Top Conversations In March

There were a number of blog posts with above average comment counts in March. The post I wrote about number systems in computer science had 9 comments. Pretty much everyone thought this was/is an important topic for computer science students. Personally that was the most fun thing I learned in math before high school. There have to be ways to teach that as a fun thing to learn.

Likewise my query about XML in schools received a lot of comments in favor of the move. Several people suggested other markup languages as worthy of inclusion as well. I'm thinking that the concept of markup languages as a foundational way of thinking and of sharing data is the key piece and more important than the specific markup language used.

The build your own or buy (computers) pre-built discussion had a number of comments. That is a discussion I hope students have among themselves and in their classrooms. I don't think there is one right answer to that question but I do think that people need to make the decision based on particular situations and needs.

The Art of the Demo post that ended March for me also attracted a lot of attention. I was very happy with the information that some teachers are requiring presentations and demos from their students. The point that learning how to deal with things that go wrong was a particularly good one that I wish I had made on my own.

So far it looks like discussion around the AB CS exam and the future of high school computer science has potential for a lot of activity. I hope you'll join in on those conversations.