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194,784

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WHY COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION IS TERRIBLE (AND WHAT YOU CAN DO TO FIX IT)

CS4HS; Florida Institute of Technology; July 23, 2012

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Who are you to talk?

  • Casey Doran
  • Florida Tech Sophomore, Software Engineering
  • Edgewood Class of 2011
  • Research Assistant, Harris Institute for Assured Information
  • Teaching Assistant, Florida Tech Computer Science Summer Camp

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WHY CS EDUCATION IS TERRIBLE

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Why CS Education is Terrible

  • Science Fairs

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USING A COMPUTER

!=

COMPUTER SCIENCE

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Why CS Education is Terrible

  • Science Fairs
    • Don't get it.
  • Student Clubs

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WE ARBITRARILY LIMIT OUR STUDENTS

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Why CS Education is Terrible

  • Science Fairs
    • Don't get it.
  • Student Clubs
    • Can't support it.
  • Senior Projects

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WE DON'T VALUE WHAT OUR STUDENTS CREATE

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Why CS Education is Terrible

  • Science Fairs
    • Don't get it.
  • Student Clubs
    • Can't support it.
  • Senior Projects
    • Don't really care about it.

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The Problems Facing CS Ed

  • We can't tell students what CS is.
  • We refuse to support interest that doesn't fall in line with APCS.
  • We show them that certain kinds of CS don't matter.

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STEM IS THE REAL ISSUE

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"The initiative began to address the perceived lack of qualified candidates for high-tech jobs. It also addresses concern that the subjects are often taught in isolation, instead of as an integrated curriculum."

​

Wikipedia, on STEM

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STEM BLINDS US TO WHAT MATTERS TO OUR STUDENTS

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Adam Savage, of the Mythbusters

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Adam Savage, on STEM

“First of all, STEM, it’s just a terrible name. It doesn’t give anything, it’s not sexy! There’s a movement afoot to add one letter to STEM and make it STEAM. That letter is A and it stands for Art. Science, Technology, Engineering, ART, and Mathematics. Art is where it begins! It’s the original mover.”

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ART

->

UNDERSTANDING

->

SCIENCE

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STEAM Improves CS Ed

  • By letting us show, instead of tell.
  • By giving us the chance to grab the imagination of our students.
  • If and only if we remember that Using A Computer != Computer Science.
  • By giving us abundant teaching resources.

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FREE STUFF TO HELP YOU DO YOUR JOB

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Bitfighter

  • Kids love it!
  • Build levels by clicking
  • Build levels by programming
  • Build AI by programming
  • Runs on damn near anything
  • bitfighter.org

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Microsoft's XNA

  • Free
    • dreamspark.com
  • Kids can program their xbox
  • C# is like Java
    • con: C# is like Java
  • Alternatives: Android, Web (HTML5+JS)

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Real Game Engines

  • The same as used in industry
  • Unreal Developer Kit
    • udk.com
  • Source SDK
    • valvesoftware.com

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Teach With Portals

  • Portal 2 Level Editor
  • Free lesson plans
  • Integrate with physics, geometry, math

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NONFREE STUFF TO PROVE YOU'RE HIP

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Minecraft

  • Kids already know and love it
  • Virtual LEGO
  • Turing Complete

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Steam Workshop

  • Players build new content for favorite games
  • Players share ideas and lessons learned
  • Use same tools as developers

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ART IS WHAT YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH

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Casey Doran

  • Email: cdoran2011@my.fit.edu
  • Info: my.fit.edu/~cdoran2011
  • (if time) Questions?