Small Code Cloze Excercises for Computer Science

1. Visual Basic (Random Number Generator):
The user inputs a range of two numbers: lowNum, highNum. From this input, the sub routine will change the lblNumbers.Caption value to a random number between the user-defined range (inclusive). If the code is ran again, we want the program to always supply a random number that is different from the first.

Bolded code would be deleted to assess student comprehension.

lowNum = txtLow.Text
highNum = txtHigh.Text

prevNum = lblNumber.Caption

Do
randomNum = Int(Rnd * ( highNum - lowNum + 1)) + lowNum
Loop Until randomNum <> prevNum

lblNumber.Caption = randomNum

2. Java (Determine the Sum of Each Digit from a 7-Digit Number):
Reviews division, modulus, and Math() functions in Java. Students have to try and determine a brute-force and a more elegant solution (using For-Loops) to solve the problem. While a bit "mathy," I think it gives students a chance to make connections as to why elegant solutions save programmers time and energy (e.g. How much code would you have to write to get the sum of a 20-digit number? Which version would be easier to modify?).

Bolded code would be deleted to assess student comprehension.

String inputString;
int digitString, digitSumLong, digitSumQuick;

inputString = JOptionPane.showInputDialog ("Input a 7-digit integer: ");
digitString = Integer.parseInt(inputString);

// sum the individual digits the LONG way...
digitSumLong = digitString%10 + (digitString/10)%10 + (digitString/100)%10 + (digitString/1000)%10 + (digitString/10000)%10 + (digitString/100000)%10 + digitString/1000000;

// sum the individual digits the QUICK way!
for (int i = 0 ; i <= 6 ; i++)
{
if (i == 6)
digitSumQuick += digitString/Math.pow(10,i);
else
digitSumQuick += (digitString / Math.pow(10,i)) % 10;
}

That's all for now!

The Wiki has Landed!

The time has come!

The final touch is complete for my Web 2.0 assignment... The Wiki. You can click on this blog post's title, or go straight to Mike's Wiki Pages. But don't fret, I'll still be updating all the websites throughout the week (and weeks) ahead. That's the catch to this assignment.

Oddly enough though, now that all the pages are setup, I don't think it will be that difficult to set aside a few minutes week to add some C.S.-related links and keep everyone informed on my C&I assignment progress. I supposed I should mention what is on the Wiki that is different from the content on this blog.

Well for one, a blog is different than a Wiki. A blog is more an "on-line" journal that an individual can share is boring nonsense and drivel to the masses, or (hopefully) share some quality information about his/her field of work. A Wiki is more of a collaborative piece of software (kind of similiar discussion as my Google Docs post below) where many users - such as all the classmates in my C.S. C&I course - can share, edit, and collaborate creating content. And apparently "Wiki" means quick in Hawaiian, too.

Now that the technicalities are out of the way, lets talk about what my Wiki is all about:

I would consider it an extension to this blog. All of my reflections and any thoughts I have during my school experience or about my C.S. C&I course will be shared here and on Wiki I'll have shorter summaries of the information discussed here, as well as time lines, schedules and other plans to keep you informed as to what I'm working on. That is, if you really want to know what I'm working on. Really.

Using Google Docs to Learn French

I'm excited to talk about something I'm fooling around with right now as I take an intro French course at the University of Manitoba. Let me summarize my idea:


+ = Parlez-vous francais?


My question I'm asking in doing this "experiment" is this:

Can I use Google Docs sharing capability, to create a class-sharing community of fellow classmates who will help update a spreadsheet of vocabulary, and other important terms for our class?

So far, the results are hopeful:



The above is a screen-capture of the current "Vocabulaire" for my French class. I've only added about a dozen terms to the list. The rest, have been added by other classmates who I've "shared" this document with using Google Docs. It's very exciting seeing such an early implementation work so well. At the moment there are four of us adding new terms to help each other out with homework, quizzes, and tests.

The best part about this implementation, in my opinion, is the power to organize vocabulary by Chapter, Type (noun, adjective, verb), French, and English. Overall it's quite powerful and helpful to know about all the vocabulary we have covered so far -- instead of resorting to a huge dictionary that has way too many words than we need right now.

Actually, this could turn into a great P.D. idea if I can expand on this concept. Hmm...

And with that, bon nuit!

The First and Last Installment of The Chalk Dust Podcast

Just click on the link above or here (or even that big picture below) to listen whether or not you're one of 10 types of people on this world - and what this site is all about.
P.S. WebCT doesn't work if you want to share your podcast on Blogger. If you're still trying to upload your podcast go to Google Pages and use the file upload feature there. You get 100MB of storage with your Google account.

Educational Treasures from the Internet

We're just going to get right into this: I'm going to share with you some of my favorite websites and findings that you should know more about. Can't go wrong with that kind of deal. We'll start with some links to places that go beyond just discussions on computer science and education:

Science Blogs
A collection of science/education/technology blogs that are maintained by professionals, professors, and university graduate students. Every blog has a unique focus on a particular topic and is a great way to stay on top of the current literature and ideas in terms that are abit easier to swallow than journal abstracts.

TED Talks: Ideas worth spreading
TED Talks are presentations by leaders in their chosen fields. Think YouTube if it went to college. Has a variety of topics and presenters to take a look at. If you've never heard of TED Talks before, you owe it to yourself to watch Sir Ken Robinson on how we're failing to educate the whole child.

Shift Happens
Not so much a website than an educational/informational movement, "Shift Happens" is the title of a video montage that explores how our world has changed how we communicate and view one another in a technologically advancing world. It's a great "shift" from thinking computer science to global issues such as multicultural tolerance and equity.

And to end at some type of high-water mark, here is a YouTube video from the rock star of the astronomy world: Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot.

System.out.println("Hello World!");

If you're here, I assume you're a part of my Computer Science Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) class at the University of Manitoba. If not, then congratulations for finding this hopeful, tiny, dirty gem on the vastness of the Internet.

This blog - I hope - will be something I can use practically to update my own progress as I understand the complex beast that is the teaching profession. As well, this is a place I can keep students, peers, and you updated about what is going on right now as I go down the road towards becoming a professional educator.

So lets start with that: what I'm doing right now, related to education.

This year is my final year of university. It's kind of fun saying that. But don't let that fool you. At the moment of writing this myself and my classmates are already knee-deep in assignments, essays, and presentations to keep us quite busy, where the possibility of graduation is the last thing in our minds. But we love it.

Here at the University of Manitoba, we organize senior years education undergraduates (soon-to-be high school teachers) into groups called "Cohorts". It just so happens, last year, I was thrown into Cohort D (the D stands for... whatever you want it to stand for). Luckily for us, we all get along like family: a weird, dysfunctional, lovable family. It's makes the stress that comes along with this profession pretty manageable.

So at the moment we're all taking theoretical courses on literacy and the administration of education, along with our C&I courses (i.e. teaching computer science). It's the former why I created this blog in the first place. The Chalk Dust is a part of my Computer Science C&I assignment to get us all acquainted with "Web 2.0" technology.

Doesn't "Web 2.0" sound fancy? It really isn't though. If you check your Facebook (and you do), then your a part of the "Web 2.0" movement. Basically any website that allows you to interact with it, and exchange information in real-time (i.e. AJAX) is considered "Web 2.0". Pretty cool, isn't it?

Well look at me, rambling on my first blog post. Sure doesn't make the future bright for The Chalk Dust... or does it? Expect a few more posts this week, including a podcast if I can get some equipment together. Don't expect video though: T.V. killed the radio star.