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AP Computer Science Education Scalability: Advantage, Rupert Murdoch?
theodp writes: Code.org's AP Computer Science offering won't be going mainstream until the 2016-2017 school year. In the meantime, NewsWorks' Avi Wolfman-Arent reports that Rupert Murdoch's Amplify MOOC just wrapped up its second year of offering AP Computer Science A. And unlike Microsoft TEALS, Google CS First, and Code.org — programs constrained by the number of volunteers, teacher and classroom availability, professional development requirements, and money — Murdoch's AP CS MOOC holds the promise of open-access, unlimited-enrollment, learn-anywhere-and-anytime classes, a la Coursera, Udacity and EdX. So, did Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and their leaders place a $30 million bet on the wrong horse when it comes to AP Computer Science scalability? And, even if they've got a more scalable model, will Murdoch's Amplify and schools be willing to deal with higher MOOC failure rates, and allow large numbers of students to try — and possibly drop or fail — AP CS without economic or academic consequences?
They'll soon learn to use google to find out what the expected answers to the tests are.
Welcome to the modern world.
I'm gonna go way out on a limb here and guess that there's no silver bullet.
I've taught through TEALS (iOS programmer by day).
The TEALS program is for high-school. The demographic is primarily Juniors and Seniors, but some Freshmen and Sophomores. Computer Science doesn't count toward the core science requirements in most states(I've taught in Kentucky and New York and neither does). As an elective class you generally get kids signing up who are either really interested or who's parents/guidance-councilor push them, either way they are generally pretty engaged. Ideally, the kids should be ready to take the AP computer science test which will hopefully make it easier to get into the college they want (if they are actually interested in programming).
These online self-guided lessons are great, but not a replacement for classroom learning.
Make it available to everyone and not just schools for free!
Fourth post, and here comes the OWS loser filled with all his stupid conspiracy theories and Christian Hate.
Really dude, just fucking go back to sleep and spare us all your drug addled outrage.
High school students need an AP Computer Science course. When they hit college professors will tell them to unlearn what they think they learned.
What the hell is a MOOC? Come on if your going to use a new acronym you should define it.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
>> schools be willing to deal with higher MOOC failure rates, and allow large numbers of students to try — and possibly drop or fail — AP CS without economic or academic consequences?
This used to be called "auditing" a course. It's pretty rare to do today, but when college was affordable it used to be a way to try out a course and an instructor before you committed academic consequences.
Here, go Hate on Soros for a while.
So they get to claim in a decade for more H1B visas and out-sourcing for "skilled" labor.
Education sponsored by Rupert "The Worm" Murdoch. The world will be a better place the day this individual is gone for good.
the higher the MOOC failure rates the better for me.
Anything Australian immigrant to the United States Rupert Murdoch does should be carefully scrutinized. Murdoch, the founder of Fox News, seems likely to expand a computer science MOOC into other topics. If Murdoch can get his computer science courses taught in schools, then he could in the future get his version, i.e. right-wing whitewashed version, of history taught in schools. Then Murdoch could get his right-wing science courses which deny evolution and climate change and instead teach religion as science into the schools. Don't trust anything Rupert Murdoch does.
Math and (future) CS teacher here (starting a program at my all-girls school next year): Just factually, it's worth noting that AP Computer Science A (the course done by this MOOC and that has been around for many years) and AP Computer Science Principles (the new AP course that code.org, among many others, will offer a curriculum for next year) are designed from the ground up to be wildly different animals.
AP CS A is a traditional programming course that uses Java as its required language. It goes fairly in depth into topics like algorithms and big-O notation and analysis, but is primarily focused on procedural and OO programming skills. It has a 3-hour exam, mostly multiple choice but with a small "hand-write a program to do x" section as well, as its final assessment.
AP CS Principles is designed to be a project-based course covering general topics such as abstraction, data and information, using computers for creative expression, the internet, collaborative problem solving, and the global impact of computing, as well as an introduction to programming. Teachers and students can use any programming language they'd like - early curriculum materials exist that use everything from Scratch to Javascript to Python. The assessment consists of a shorter multiple choice test (any programming examples in the test use a very simple, well-defined pseudo-code, rather than requiring specific language knowledge) AS WELL AS two submitted digital projects: one programming project (with both individual and collaborative components) and one research project on global impact of computing. Like the AP Studio Art projects, rubrics and basic guidelines for these projects are required, and readers will be looking for specific knowledge on topics such as abstraction and algorithms, but the project itself is designed and chosen by the students themselves.
CS Principles is not likely to scale as well to a MOOC (and frankly I have doubts that code.org's implementation will be amazing either). Personally, I'm very excited about the course as we HAVE had a hard time keeping enrollment numbers up for traditional programming courses in my smallish all-girls school - I think this one allows for a little more room for the exploration and creativity that seems to be of more interest to girls.
Puleeeze...You morons are the definition of knee jerk. All you need to do it hear the word Fox or Murdoch and you lose your shit.
You are the last ones to be calling anyone else a Jackass.
... tell me what AP was?
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
Since when is ridicule of young Earth creationism "Christian Hate" ? The vast majority of Christians do not believe in that bullshit.
Honesty leads to ease of learning in computer science. At least on the logic side. But of course correlation leads to causation.
And get away with it! (also crosslisted as Bribery 101 and Extortion 101).
Most likely the reason eeeeevil Rupert Murdoch's solution scales better is he wasn't constrained by the problem of keeping people of the wrong gender and ethnicity out of the program.