NPR Planet Money: When Women Stopped Coding

Everyone should listen to this! Most of the early computer programmers were women. So the reporters decided to investigate why men now dominate the field. They talk to women and men about their early experiences programming. Lots of people feel like they are not as good as everyone else. But if you're patient and focus on your small achievements, you'll improve over time!
 

Free Javascript course in Oakland

This January there will be a free Javascript course in Oakland: http://cyber.wizard.institute/

The course will largely self-directed, but they will present the material and help you with assignments. Here are the topics they will cover;

• unix command line with bash
• javascript
• computer science fundamentals
• programming languages (regex, state machines, parsing)
• node.js (back-end programming)
• front-end programming
• collaboration (git & github, documentation, testing, open source)

Node.js is HOT right now so it's a great skill to have. I'm learning it myself! 

So if you're interested, fill out the application: http://cooperation.io/ 

Videos on Booleans and String Methods

booleans

string.charAt()

string.length()

Tips for Taking the AP CS Exam - Handwriting

I found this image on the AP CS website. You should follow these tips when writing homework and quizzes. 

In this example, the student does the following well:

1. The letters are written large enough so that the grader can easily read the words. The College Board recommends that a good character size is between a quarter and a half inch or so. 
2. The lines of code are indented according to convention. This part is crucial!

Slides for Thursday October 9th also available in the class Google Drive folder

Chapter 4 Slides - conditional statements

Chapter 3 Slides - parameters

The Forgotten Female Programmers Who Created Modern Tech

Great story about the women who made crucial contributions to modern computer science and programming.

You can listen to or read the story here: http://www.wnyc.org/story/the-forgotten-female-programmers-who-created-modern-tech/

Need a place to study with internet? Try the Oakland Public Library

Anyone looking for a place to study after school or on the weekends? Check out branches of the Oakland Public Library.

The 81st Ave branch is new and really nice. You can find their hours here: http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/locations/81st-avenue-branch

The Elmhurst branch is also close to Castlemont: http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/locations/elmhurst-branch

If those two are not convenient check out the locations of the other branches: http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/sites/default/files/uploads/location%20guide%2002_21_13%20inside_0.pdf

Homework 3.3 - Diamond with Parameters

1. Click to download the java file for Homework 3.3 - Diamond with Parameters

Homework 3.2 - computePower

Click link for Homework 3.2 - computePower

For Loops flow

YouTube Video on Parameter Passing

parameter example: dog years

public class parameterExample  {

    public static void main (String[] args) {

        int ruff = 10;

        dogYears (20);

        dogYears (7);

        dogYears (12);

         //  this wasn't talked in class but could be useful for extra credit

        dogYears (ruff);

    }

    public static void dogYears (int human_years) {

        int dog_years;

        dog_years = human_years * 7;

        System.out.println (dog_years);

    }

}

Homework 3.1

Homework - Lesson 3.1   Parameters

Due 9/30/2014

1. In eclipse, create a new class called “FirstnameLastnameHwk3_1”, where “FirstnameLastname” is your first name and last name.  Include a main method when you create your class.
2. Create a method called “computeSquare” that has 1 integer parameter.  The parameter variable name should be “square”
3. In computeSquare method, multiple “square” by itself and then println the result.
4. In your main method, call computeSquare 4 different times.  The first time, pass in the number 1.  The second time, pass in the number 2.  The third time, pass in the number 3.  The forth time, pass in the number 4.
5. Run your program, the results should be:

1

4

9

16

6. Extra Credit, in your main method, remove the previous calls to computeSquare and write a for-loop that will call computeSquare 4 times (make 4 a constant variable in main and name it “NUMBER_OF_SQUARES”).  Have the iterator start at 1 and pass the iterator as the parameter to computeSquare.
7. Run your program, the results should be:

1

4

9

16

8. Email your file to hw-cs-castlemont@googlegroups.com

UPDATE: We Won Runner-Up at the Hackathon

...in the category of "Most Likely to Go to Market!"

Silicon Chef Hackathon

Hey all -- hope studying for tomorrow's quiz is going well.

If you get the chance, make sure to ask Ronye, Laura, Sandra, or myself about this weekend's hardware hack.  We built a student response system that allows us to input student feedback and pair those who rate themselves as high (gets it!) with those who identify as needing help.  We learned a lot about Arduinos and about coding in C to get this done (we used lots of for loops!). 

Our final product: Check Yo Self!

#CastlemontCodes Dream Team.

If you want to try Arduinos for yourself, I now have 4 in the classroom that you can use.  Also, I will let you know about the next hack-a-thon and you should join us!

For those who are interested, here is the text of our code.

Study Help Screencasts from Your Peers!

Mad props to Lauren, Sandra, Evelyn, and Elvis who made screencast of some today's review problems.  They explain their thinking and how they arrived at their answers.   Watch them as review for your QUIZ on MONDAY. The slides are posted underneath the videos.

Elvis explains nested for loops

Elvis explains for loops

Sandra and Evelyn explain operators and assignment

Sandra and Evelyn explain nested for loops

Lauren explains for loops

More Java Coding Challenges

I just across this coding exercise site today: http://codingbat.com/java

This looks GREAT. Check out the AP section. 

And I just remembered about this other site that might come in handy too:  http://coderbyte.com/CodingArea/Challenges/

Screencast: Some Helpful Hints for Your Mirror Project

In case you haven't figured out your mirror yet.  I hope this video is helpful.

How to submit homework files

1. Open a new email messsage
1. To: hw-cs-castlemont@googlegroups.com
2. Subject: Homework # 
1. replace # with the homework number
2. Switch to Eclipse
3. Click Window... Show View... Navigator
4. In the Navigator window, click your <project name>... src
5. Find your java file then click and drag the file over to your email message
1. This works with GMail. Let us know if this doesn't work with other email providers.

Project Euler Programming Problems

For anyone looking for an extra challenge, check out https://projecteuler.net/. The website has a set of increasingly challenging mathematical problems that can be solved with a computer program. It will introduce you to new programming techniques and algorithms, but you should be familiar with many of the math concepts. Enjoy!

Nested Loop Problem

Print the following grid numbers to the console. Consider breaking the problem into three portions colored yellow, red, and green below. 

Nested loops

Below is a video on nested loops.  The instructor provides a great example.

Ted talk on Algorithms

Here is an interesting link to a TED Talk on Algorithms and how they impact our lives.

http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_slavin_how_algorithms_shape_our_world

Challenge!

If anyone is up for a challenge (and in a team), see Shorall...

Verizon Innovative App Challenge

Guest Presenter: Daphne LaRose

Hope you all loved Daphne's presentation like I did! Here is Daphne's email and some things she mentioned:

Daphne's email: daphne.larose@gmail.com
Daphne's Tumblr: blackfemalecoders.tumblr.com
GEM Fellowship: https://www.gemfellowship.org/gem-fellowship
Open Oakland Mesh Network: https://peoplesopen.net/

GEM Fellowship

Here's the link to the GEM Fellowship that Daphne recommended in her presentation: https://www.gemfellowship.org/

Looks like a great option!

CS at Harvey Mudd College

For you seniors and anyone thinking about college, take a look at Harvey Mudd College. It's the engineering school of the Claremont Colleges group of colleges. Maria Klawe, the President of Harvey Mudd, is a computer scientist and really improved the undergraduate Computer Science curriculum to cater to students new to programming. And she increased the number of women majoring in Computer Science. 

To read more about Harvey Mudd and Maria Klawe, check out this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/giving-women-the-access-code.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

A Comment about Curly Brackets { }

The lines of code inside a method start with a { and end with a }. By default Eclipse puts the starting curly bracket on the same line as the method name. And it puts the ending curly bracket directly underneath the "p" in public. See the example below

This is a great habit because you can easily find its matching starting curly bracket. Sometimes I will even add a comment after the ending curly bracket to indicate the method that it is ending. Plus most Java developers follow this convention, so it makes it much easier for other programmers to read your code.

Please follow this convention, even in your handwritten assignments. The AP exam is handwritten so you'll need to be able to write out legible code. Legible code makes it easier for the person reading and grading your AP exam. 

public class Program {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        sayGoodMorning();    
    } // end of main()
    public static void sayGoodMorning() {
        System.out.println("Guten morgen!");
        System.out.println("Hello! My name is Jason!");
    } // end of sayGoodMorning()
} // end of Program

Homework 1.6 Feedback

Great job on this homework assignment! Here are some trends across the class that I wanted to point out:

• When debugging code make sure the following things are matched correctly:
• curly brackets {}
• parentheses ()
• double quotes "" 
• Glad to see escaped sequences used properly! But using many \n in one println() statement results in super long lines of code. They can be difficult to read as a programmer because you have to scroll right and left to see the whole line of code. Use multiple println() statements to improve code readability. 
• Question 4 asked to find four errors. Three of those errors are "compilation" errors. Meaning that when you try to run the program, you should see three errors in the Error window.
  The fourth error is a "functional" error. After you fix the first three errors, the program will run in Eclipse, but it won't print what was expected: a modified version of the first line of the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln. The block comment, /* */, cut out all men, but didn't replace it with anything. It should print:

Four score and seven years ago, 
our fathers brought forth on
this continent a new nation
conceived in liberty, 
and dedicated to the proposition
that
all 
PEOPLE 
are
created
equal. 

What do you need to change to print this?

methods();

• Declaring

public static void printWarning() {

System.out.println("This product causes cancer");

System.out.println("in lab rats and humans.");

}

• Calling

public static void main(Strings[] args) {

printWarning();

}

• Output

 This product causes cancer

in lab rats and humans.

Comments

// This is a valid comment
// So is this

/ This is not a valid comment (missing a forward slash)

/* This is another way of writing a comment */

/* This is also a valid
way of writing a comment */

/* This is not a valid comment because you are missing the star here /

/* This is the eclipse
 * way of writing a comment
 * with multiple lines.
 */

Class Announcement

Hello Castlemont Coders --

Hope that you all are enjoying the long weekend.  Please read the announcements below!

ABSENCES and TARDIES:

These were a huge issue in the first week.  I know that some of you were added to the roster late.  Still, this does not excuse the amount of missed class time our class collectively totaled over the course of the week.  There were 24 tardies last week.  Every minute counts.

I won't harp on this point too much, but now is time to get serious about your commitment to computer science.  We are so fortunate -- 9 out of 10 high schools in America do not offer computer science courses.  Of the 3.6 million AP tests administered last year, only 3,000 were to black or Latino students in CS.  We need to take advantage of what we have been given.  (Also, check my stats here.)

My expectations are the following:  you need to be in the classroom, computers on and Eclipse loaded, by 8:25 so that class starts at 8:30 on the dot.  I know that you all are capable of this.  Let me know how I can support you.

COMPUTERS:

The laptops are ordered and we are just waiting for them to arrive.  Thank you for your patience.  It looks like we may be 3-4 short, so if you have a laptop that you haven't yet told me about, let me know.

SURVEY:

Please fill out the following survey for TEALS, the organization that brought us Mark, Tikku, Jason, and James.  I need everyone to do this by next Friday (but do it now, please).

INSTRUCTOR FEEDBACK:

Do you have comments, advice, or questions for our instructors?  They would love to hear from you about your experience in AP CS thus far.  Fill out this feedback page.

Looking forward to seeing you (on time!) tomorrow morning.

Hugs,

Shorall

println tip

When needing to format a single println statement, using a backwards slash to instruct the compiler to format it.

\t = tab
\n = new line
\" = quotation mark
\\ = backslash

Structure of Java Program

Hackathon

StartUp Weekend: OAKLANDedu

This hackathon is all about creating solutions to problems in education -- who is better for this hackathon than actual high school students?  This hackathon is hosted at Mills College and runs from Friday, September 12th until Sunday, September 14th (you will go home to sleep).  I would love to do this hackathon, but I am already in a full day meeting on Saturday.  That said, if you have amazing ideas about what tech could solve in education, you should register -- sign up as a Youth Innovator.

Hardware Hackathon

This hackathon is for WOMEN only.  It is a hackathon that allows you to create a project using an Arduino, or a microcontroller.  Many of you have already received an email from me about this.  If you are interested, we have a team that is composed of Ronye, Laura, Sandra, Mayra, me, and hopefully you!  Register here.

IDE and HelloWorld!

Today we talked about using the Eclipse IDE and creating your first hello world program.  Watch this video to review how you can create the HelloWorld program in Eclipse.

Definitions

Computer Science

Study of computers: the study of the mathematics and technology of computers and their applications

Algorithm

problem-solving procedure: a logical step-by-step procedure for solving a mathematical problem in a finite number of steps, often involving repetition of the same basic operation

Programming Language

special vocabulary for instructing computer: a unique vocabulary and set of rules for writing computer programs

RAM

Random Access Memory is the place in a computer where the operating system, application programs, and data in current use are kept so that they can be quickly reached by the computer's processor.

CPU

main part of computer: the part of a computer that performs operations and executes software commands

I/O

the communication between an information processing system (such as a computer ) and the outside world, possibly a human or another information processing system (such as a keyboard).

Installing & Running Eclipse

Here is a short video on installing & running Eclipse for the first time.  The direct link to the Eclipse install page:  http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/   The installation has been done for you but this video explains exactly what was done.

Welcome

Welcome to the 2014-1015 AP Computer Science blog site.  On this page, you will find information on homework, projects, tests, lectures, important links, and contact information.  It will also contain a syllabus that will be regularly updated.