Java Developers in High Demand

This article provides an overview of the current IT job market and pinpoints the Java Developer segment specifically.  According to this report, there are 14,000 Java Developer jobs open in the US with an average salary of around 89,000 dollars per year.  That is pretty decent money and the fact that the jobs are all over the US makes the job openings even better.  This information is also consistent with the US department of labor jobs projections for IT jobs.
Once again, this is just another thing to share with our Computer Science students so that they can see the benefits of having Computer Science skills.  The more tools you have in your tool belt the more marketable you are as an employee and the more flexible you are as an entrepreneur.

Undergrad Curriculum Focuses on Supercomputing Skills

This looks really cool.  Students are learning how to use Supercomputers to further their research.  This degree is helping students to understand how to use computing skills in many different fields.  The degree is not a Computer Science degree, but certainly has lots of Computer Science in it.  Scientific Computation is something that students definitely need to understand.

Will the Robotics Industry Be Huge in the Future?

It sure looks like the field of robotics and the robotics industry could be huge.  As the technology advances, I can see robots doing some really cool stuff.  Bill Gates was quoted a year or so back as saying he thought robotics would be the next big tech industry.  Really though – what does he know?
Check out some of the videos online for the Japanese robotics walking on the runways.  Those images are spooky as the robots look to be able to walk and run better than I can.  Not to say that I am the perfect example of running and walking, but I would like to think I was better at it than a robot.  After watching those videos, I am pretty sure I have mechanic competition on  the way.
My students and kids in general really do enjoy working with robotics.  They like building them and writing code to make them go.  Using robotics in class gets students excited and builds interest in Computer Science.

Algorithms Used to Create Vaccines

This is the stuff students need to hear about.  Science and Computer Science being used together to prevent illness.  Students like to see relevance in what they are learning and how they will use the skills later.  I share these type of articles with my students all year long; they sure do help to provide real examples of the amazing stuff going on using Computer Science.

CMU Using Robots to Create CS Majors

CMU is going to use the tremendous interest in robotics to get more students interested in Computer Science.  Many of us at the high school level have been doing this for years.  Students love working with robots due to the fact they can see the results of their ideas in action.  Robots move and act out the solutions to the problems that students create.  This is very engaging and exciting.  Elementary, middle, and high school students find robotics very engaging.  Using robotics also shows students another side of Computer Science that is very kinesthetic and social.  Two things that are often lacking in typical Computer Science classes.
Way to go CMU!

Google Android App Inventor – direct link to the Google Site
Article about the App Inventor

I am a big fan of Scratch and feel that it is a great educational tool that accommodates a large number of different learning styles.  Students gain confidence quickly with Scratch and learn tons of very important Computer Science concepts, including problem solving and algorithm development.  Scratch helps to make Computer Science accessible to many students that otherwise would not have given the discipline a go.

I really like that the Google Android App Inventor is built using a block programming structure similar to that of Scratch.  A student or child of any age will be able to use this tool.  I have two elementary age sons that both program using Scratch and I am looking forward to seeing the Android Apps they create.

The Google Android App Inventor will be another great tool to use in schools to help teach Computer Science.  Students will really enjoy that they can write useful applications that can run on their phones.

Here are a few articles that provide some compelling  justification for learning how to design and create Android Apps.

http://www.wirelessweek.com/News/Feeds/2010/07/wireless-who-is-making-those-160-000-android-phones-activat/
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/07/08/latest-comscore-data-android-market-exploding/

The University Interscholastic League will be hosting the 14th ANNUAL UIL CAPITAL CONFERENCE in Austin on the UT campus on July 9th and 10th.  This conference is designed to allow teachers and UIL Academic coordinators to discuss the UIL Academic Competitions and the rules, procedures, and contest of the individual competitions.   The conference will have a 2 day Java workshop and a PC^2 workshop.

If you are at the Capital Conference, stop by and chat as I will have a booth setup somewhere on site with information about  contest preparation materials and curriculum materials for the upcoming school year and UIL Academic season.  I will have some cool giveaways, sample materials, and demos running.

I will also be making a stop of at the Salt Lick for the world’s best barbecue.  If you are ever in the Austin area, you have to drive out to Driftwood and eat the original Salt Lick Location.  It is amazing stuff.

Follow up – The Capital Conference was great!  I saw lots of people and had a great time.  Thanks to all that stopped by to chat.   The BBQ at the Salt Lick was world class as usual.

UIL Capital Conference

Things are looking good for Computing Careers!

This about the one millionth post that I have made about Computing Careers, but I will go ahead and post this information anyway.  It appears that the data for Computing Careers continues to indicate that a large number of good jobs will be available in the future.  This information is consistent with the data that has been floating around for the last few years.

I continue to stress to all of the students in our Computer Science classes that they need to take Computer Science classes to make themselves for marketable and adaptable as they will need Computing skills when on the job at some point.  Hopefully, they will head my words.

Well,
My AP Summer Institute officially wrapped up on Thursday.  It was a great week and we covered lots of material and had fun doing it.

I had participants from all over with the furthest coming from Florida.  Last year, I had a participant from China which was cool as well.  I found out that some of my attendees this year had mad skills, including Senior Olympic archery, Vice-Presidential experience, Athletic Training, CIA experience, Social disturbia ( pretty sure that is the proper description and a pretty common comp sci diagnosis ), Home Improvement, Buried Treasure Hunting, Aerobics, Tennis, Fire Safety, and Computer Science.  I list Computer Science last as it just does not stack up against the rest.  How could Computer Science compete with Buried Treasure Hunting?

During the workshop, we spent a good deal of time discussing how you could and should use GridWorld all year long when teaching the AP A Course.  The case study is very dynamic and makes the course much more fun and engaging for the students.  It provides a nice game platform as well.

I also spent tons of time on the basic fundamentals of the AP A course, including ifs, loops, arrays, ArrayList, interfaces, abstract classes, and recursion, but not necessarily in a programming centric way.  I tried to present ways to teach the topics that makes them relevant and gives them context to which students can relate.  When teaching matrices and interfaces, I teach these topics in the context of Codes and Ciphers to show the students some of the ways Computer Science is used beyond just typing in braces and semi-colons.  It works well and I think the workshop participants found the approach effective as well.

Pre/AP was discussed and I included tools like Scratch, Alice, and Jeroo as pre/AP courses do not have to be taught using Java.  I spent time showing how you can use Scratch, Alice, and Jeroo to teach any AP level topic effectively.  We did some nice list processing in Scratch.

Scratch Pong Game

We also spent time discussing ways to broaden participation in Computer Science.  Participants visited the ACM Education Policy Committee site to see the resources posted there.

The workshop wrapped up with a look at the new AP Computer Science Principles course that is being developed.  Participants visited the AP Computer Science Principles site as well as Dan Garcia’s Full Frontal Nerdity site ( you have to love the name ) to see some of the resources posted for Dan’s new pilot AP CS course.

Lunch everyday was awesome!  I am very motivated by food that was a huge plus for sure.  It was a great time and I am sad it is over.

I should have taken some pics, but I didn’t so imagine you see people writing code and looking really excited when looking below this line.
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Science Degrees Wanted

I tell my students this year all year long – every single year – and some of them still do not believe me.  There are clearly really good jobs out there if you know something about technology and know how to use Computers to make things more efficient.  This is an article that every high school student should read.