Interesting Links 26 September 2011

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Autumn has technically arrived in New Hampshire. The leafs are starting to turn but the weather has stayed a bit unseasonably warm. Even still school is in full swing all across the US and my little part of the world is no exception. It’s also fall advisory board meeting time for the career technical schools and I have several such meetings in the near future. It’s always interesting to hear how the various programs are going. Some are under more financial stress than others but at least at a career technical high school programming and web development are more than just ordinary electives. From antidotal evidence enrollments in computer science in other high schools and college prep private schools are still all over the map. Some up, some down. A lot seems to depend on administrative support as well as things like NCLB for public schools.  What ever the situation is like at your school I have some links and hopes that one or more will be useful for you.

My friends at NCWIT keep reminding me (and I you) that they are now accepting applications! NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing – These CS award for girls in grades 9-12 are a good chance to get some recognition for girls with interest and potential in computing fields. Give a girl some encouragement and nominate one (or more)

I have a couple of interesting links related to Kinect this week:

I read an interesting post by Frank McCown on cheating in computer science courses last week. This is a serious issue that we really need to deal with. What is the difference between code reuse and cheating? What happens to learning with pairs or team programming? How do we best teach the concepts at depth without encouraging cheating? A lot to think about in that post and I highly recommend it.

Are you in Kentucky or Washington state? Register for the Microsoft Innovative Educator 2-day seminar (free) coming your way

Cool stuff on the Teacher Tech blog - Guest post: A reflection by a U.S. educator visiting Jordan “…a United Nations conference for education”

This is a guest post from Margaret Noble a Media Arts educator from High Tech High in San Diego, CA. Margaret who had the opportunity to participate in the Microsoft Partners in Learning Middle East & Africa Innovative Education Forum and collaborate with educators from across these Middle East & Africa. Margaret partnered with math educator David Stahnke and became a finalist at the U.S. Innovative Education Forum this July. They will be two of ten educators representing the U.S. at the Partners in Learning Global Forum in November. Learn more about their project here.

Educators of all kinds and subjects, don't forget about all the free Microsoft education resources. Lesson plans, teaching guides and more.

Scott Newcomb has an interesting new blog called The Mobile Native about Learning & Teaching with Mobile Learning Devices. It’s worth checking out. Scott is a fourth grade teacher BTW. Kids are using mobile device young.