The Great Debate Writing in CS Principles

I have been asked to share this - I usually do this during my second unit in APCS Principles - The Internet Unplugged.

Writing is a big part of doing well on the new Performance Task assessments for the course. I have found this activity to be a great way to get them writing. I do not grade for grammar or spelling at this point. I want them writing, we can work on mechanics later.

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One activity that works really well to get students writing is an online debate using a discussion board. The point of this activity is to get them used to thinking and debating a topic and responding to other students. In the beginning students tend to take a very surface approach to topics. Debating lets them really delve in and explore the why behind the points they are making.

This activity works well in several areas of the APCS Principles curriculum. It is simple to grade and really gets the students engaged in writing.

To get them ready we play a game in class to get them used to pros and cons, then we debate a current event topic online. The in class debate topic does not necessarily need to relate to computer science. For the online topic I usually pull a current event that relates to something like privacy or online ethics.

The in Class Game:

Have the students line up into two equal lines. Make one like pro and one line con.

Then explain the rules:

• the two lines take turns
• after a student goes they move to the back of the line
• if you are in the pro line you must be for the resolution, if you are in the con line you must be against it, no matter your own personal opinions
• whoever is at the front of the line earns a point for every time they
• add a new point or
• rebut a point made by the other team
• No points are awarded for repeated points or responses

Once they understand the rules reveal the topic reveal the topic. As they take turns keep score.

Topics that work well are things like:

• Resolved: the minimum driving age should be raised to 18
• Resolved: cell phones should not be allowed in schools
• Resolved: social media sites should be limited to people over the age of 18

As you move to the online debate a similar format works. In addition students may earn points by by responding with a related fact as long as they provide a link to a reliable source.

I usually let the online debate go on for 3 - 5 days. In the end you can add up points and declare a winner. You can even post a daily point tally. I do usually try to keep the total points close to keep everyone interested.

For topics for the online debate try to pick something currently in the news. The first time I did this activity Congress was debating some Internet piracy legislation that was being heavily covered in the news.  Computer Science is constantly in the news there is almost something in the headlines related to the Learning Objectives.

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Great Books for CS Principles

The applications to pilot the new CS Principles class are due today. As folks were working on their submissions I have had several questions about books I used as a part of developing curriculum for the course.

I want by starting with a caution. Relying too much on one book runs the risk of locking in your curriculum. The course is most powerful when you have the flexibility to adapt what you are doing to where the students interest point. Relying on only one book you run the risk of robbing them of this experience.

Also, you as the teacher need to be driving your course. Obviously we need materials to fill in gaps in our own knowledge, but you ultimately need to develop these materials to meet your students where they are and pull them into the course.

So, now that I have warned you, here is my partial  list of books I used over the past two years.

• CS Principles Bookshelf
• Blown to Bits
• also Tubes

I am curious, what books have you all been using? Anything unexpected?

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Great Logic Gates Video

In CS Principles we have moved on from Data and are now covering Questions. In this unit we cover logic gates and if-thens. I want the students to make a connection between the hardware, all the binary we did earlier in the year, and how conditionals work in programming,

image from logic.ly online demo

Logic Gates Video

This explanation starts with a scenario - What if you need to trigger an alarm in a room with two sensors?

I love this approach. So often we start with the truth table, then go to a scenario, and by that point you have lost them.

After this we used the Logic.ly website to let them try making their own logic gates.

Next class well be watching this video explaining how the OR and AND gates are made. The students had a lot of questions about this today and this makes it pretty clear.

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10 Great Things Not To Do With Google Adsense

10 Great Things Not To Do With Google Adsense

There is no question that you can make some good money with Google AdSense, but youre setting yourself up for disaster if you make any of these Top 10 mistakes!

1. Do not use fake information when opening your Google AdSense account.

Google says thats a no-no and they will cut your account off and keep all the money you may have earned. Besides, trying to hide your true identity can cause serious problems with the I.R.S. or whoever your tax authority is.

2. Do not hack or modify Google AdSense code other than to change the parameters that Google authorizes you to change.

Any attempt to bypass Googles built-in algorithms not only poses a danger to the integrity of the network, but it threatens the financial modle that Google operates under. Youre not dealing with some Mom-and-Pop company here, and Google has the legal muscle and deep enough pockets to drag you through every court in the land if you damage their business with your hacking antics.

3. Keep AdSense ads off of your registration, confirmation, and all "thank you" pages.

Dont ask me why you cant put your ads there. It makes sense to me that those would be wonderful locations. Google thinks otherwise, however, and doing so is a hanging offense according to their Terms of Service.

4. Do not display AdSense ads and a competitors ads (like Overtures) on the same page at the same time.

That just makes plain good sense. Google doesnt demand 100% SITE loyalty from you, but they do insist that their own ads not be cluttered up by offerings from their competitors.

5. Dont "beg for clicks" or provide any incentive for clicking on your Google AdSense ads.

This is a biggie and you see this rule violated all the time. Any of the get paid to do stuff sites that put Google ads in the members control panels are walking the plank and they dont even realize it. Even those sites with the polite little messages asking you to help keep my site running by clicking on our sponsors ads are asking to be cut off if those happen to be Google ads.

6. Never click on the ads running on your own site, even if you are genuinely interested in the product or service and are thinking of buying it!

Nothing screams FRAUD louder than a webmaster running up his or her own click counts by happily clicking on ads fromtheir own site. The Google Gods can track this activity and it wont be long until you find yourself getting a goodbye note from their fraud team.

7. No misleading labeling

Google is very specific about what text can be placed around their ads. Their Terms of Service state: Publishers may not label the ads with text other than sponsored links or advertisements. This includes any text directly above our ads that could be confused with, or attempt to be associated with Google ads.

This is to keep visitors from becoming confused and barking up Googles tree when they clicked on an ad that led to a porn site instead of the recipe site they were expecting to visit.

8. Avoid keyword spamming and other divisive tricks

You may be tempted to buy one of those generates thousands of key-word rich pages in seconds programs that are so popular these days but Ill tell you this: Their days are numbered. Google is wise to such shenanigans and they will be hot on your trail. Other prohibited gimmicks include:

Sneaky page redirects that send a visitor off to a different site then they were expecting to visit.

Multiple sites, domains, pages, etc. which have substantially duplicate content.

Hidden text or links of any type.

Excessive outbound links on any page. Google recommends no more than 100. Id keep it way below that.

And here is a nugget of wisdom straight from Googles mouth: Do not participate in link schemes designed to increase your sites ranking or PageRank. In particular, avoid links to web spammers or "bad neighborhoods" on the web as your website may be affected adversely by those links.

9. Dont advertise anything on Googles prohibited items list.

Its a lot shorter lists than PayPals or eBays, but it includes a lot of the same stuff like hacking/cracking content, porn, illegal drugs, gambling sites, beer or hard alcohol (I guess wine is OK), weapons, and the other usual stuff.

10. And the 10th dumbest thing NOT to do with Google AdSense is to let the other nine things stop you from running an honest site thats designed to make the most out of this very profitable opportunity that Google offers!

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