We will jump around in the topics below. This list is subject to change and will likely change substantially this semester.
Classify the following names as "real" or "fake"
What issues arise? Why?
With developments in science and widespread reporting around the world, all sorts of unusual items appear in the news.
Apply the rubric you have (originally written by the other group) to one of the following:
Introduction
What is a computer?
Brief history of Computing, Kinds of computers; Hardware & Software
Search Engines
How Computers Have Changed Communication
Telling a story with Data
Using the computer as a tool to visualize, model, design, program
Are computers intelligent? Consider the Turing Test.
Divide up into groups, where each group chooses one of the numbered items below. Be prepared to demonstrate and explain to the rest of the class. After you understand and have explored the item, consider the questions shown below
Questions for the above activities:
See a sample C++ program to compare different sorting algorithms. In case they are compatible with your version of your operating system, here are a Mac version and a Windows version.
Scratch Examples
Scratch is getting an upgrade! Preview it at: preview.scratch.mit.edu
For the third assignment we partnered with Farrah Falco and the 3rd grade children at nearby STEM Magnet Elementary School. Each 3rd grade child supplied some character names and a plot idea. These were used by our students to create a children's story that had to incorporate some interaction and different backgrounds. Here are a few of the stories created:
Back in Time
by Omar Butt
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/178916288/
Zombies
by Sabrina Skorey
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/176842750/
Rick and Morty
by Sam Ghazaleh
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/178949713/
Pokemon Story
by Jackie Lin
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/178753962/
Save the Princess
by Sarah Bujdei
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/179099739/
Happy Fun House
by Maxwell Zhao
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/177105356/
Creating Maps
Data Visualization: plots, different kinds of data, trends
Using data to pursuade
Google mash-ups
Food-happiness data project:
For some period of days, every time you eat record the following 4 things:
Then together with your group come up with a single representation that you can use to store all of your data. Then come to agreement as a class on a single representation. Use a Google doc to create a place where everyone can store their data.
What does this data mean? What sorts of questions can we ask / not ask? How reliable is the data? What would we want to be different if we could go back and do it again?
Examples:
Assignment: What is the most common password? [Thanks to Don Yanek]
Concept: Illustrating the power of large datasets Talk about Wordle. Examples using large groups of words (e.g. Macbeth from project Gutenberg.) Consider the dataset of Sony passwords stolen by hackers. Which password is most common?
Problem solving strategies
Binary Numbers:
Activity: Mind Reader game; Using 0/1 cards
Digital Logic
Activity: Build a full-adder
Linear vs Binary Search
Sorted vs Unsorted Lists
Using Spanning Trees to solve problems
Problem Solving-related TED talk videos
Watch: Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a Better World
Write an outline of this talk on your online journal page on your website and comment on the following:
Related to the ideas of Problem-Solving, consider the following videos/texts. For each of them consider what contributed to problem-solving in each situation. Are these strategies transferable?
See this page for more details on Web Design.
For web site prototyping see the Marvel App. See the 90 second tutorial video.
Start up Scratch at Scratch.mit.edu. (See the preview 3.0 version at preview.scratch.mit.edu)
Resources: The topics below refer to the following:
Exploring Computer Science [ECS] Scratch curriculum (pdf) and examples (zip)
Lou Lahana Scratch lessons
Scratch Reference Guide, containing general interface description as well as description of various blocks
Instructions for class use:
In your group choose one of the topics below. Figure out what the main ideas are and create a simple example in Scratch to illustrate the main ideas, which you will present to others. Take a look at the resources and / or links to help you.
Topics:
Scratch extended: SNAP where you can more powerfully combine functions.
Scratch can be used to make music interactively, such as this live piece by Alex Ruthmann. [Links in this section thanks to Andy Kuemmel]
This idea was inspired by Andrew Sorensen. You can see one of his interactive concerts here.
Andy Kuemmel has these ideas in a 5-day curriculum of activities, including the interactive art of weavesilk.com
See the demos on Google's AI Experiments page.
For each of the applications below consider 1. How do you think it works? What is it paying attention to / pattern matching / inferencing? 2. How might this be extended and/or used in some meaningful context?
Bionic Arms NY Times article. [Thanks to Dave Hayes]
NY Times article on training robots to have human-like dexterity. [Thanks to Dave Hayes]
See this TED talk by Andrew Blum, discussing the physical parts of "the cloud".
Graphics
Viewer: Irfanview
Image Manipulation: GIMP
Composite Images: Andrea Mosaic
Media Player: VNC
Hosting: Hostrocket
Cloud Storage:
Backups: Mozy, Carbonite, Crashplan
Music: Amazon, Google, Spotify
Open Office
USB: Portable Apps, USBGeek.com
Programming your world: Arduino kits
[Much of this material from a Computer Ethics Course]
Benefits and Risks of the Digital Explosion
Rise and Stall of the Generative Net, Wikipedia Lessons
Privacy & Personal Information (For instance see this site for a Google map of past locations.)
Are Bits Forever?
Search Ability Gives Power
Encryption & Cryptography
Intellectual Property: Copyright Law, Free and not-so-free Software
Freedom of Speech: Censorship, Children, Anonymity, Spam, Open Access
Reliability, Accountability, and What can go Wrong
Computers' Impact on Society
The CrowdBeauty program has been trained and used to automatically identify aesthetically pleasing Flickr photos overlooked by humans.
Cyber-Security: Viruses, Internet Crime
Technology & People
From Thoreau's Walden:
The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation…. I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
During Thoreau's lifetime the railroad and telegraph came to supplant traditional transportation of goods, travel and information sharing on foot and horseback. Thoreau wrote:
We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us. Did you ever think what those sleepers are that underlie the railroad? Each one is a man…. The rails are laid on them, and they are covered with sand, and the cars run smoothly over them. They are sound sleepers, I assure you. And every few years a new lot is laid down and run over; so that, if some have the pleasure of riding on a rail, others have the misfortune to be ridden upon.
These talks by leading experts are 15 minute-long introductions to cutting-edge technology and thinking: