[Edu-sig] poking some dying logs...

[kirby urner]

> Thanks for you feedback Edward.
>
> I have an all day meeting Aug 7 focusing on computer science teaching
> issues, hosted by the same lobbying group that showed me this book in
> the first place, have the complete text in PDF.
>

Here's the agenda for that meeting FYI:

Goal: Identify steps to develop and establish a pilot digital math
curriculum for 2010 deployment

08:30 - 09:00 - Arrival and continental breakfast
09:00 - 09:15 - Welcome and Introductions
09:15 - 09:30 - Review and discussion of workshop objectives
09:15 - 10:15 - Current state of Oregon discrete mathematics standards
(Bruce Schafer)
10:15 - 10:45 - Insights and discussion from current discrete math /
CS HS teachers (Greg Ptaszynski, Don Kirkwood)
10:45 - 11:00 - Break
11:00 - 12:15 - Digital Math module presentation and discussion, e.g.
CS Unplugged (Chris Brooks, Rob Bryant)
12:15 - 1:00 - Lunch
1:00 - 2:30 - Brainstorming and open discussion about CS / digital
math module integration into discrete math offeirng
2:30 - 3:00 - Identify next actions and owners
3:00 - 3:15 - Final wrap-up

I'm going from Institute for Science, Engineering and Public Policy
(ISEPP), same think tank I represented at Pycon this year, delivered
that workshop with Holden. Pictures of my nametag, Blip TV from my
talk, all in circulation for some months now, in case any of these
guys challenge me for bona fides, plus I was IEEE Dymaxion Clown on
election night (Obama wins).

Be that as at may, Lindsey and I plan not to do any formal
presentations, not our turn to show off (I'll likely talk about Python
some, remind 'em of the many VM options -- probably experiment with
all of them depending on the lesson, e.g. I've showcased using JFC for
biginteger features in Jython, useful for segments on RSA (the
algorithm, not the African nation -- good example of namespace
collision, dot notation to the rescue!)). The Litvins text is likely
to get some focus as well.

Deployment of our 2010 curriculum in an O'Reilly Safari like context
(or Safari itself) would be one of our ISEPP threads  i.e. we're not
interested in promoting "reams of paper" style publishing or
gratuitous "tree mowing" -- too oxymoronic, to have this futuristic
curriculum and yet cling to obsolete (not to mention unethical)
content delivery methods.  Students wouldn't take us at all seriously.
 Note that we're not talking "all Portland schools", though that would
be optimal (to have a DM track offering in every high school).

Kirby