas for projects that can be used in AP CS classes after the AP exam.

Also note this will be a lunch meeting and we're asking everyone to brown-bag it.

Hope to see everyone then.

STEM Out! 2012

click to download PDF

PSCSTA will be hosting the 3rd annual STEM Out! Girl's Event, this time led by Amazon Hoppers (Women's Group at Amazon.com).

This event is to encourage girls to explore Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math careers! It's a FREE event and more information/registration can be found here:

pscsta.org/p/stem-out.html

Please help us spread the word and encourage your girls to participate!!

You can download a PDF of a flyer by clicking on the image at left or this link: Stem Out 2012 Flyer.

Teen online behaviors

Interesting piece from the NY Times about the research of Danah Boyd on teenage online behavior:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/fashion/danah-boyd-cracking-teenagers-online-codes.html

(curiously cataloged in the "Fashion" section because it appeared in the NYT "Sunday Styles" section of the print edition)

NO January Meeting

Tomorrow's meeting (Jan 21) is cancelled due to bad weather, bad timing, and bad luck.

For one, the FIRST Robotics FTC State competition is tomorrow and will exclude some of the very people who could really contribute to the conversation. Greg is stuck on a island without power, and probably lots of people are still recovering from Snowmageddon.

See you next month!

January Puget Sound CSTA Meeting

Our next meeting of the Puget Sound Computer Science Teachers Assocation will be this Saturday, January 21st at the University of Washington. This weekend's topic is Robotics, with a roundtable discussion of options for teaching robotics and participating in competitions. Please bring any information you have to share.

We will be meeting in Room 503 on the 5th floor of the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering, from 1 to 3 pm. Free parking is available in the garage and in parking lots near the building.

Greg Kilpatrick

Coursekit

I read something recently about a fairly new course management software platform called Coursekit.

Today I see that they have received some VC funding: http://goo.gl/GE6Ed.

Its avowed simplicity was appealing, and I have been meaning to check it out. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with it?