What's Going On? December 4th through December 8th

Note: I will be out of the classroom on Monday morning due to Yearbook Club Picture day and on Tuesday and Wednesday due to a conference.  I will still be available to answer questions via e-mail.

Hour of Code
December 4th through December 8th is Computer Science Education Week.  This week, students from all over the world will participate in an activity to learn a little bit more about computer science.  North will hold our own activity after school on Thursday from 3:10-4:10pm in room 300.  During this session, we will work with a Google add-on called "Story Speaker".  In this session, each student will have a chance to write a "Choose your adventure"-style story.  Once the story is written, with all of the different options, students can have Google present the story.  This program can be run via a Chrome browser and also with a Google Home device.

Programming the Web 1

This week, we will dive into lesson 11 where we will talk about how we can hide text using the "Phark Technique" as well as how to create a responsive web page.  During Monday's class we will finish going through our notes.  For our class periods Wednesday through Friday, students will be working on web assignments 11A and 11B.  Our weekly reading guide will be checked during class on Thursday and we will complete our weekly review questions during class on Friday.

App Development 1

This week, students will be working to complete our end of unit app challenge: Word Play.  I would expect that we will wrap up this app mid-week.  After this, we will move into our final project for the semester: Rock, Paper Scissors.  We will finish off the week by talking about how to design a large-scale project and sketch it out using pseudocode.  We will also talk about how we can repeat a portion of code using loops.

AP Computer Science Principles

This week, we will continue our study of images and object-oriented libraries.  We will talk about how we can modify images using an algorithm.  We will also take some time toward the end of the week to talk about our "Explore" task.  For this task, students are required to research how a specific piece of technology has impacted society.  Later in the year, students will have a minimum of 8 hours of class time to complete the research and write up their findings.









Have you registered for the AP test?

Only two students have registered so far!  Don't delay, register today!

What's Going On? November 27th through December 1st

Programming the Web 1

This week, students will be working on unit 10.  In this week's lesson, students will have a reading guide to go along with our chapter 16 reading.  Students will also have 10 multiple choice questions at the end of the week.  We will have two web assignments to work on throughout the week, utilizing margins and floating.





App Development 1

This week, students will be working on our end of unit app challenge: Word Play.  Students will apply what they have learned about creating multiple view controllers to create a multi-screen app.  For the MVP of this app, students will prompt the app user for a word in a text field. That word will then appear as part of a sentence on the following screen.






AP Computer Science Principles

This week, we will continue our study of lesson 1.4.  We will spend our time focusing on how an image can be represented as an array of information in order to specify the look of each pixel on a screen.  On Tuesday of this week, students will learn to manipulate an image programmatically by placing a picture of the Earth in the correct location of a person's eye.  On Wednesday, students will write an image algorithm to apply a filter to a folder of photos.  We will wrap up the week by talking about the "explore" task which students will be working on later in the year to submit as part of the performance tasks for the AP exam.



Have you registered for the AP test?

Interested in Computer Programming?

MSOE has invited students to a special event called "Computer Unknown" on December 8th and 9th.  This FREE event will include a coding competition, some info about MSOE, a Bucks game, Laser Tag, and pizza.  Check out the link for more info: http://www.msoe.edu/campus-life/event/computer-unknown-an-epic-event-in-computer-science/

What's Going On? November 20th and November 21st

Thanksgiving Break This Week!

This is just a reminder that we will have Thanksgiving break this week, so we will only meet on Monday and Tuesday.  This means that we will run a Monday-style schedule both days, so be prepared to see all of your classes.  Over your break, I hope you find some time to rest and relax so you can come back refreshed and ready to work for three weeks before winter break.




Programming the Web 1

Rather than start a new unit before the break, we will spend a couple of days reviewing some basic HTML structures involved with creating layouts.  We will review div tags, headers, footers, nav, and floating.

App Development 1

During our two days of class, students will participate in a formative "hackwich" known as "Intergalactic Travel".  In this assignment, students will learn how to create two different screens and navigate between them using the navigation controller.  Students will also learn how to pass information between the two screens.

AP Computer Science Principles

This week, we will continue with our study of lesson 1.4.  Students will spend Monday wrapping up our objects and methods assignment 1.4.2.  We will spend Tuesday taking a look at how images are represented using numeric values and how those values can be manipulated in order to make changes to an image.

Have you registered for the AP test?

What's Going On? November 13th through November 17th

App Development

Now that we have finished our Tip Calculator app, it is time to start our next unit.  We will start this week studying arrays and students will complete an "Array Challenge" program.  Students will also see a formative on arrays mid-way through the week.  At the end of the week, we will check out how we can make multiple screens in our app and work through navigating between them.

Programming the Web

This week, we will continue our study of lesson 9 where students will work with floating and positioning.  Along with this week, students will have a reading guide due on Wednesday and will complete our 10 multiple choice questions during class on Thursday.  Along with this week, students will have 4 web assignments to create.  The four assignments are all tutorials with step-by-step instructions that appear in our textbook.



AP Computer Science Principles

This week, students will continue working on our large-scale collaborative project on running a simulation for the "Prisoner's Dilemma".  We will run the simulation during class on Tuesday to see who has the best strategy.  Once this is complete, we will move on to our 1.4 unit on Images and Object-Oriented Libraries.  We will spend our last two class days of the week talking a little bit about abstraction and we will talk about the make up of a class and how functions fit into a class definition.

Prisoner's Dilemma Outcomes

Registering for the AP Exam

What's Going On? November 6th through November 10th

Programming the Web 1

This week, students will continue to work on their midterm assignment.  For this task, students have been given a screenshot of how all four pages making up our website should look.  All pictures have been provided.  Students have Friday, November 3rd through Thursday, November 9th to complete this assignment.  If students need additional lab time, they should contact me ASAP about coming in early or arranging another time.  Students will also complete our 20 multiple choice questions during class on Thursday.  This assessment will NOT be open-book, open-note like they have in the past.  However, the questions have already appeared in the eight assessments taken so far throughout the semester.



App Development 1

This week, students will continue working on our end of unit app challenge, Tip Calculator.  For our MVP of this project, students will allow our app user to enter a bill amount and then calculate a 15% tip.  Students can add up to 7 suggested "stretches" to enhance the features of the app.  If students need additional lab time, they should contact me about coming in early or arranging another time.



AP Computer Science Principles

This week, we will continue our study of the Python programming language.  We will investigate looping structures, such as the 'for' loop and the 'while' loop.  We will end this "1.3" unit by working with a large-scale program through Git Hub.  Students will work on creating and implementing a strategy for the "Prisoner's Dilemma". 




The Evolution of Google

Recently a news article came to my inbox about the Evolution of Google and how search engine searches have changed over time.  If you are interested, you can check it out here.

What's Going On? October 30th through November 3rd

Programming the Web 1

This week, students will finish up our eighth lesson for the semester.  Students should complete our assigned reading and the accompanying reading guide by Wednesday's class.  We will also complete our ten multiple choice questions on Wednesday.  Students will have Monday and Tuesday's class to complete assignment 8A, where students will work with the box model in CSS.


Midterm

On Thursday, students will begin our midterm assignment.  Students will be given a picture of what our four pages of a website should look like, as well as the images and text for the website.  Students will be given one week to duplicate the site.  During this time, students can consult the internet, past assignments, and our textbook.  Students can also ask for a hint if needed.  We will also have 20 multiple choice questions during the following week.  These questions will NOT be open-book and open-note but will be made up of all of the questions we have seen so far through the semester.


App Development 1

We will start off the week by talking about segues.  This is how we can navigate between two screens in an app.  We will then complete a short "hackwich" called FizzBuzz.  In this formative app, we will create two text fields for our app user to enter two integers.  When we tap a button, the numbers will be multiplied and display a different result based on the output.  In this app, students will learn how we can use a function within an app as well as practice using conditional statements.  After our "hackwich", students will start on our third end of unit app challenge for the year, "Tip Calculator".

AP Computer Science Principles

We will continue our study of the Python programming language this week.  We will start the week focusing on Strings.  On Tuesdsay and Wednesday, we talk about Tuples and lists.  We will finish the week by talking about looping structures, focusing on the for loop.  Along with this week, students should complete two submission documents: 1.3.5 and 1.3.6.

What's Going On? October 23rd through October 25th

Short Week This Week!

This is just a reminder that we will run a Monday-style schedule on Monday and Tuesday.  On Wednesday, we have a shortened schedule with early release and students have the day off on Thursday and Friday.  Enjoy your time and find some time to regroup!


Programming the Web 1

On Monday during this short week, students will have some time to finish up our lesson 7 web assignments.  On Tuesday and Wednesday, we will go through our notes for lesson 8 where we will study the box model in CSS.  This will set us up so that we can hit the ground running when we return from our short break.



App Development

This week, we will spend some time talking about the "scope" of variables.  That is, how variables can be created and referenced from different parts of our code.  Once we have talked about this, we will create a short app where we practice gesture recognizers, including the pan gesture and the tap gesture.  We will add a simple rectangle to the screen, and by using the different gestures, we will be able to tap on the rectangle to change its color and drag the rectangle to a different location on the screen.



AP Computer Science Principles

This week, we will continue our study of the Python programming language.  This week, we will spend some time focusing on nested "if" statements and strings.

College, Career and Community Resource Fair 

Monday, October 23rd, the school district of Waukesha will be hosting the 2nd annual College, Career and Community Resource Fair at Waukesha South High School.   The fair will take place from 4:30 to 7:30 PM  in the Fieldhouse and surrounding Classrooms. There are several new additions to the fair and some wonderful resources from last year will also be included.

Here is what the night will entail: 

* 50+ Colleges and Universities (public, private, in-state and out-of-state)

* Over 50 local Career Professionals ready to either share about their career or invite students to job shadow, join internships, or be hired on the spot

* 20+ Community representatives offering volunteer opportunities to students.

* Eight rotating workshop/presentations provided by the many transition services for all students with an IEP or 504 organized by many of our Special Ed. leaders.

* College Applications Assistance from High school counselors.

* Financial Aid Presentations in English and Spanish from financial aid professionals.

* Scholarship information and College Essay writing from Janet Baer and Erin Martin.

* NCAA Eligibility information provided by Paul Darling

* The list of resources go on!