Computer Science Education Week is next week - here are some resources

Computer Science Education Week begins on Monday December 8th. This is a great time to show the importance of coding and STEM education in American schools. 

The site has information, resources, links, lesson plans, information on the Hour of Code, curriculum  and much more. 

Computer Science classes teach logic, creativity and problem solving and are an essential skill for our students. 

Here are some more resources:

Ohio University's illustrious Russ College of Engineering and Technology has produced two unique infographics revolving around advancements in the computer science industry that will excite any young learner.

“On The Pulse: Electrical Engineering innovations that Connect People and Communities”

“Remarkable Advances in Electrical and Computer Engineering.”

Scratch - free, easy to use "programming" system from MIT

Google Blockly - easy to use visual programming language


Free computer science resources for teachers and students


Google Code University - free computer science classes

Learning HTML Code - some resources to get started

iTALC - computer management

iTALC is a free, open source, computer management system. It enables teachers to control student computers, including monitoring what the students are doing, remote control to help users, lock out workstations, send text messages to students, remote power on/off and reboot and more.

It is extremely easy to install and use. It took me less than 10 minutes to download and install the admin version on my computer. I loaded the software and the key onto my network drive and then logged on to each computer in my room (there are 8) and installed the client version in less than 3 min for each computer. It then took a few minutes to set up the main system on my computer with all the classroom computers linked.

iTALC is similar to systems like LANSchool, but free.

The wiki is also very helpful with the installation and set up.

Dell Netbook for Classrooms

Dell has introduced a new netbook, the Latitude 2100, aimed at the K-12 market. The netbook (smaller, cheaper, less powerful laptop) computer has an anti-microbial keyboard, a status light to let the teacher know if the student is on the internet, and a carry handle.

The anti-microbial keyboard is coated with a naturally occuring silver material. This is a great idea for classroom computers to help prevent the spread of germs among students.

The 2100 also has a rubberized case to help protect it from falls.

The Linux version starts at $369 and comes with Ubuntu Linux 8.1, an 8GB solid state disk drive, three cell battery (3.5 hours), and weighs 2.9 pounds.

There is a Windows Vista Home basic version which starts at $500. It has a 160GB hard drive, touchscreen, and a six cell battery (7 hrs).

They are available in a variety of colors, which Dell suggests can be used to color code by grade or class.

Dell is also offering a cart ($3900) to store and charge the netbooks. 

Netbooks have become more and more popular because of their price and smaller, more portable, form factor. The smaller disk drives and less powerful processors are offset by the fact that most netbooks are used for basic tasks such as word processing, email, and internet use. Many users get around the small disk drives by using cloud based applications and storage, such as Google Apps, or flash drives or memory cards.

The Latitude 2100 appears to be a promising device for schools. For under $400 per unit, a school can get a rugged, very useful device. Ubuntu is the most widely used version of Linux. Students do not have to learn anything new to use Linux. It has a web browser built in and there is free software that does everything students need to do: OpenOffice or Google Docs for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations, as well as a variety of software titles for photo editing, video editing, and more. Google Apps for Education also has more applications that students can use for free. And, since the Google files are stored on Google's servers, you don't take up any memory on the computer.

For more information, go to www.dell.com