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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup
@ciphersoup.bsky.social
74 followers 29 following 190 posts
K12 computing educator based in the US
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 22d
Students have been blowing me away with their work this year. The creativity and individual expression are amazing. It's been great seeing their excitement when sharing their creations.

#Edusky #CSed #TeamCompSci
Collage of screenshots of various student-created games, each with its own look and feel.
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Aug 28
Best. Job. Ever.

(gaming controllers kids designed for the games they're coding)

#EduSky #TeamCompSci #CSed
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Reposted by Ciphersoup
myrad.bsky.social
Myra Deister @myrad.bsky.social · Jul 10
#csta2025 CSTA Greater Los Angeles meet-up this morning.
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Jul 9
Thank you to all the participants in the Cybersecurity #Unplugged workshop at #CSTA25, and congrats to everyone for freeing their ducks with excellent code cracking skills.

#CSed #TeamCompSci #releasethequacken

All this thanks to the great staff and volunteers at @csteachersorg.bsky.social!
CSTA workshop participants holding yellow rubber ducks
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Jun 23
I was there many years ago and was even able to talk to one of the women who operated the bombes. It's a lovely campus, too. Others told me a visit would just take a couple hours, but I spent a whole day there.
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Jun 20
Usually only for a 'road trip', in which the journey is most of the point, or when moving house and needing to move the car. I drove 24h to see family, but stopped to sleep in the middle.
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Jun 20
It's a 35 hour drive, but I'll take a plane to save time!
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Jun 20
Just submitted my slides for #CSTA2025, right at the deadline. I'm so excited for this conference! Thanks, @csteachersorg.bsky.social for putting this on. See you in Cleveland!

#TeamCompSci #CSEd
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Jun 1
This looks like so much fun! I want to combine this with some other e-textiles (circuits/LED) next year with my new middle school group.

#CSEd #physicalcomputing
advanced-ict.info
Computing and ICT in a Nutshell @advanced-ict.info · May 31
Today we went to the University of Warwick and did some embroidery with @megjlow.bsky.social. You use Scratch to draw the patterns and then they get stitched. #TeamCompSci
Pattern embroidered using a Scratch program
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Apr 4
To clarify, I teach mapping, filtering, aggregate operations (HS). I teach loops, but not really traditional for or while loops. Of what you listed, the only thing (I think) required by the K12 standards is loops, but they can be taught in different ways (e.g. 'until' is easier than 'while').
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Apr 4
I don't want to get in the weeds of which algorithmic constructs are important, but I would say in regards to belonging, vector and aggregate operations are as much real CS as anything else, and I'd rather change focus on constructs than take sense of belonging from K12. (I teach them both, btw)
markguzdial.bsky.social
Mark Guzdial @markguzdial.bsky.social · Apr 2
In K-12 CS, do you teach WHILE, FOR, and REPEAT loops? That’s programming that CS values. Most scientists instead use vector operations, which are much easier to learn. Why not teach vector operations since that’s computing that’s useful to more students? computinged.wordpress.com/2025/03/05/c...
CS doesn’t have a monopoly on computing education: Programming is for everyone
I participated at the first SIGCSE Virtual Conference last December. I was on a panel “Assessments for Non-CS Major Computing Classes” (see the ACM DL paper here). The panelists were excellent. I w…
computinged.wordpress.com
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Apr 4
Thanks, got it! I don't see anything in it about vector operations, but regardless I think that overall the paper is coming from the premise of what I was saying before that cognitive load is reduced not from particular algorithmic constructs, but from matching the learner's level of abstraction.
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Apr 3
What do you mean by "computing education for non-CS"? Non-CS what? I agree that programming is used in different ways, but your point in bringing up vector programming seemed to be that it was an example of 'not CS' and I disagree with that anyway.
ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Apr 3
That link doesn't work for me. Also, students in 5th grade tend to be 10 or 11 years old. A twelve year old would typically be starting grade 7 or ending grade 6.
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Apr 3
It's not about the tools. It's about cognitive development and age appropriateness. I also am not a fan of a lot of the ways that CS is taught, but that doesn't detract from my view that a sense of belonging is important.
ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Apr 3
Bootstrap is not for K5. This type of abstraction is appropriate for algebra.
ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Apr 3
Yes, if students are already operating at a higher level of abstraction, using a function that reflects that level would be less cognitively demanding than moving between levels of abstraction and constructing the underlying behavior. But that's not a question of repeats versus vector operations.
ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Apr 3
My second point is that the very idea of operating in aggregate is going to be hard for K5, and it will need to be explained by having the students traverse the list by hand and construct a new list. It would not initially make sense to them to do it all at once. It's too abstract. (cont'd)
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Apr 3
That's what I'm saying. If you compare using a loop to specifically do something that involves traversing a data structure in order to map an operation to all items, of course using a native mapping function will be easier. But that doesn't mean that mapping is easier than loops. (cont'd)
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Apr 2
This paper doesn't appear to say that. It appears to say that if you want to map an operation or do an aggregate operation, it's easier to have native functionality to do that rather than to construct it with a loop. I doubt most K5 students would easily grasp below without explicit traversal.
"• 1 + (1,2,3) evaluates to 2,3,4 • (1,2,3) + (2,3,4) evaluates to 3,5,7"
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Apr 2
Yes, totally agree that's an aim. I would also like to add that they should get what they need for personal fulfillment, too.
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Apr 2
If that is the criticism, that you think it's too much to say that each student is an indispensable and integral part of how CS intersects with society, I think that's fair. I would like to know more about what the authors mean by 'indispensable'. The absence of one person won't collapse society.
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Apr 2
But we don't start by saying 'you belong in CS' either. The idea is to create a curriculum that instills a sense of belonging, and to have that as an explicit goal that shapes the way we build courses.
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Apr 2
Yes, that does not talk about enrolling in any courses, declaring a major, or choosing a career path. I'm talking about CS as a discipline that exists as part of general society, and whether all students feel belonging and agency within that aspect of our shared culture.
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ciphersoup.bsky.social
Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · Apr 2
Can you explain more about how vector operations are easier for a K-5 student to learn than a repeat loop? I'm having a really hard time understanding what that would look like in a K-5 classroom. What makes it more useful to a child's goals?
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