Creativity as expressed in HONR 296 final projects (summer/fall 2022 & spring 2023 edition)

I previously wrote about the creative ways learners in my spring 2020, fall 2020, spring and fall 2021 and spring 2022 Honors College courses (HONR 296) exhibited and documented their knowledge and understanding of the course's material. The course title is "Computer Science and Algorithms to Live By." The course final project, in summary, was to create a tangible artifact that recorded their responses to the course’s essential questions, as it related to their chosen major(s) and/or minor(s). In this post, I am showcasing the creativity of nineteen summer 2022, fall 2022, and spring 2023 learners who were willing for me to share their work.

I encourage you to read to the end of this post and click on all the images and links to experience the full breadth of how these students understood computer science and algorithms to impact their current and future lives. In the interest of brevity, I have not provided any commentary about them, but rather have provided a brief description and an image or link for you to investigate further. They are listed in random order.

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Samuel Willey connected the course content to his sales major by creating a fictitious company that sells algorithms as a service. He created a commercial that explains why you need to buy algorithms and how useful they are.

Ozzie Kazarian wrote a "choose your own adventure" style click and read story. It attempts to answer course essential questions like "what is a computer" through a sci-fi inspired narrator. It's fairly short to play through; check it out.

Jackson Ketcham created a video that connects the two worlds of computer science and algorithms with the medical field. While using algorithmic analogies, he breaks down the function of medicines (such as antibiotics) and how algorithms will impact the future of medicine. He also uses ASL in the video with drawings to simulate an effective teaching and communicative method of talking with a deaf patient in a hospital.

Jess Melvin combined her anthropology knowledge and fashion skills, to create a "styling bible"—a guidebook for styling gigs—for a fictional client based on the course content. She answered the essential questions abstractly through moodboards and outfit plans and more concretely through text within the guidebook.

Jada Cooper created a group of lessons orchestrated for sixth graders to be introduced to computer science and begin analyzing the importance of these technologies in the world today. The lessons begin with students being given general information and having the freedom to explore more on their own, before wrapping up with a Socratic seminar that dives deeper into these topics and makes connections to our own lives.

Fortune Anjorin created an infographic that explains how technology improves nursing care, as well as the technologies that will be used in the future. She gave examples of the technologies we see nurses use daily at the hospital and did some research on some newly developed robots that will be used in the future.

Liz Davis answered the course's essential questions, and then translated her responses into French, utilizing knowledge from her major. She also delivered her class presentation in French.

Delaney Fritch combined their Political Science and History majors to create an oral history. They interviewed themself, asking the course’s essential questions, and then formally wrote it up as a (fictitious) oral history for the BSU archives.

Joseph Gassensmith created a presentation wherein he explored the course's essential questions as they relate to the practice of law.

Ainsley Hall "rebranded" the course. As the class did a deep dive into algorithms and how they are used in our daily life—especially in the case of social media usage and artificial intelligence—her project focused on introducing and bringing interest to ideas within the course. This rebranding involved creating media pieces (a video, a logo, and social media mockups) and integrating AI speech technology guided by a human-written script to show how newer technologies can be used to assist rather than replace.

Gabrielle Heiser created a collage that focused on algorithmic bias in healthcare, along with providing responses to how the course's essential question related to nursing.

Kade Wereley-Bross created a visual representation of Broadway attendance numbers throughout the last four decades, in the form of a blanket, based on the classic temperature blanket style yarn project. The colors reflect ranges of attendance numbers. They also provided a document describing how this is related to the course's essential questions.

Dylan Kedra used social work skills to write up a set of patient notes, where a computer was the patient. A representative quote from the notes: "Capability of immense change in the world due to their calculating and intelligent thought processes. While also mentioning their ability to fit into and improve almost every situation when there are clear boundaries set."

Gavin Neal designed a computer slide puzzle game that, once solved, would provide the answers to the course essential questions as the puzzle face. The unpredictability of the puzzle represents how algorithms sometimes are not so easily transferred from one medium to another.

Jess Schroeder created a poster containing images that represented her responses to the course's essential questions.

Abby McElroy practiced writing lesson plans, even if the topic was not at all related to her journalism major. She found making a lesson for computers and algorithms to be a fun twist on things she's been learning to do and included class discussions, homework, and more!

Jentry Keesling created an infographic describing the way computer science has changed psychology and created new fields combining the two.

Max Vale wrote a play about two pieces of brothers learning about what it means to answer the essential questions of the course. It explores where the boundary of human and computer overlap and what happens when that boundary is crossed.

Adrian Tauriainen created a presentation about how computers and technology have impacted the world of architecture.

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So, there you have it. Nineteen different responses to the same prompt. Leaving an assignment open (as opposed to strictly defined) provides the learner an opportunity to explore their passions, and thus they are likely to engage with the assignment more fully. It also makes the evaluation of the assignment a lot more interesting, since the submissions are not cookie cutters of each other, and I often learn something new as well. Learner-centered teaching for the win.

What interesting assignments have you had? Describe it in a comment below.

Image credits: All images were provided by their creators.

Creativity as expressed in HONR 296 final projects (spring 2022 edition)

I previously wrote about the creative ways learners in my spring 2020, fall 2020, and spring and fall 2021 Honors College courses (HONR 296) exhibited and documented their knowledge and understanding of the course's material. The course title is "Computer Science and Algorithms to Live By." The course final project, in summary, was to create a tangible artifact that recorded their responses to the course’s essential questions, as it related to their chosen major(s) and/or minor(s). In this post, I am showcasing the creativity of twelve spring 2022 learners who were willing for me to share their work.

I encourage you to read to the end of this post and click on all the images and links to experience the full breadth of how these students understood computer science and algorithms to impact their current and future lives. In the interest of brevity, I have not provided any commentary about them, but rather have provided a brief description and an image or link for you to investigate further.

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Kaila Brack developed an info-graphic in which she describes how computing technology and algorithms have completely changed the field of nursing. By answering the essential questions, she discuss how patient care has been improved, as well as some of the downsides to the rapid increase of technology in hospital settings.

Sammy Bredar wrote a children’s book about the advancement of technology in society. The story's introduction reads:

There are three groups of characters in this book, which include the Elders, the Computers, and the Humans. In the book, a handwritten manuscript explains to her grandchildren, who are a typed novel and a printed newspaper, how technology changed her world. The plot of most of the book is the grandmother’s personal account of the history in “The Town” which is full of residents like pencils, pens, papers, and other non-technical objects who live comfortably in their technology-free neighborhood, working each day for the benefit of the Humans.

Lillian Brown wrote a short story which is a modern adaptation of the popular book My Side of the Mountain. It is written as a series of journal entries. She writes as Sam Gribley about his adventures after he runs away to the mountains. The purpose of the adaptation is to show how technology touches every part of our lives and can be both a help and a hindrance.

Hanna Cheek created a crossword puzzle as an interactive way to showcase the relationship between real life experiences in a social work/counseling setting and the content explored throughout this course.

Claire Close created an info-graphic that takes a deeper dive into the connection between algorithms that we use in our daily lives and the field of police work. She suggests that when we work to understand one aspect of policing, a new situation arises, causing us to reevaluate what we've already learned.

Chloe Fields dives into the changes computer software has made on hand drawn animation. Two animations were made; one using paper, pencil, and highlighter and one using the current industry standard for hand drawn animation, Toon Boom Harmony. By comparing these different ways of executing the same form of animation one can see the differences algorithms make on the medium.

Elysa Goldberg wrote an academic-style journal article to address the course's essential questions. In it she wrote: 

Regarding how much we should let technology do for us, it is important to find that balance of communicating through technology or computer-generated resources compared to human-to-human contacts especially when dealing with something as real, vulnerable, and sensitive as our emotions thoughts and feelings. I think if it came down to only working with bots to help with psychological issues, that would really create a sense of disconnect.

Eva Kopsolias wrote an algorithm for successful improvised comedy. Her full algorithm is available, but here is the start of it.

1. START with one person interacting at a time:
1. Pick a topic from the following:
1. An object in the room
2. A childhood memory
3. Something that happened or was said that day
2. Create a story from said topic. Just have fun and let it flow naturally.
3. Establish the setting or context and leave the response to your partner. DO NOT give context and a punchline in one monologue.

Madeleine Mills-Craig created a presentation about making a book. She stated:

Books are a version of a computer that stores data and allows humans to retrieve and then process it. To make a book, one must have the supplies and must be able to put the book together in sequential order. The process of creating a book affirms the stance that algorithms are created because of all the different techniques used to create a book. Today, the algorithm to make a book is much more complicated than in the past, when pages sewn together could be classified as a book, but today, most books have a cover, title, byline, endpaper, etc.

You can watch a brief video of her making a book.

Rosa Reinhard performed an analysis of anamae. In her presentation she stated:

Throughout this course, one major question that came up was "How much is technology influencing us?" In order to answer this question, I created a computational problem related to the question and within the anime Psycho Pass. To examine this computational problem, a case study of the anime Psycho Pass was done by 1. watching the entire anime through the lens of the five essential questions 2. note anything that was related to the problem through the anime’s setting and character choices, and 3. identify how the anime answers the problem. For a computational problem that asks more of a what if and a should type question rather than a how or what, having an anime whose setting is entirely related to the problem allows for a case study to be performed and analyzed.

Nicholas Stoll wrote a computer program using the Python programming language that provided an interactive way for elementary-aged students to combine technology into a humanities context, as the quiz questions can be easily changed.

Kathleen Welch created an info-graphic that provided a compilation of how the course questions related to her environmental management major.

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So, there you have it. Twelve different responses to the same prompt. Leaving an assignment open (as opposed to strictly defined) provides the learner an opportunity to explore their passions, and thus they are likely to engage with the assignment more fully. It also makes the evaluation of the assignment a lot more interesting, since the submissions are not cookie cutters of each other, and I often learn something new as well. Learner-centered teaching for the win.

What interesting assignments have you had? Describe it in a comment below.

Image credits: All images were provided by their creators.

Creativity as expressed in HONR 296 final projects (spring and fall 2021 edition)

I previously wrote about the creative ways learners in my spring 2020 and fall 2020 Honors College courses (HONR 296) exhibited and documented their knowledge and understanding of the course's material. The course title is "Computer Science and Algorithms to Live By." The course final project, in summary, was to create a tangible artifact that recorded their responses to the course’s essential questions, as it related to their chosen major(s) and/or minor(s). In this post, I am showcasing the creativity of fourteen spring and fall 2021 learners who were willing for me to share their work.

I encourage you to read to the end of this post and click on all the images and links to experience the full breadth of how these students understood computer science and algorithms to impact their current and future lives. In the interest of brevity, I have not provided any commentary about them, but rather have provided a brief description and an image or link for you to investigate further. They are not listed in any particular order.

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Jacee Harwell wrote a children’s book expressing her understanding of algorithms. You may read about Courtney the counselor in this PDF of the book.

Reece Malchow created a model of a hamburger and related it to the course material. She explained in a supporting document:

For my final project, I decided to do a hamburger. I plan on being either an Englishprofessor or a GED instructor when I get older, so I wanted to do something fun associated with English. In elementary, when you learn about how to structure sentences, it’s taught by thinking about the structure of a hamburger. The top bun is the topic sentence, the lettuce, hamburger, cheese, etc is the evidence, and the bottom bun is the conclusion or closing sentence. 

Maddie Barber created an info-graphic describing her responses to the courses’ essential questions as they intersected with accounting.You may view the entire PDF. 

Susan Fleshman created a poster illustrating how the course material related to exercise science. Her description:

The purpose of this project was to visualize the ways in which physical therapists and their patients can be described as computers. This answers the essential question of "what is a computer", as well as touching on the other essential questions.

Emali Grose is working to convert a vacant building in Warsaw, Indiana into a “live, work, play” style of space. The goal is to create a positive environment for the community to gather at, as well as increase retention of community members.

Blake Chapman used his journalism skills to create a photo illustration of his understanding of the course material. He provided this description of it:

This photo illustration visualizes the most important concepts we discussed throughout the semester including sorting, loops, and game theory. In journalism, photo illustrations are used as descriptive feature images to make stories that involve complex subjects more digestible to readers.

Katelyn Mitchell created a set of presentation slides to convey her understanding of the course material as it relates to criminal justice. In an accompanying essay she wrote:

In criminal justice, professionals respect and uphold values of equal justice under the law, access to justice, honesty, integrity, accountability, public safety, openness, and partnership. Even though criminal justice is considered to be a hands-on field, technology plays an important role. From using 5G networks to communicate across land, air, space, and sea to using digital algorithms to reconstruct faces, technology has made substantial advancements in the field.. 

Jimmy Stueve developed an algorithm to write trombone music. He collected data from the class, fed that into his algorithm, and produced the music. His description follows:

This project seeks to answer the question, “can a simple algorithm write music?” A simple blues jazz solo was generated and performed. While the solo is surprisingly effective, it does not include a personal element that we expect in quality music.

Maarten Bergsma Recorded a quick-start tutorial video about using Grasshopper 3D. Towards the end of the video he addresses the course's essential questions.

Janardhen Jayavel developed a Python program to create a picture collage made from two separate images. This shows an idea of how photography could be related with computer science.

 

Katie Darlage created an animal caretaker checklist as an example of an algorithm. She structured it to look like a daily to-do list for a zookeeper at a fictional zoo, and she wrote about different events that happened throughout the day in various comments sections, relating those daily events in some way to the course's essential questions. For example, she had this comment on the "Enclosure Cleaning" page:

"I feel so bad for Nessie, cuz she gets startled by the glass scrubbers so easily. The amount of times I’ve seen one scrubbing its way into her field of vision before making her jump and swim off in a flurry… I’m sure she doesn’t enjoy the fact that they move on their own accord, and I don’t quite blame her. But hey, having a little robot scrub the glass instead of one of us spending time doing that is way safer and easier for all parties involved."

This story directly relates to the use of computers, as well as some social issues related to computers, since it discusses a motorized scrubber - a computer utilized for safer and more efficient cleaning - and mentions Nessie's aversion to more independent technology that many people also struggle with right now.

Alex Storz created a video about sun-tracking system for solar panels. She wrote:

Alternative energy sources are becoming critical elements of a sustainable future and are constantly advancing in efficiency and design with new data and technologies. The minor addition orienting motors to PV panels helps to maximize their energy production by up to 30% annually. As PVs and other renewable energy sources are becoming increasingly prevalent forms of architectural accessory, these new technologies allow for dynamic systems that push the boundaries of what facade and aperture can mean.

Justin Koren created an algorithm to help him better predict the March Madness bracket. He built a data base where of ten years of the March Madness tournament, and then built a simulation that would predict the winners of the brackets. The predictions are based off of their seed, their region, their historical records in the tournament, and how well they played during the current season.

 

Brooke Walter created a lesson plan as well as a game board. The project combines history and computer science together by using a board game. The board game encourages students to act as a computer and use these principles while also using their historical knowledge. Students will be able to look deeper at how computers work through the components of this board game as well as reflect upon what they have learned.

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So, there you have it. Fourteen different responses to the same prompt. Leaving an assignment open (as opposed to strictly defined) provides the learner an opportunity to explore their passions, and thus they are likely to engage with the assignment more fully. It also makes the evaluation of the assignment a lot more interesting, since the submissions are not cookie cutters of each other, and I often learn something new as well. Learner-centered teaching for the win.

What interesting assignments have you had? Describe it in a comment below.

Image credits: All images were provided by their creators.

Thanks COVID-19, but you can leave now…

As it did for all teachers, starting mid-March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic changed how I interacted with the learners in my courses and the learning environment I was able to provide for them. Although different each successive semester, these changes carried forward through spring 2021. In the following paragraphs, I briefly describe the pandemic's impact on my teaching and the pedagogical changes I made each semester.

General themes

There were a few overarching themes during the last year that are not specific to any one semester. During this time, I recorded a higher percentage of incompletes for learners, especially for the spring 2020 semester. All students ultimately completed the course work in a timely manner. I discovered the possibility of conducting “office hours” via Zoom, as opposed to meeting with learners in my physical office on campus. This opened up the possibility of being much more flexible about my availability to offer help, as I could do it from “anywhere.” This is something I carried forward, even after distancing restrictions were lifted. I have become much more compassionate and considerate of learners’ life circumstances. One example of this is providing flexible due dates for assignments and projects. I also had a higher percentage of learners absent than usual, due to illnesses and their need to quarantine after being in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID. I accommodated them with a more flexible attendance policy. I discovered that Zoom breakout rooms are a reasonable substitute for small group discussions in the classroom, and that they are even better when I use the random room assignment to mix up discussions..

Spring 2020

With Ball State’s pivot to emergency remote learning (due to the pandemic) effective March 16, 2020, I suddenly shifted from teaching four face-to-face, in-person courses, to having all of them online. Although I had previously taught a few sections of CS 110 (Introduction to Computer Science and Web Programming) asynchronously online many years prior, this was a substantial change in course delivery for me.

I decided to meet synchronously with my three sections of CS 120 (Computer Science 1) via WebEx each Monday during the normally scheduled class time to orient the learners and make sure they understood what I expected of them for the week. I quickly learned that—because of my use of a flipped learning environment—this course would transition fairly well to emergency remote learning. The class time previously consisted of learners working in pairs to complete a programming task (with myself and teaching assistants present to answer questions), so they were already used to working somewhat independent of direct instruction from me during class time. I recorded very brief videos introducing each remaining activity (which I made available through Canvas, our learning management system), that replaced what I would have delivered in person at the start of class. I also transitioned the in-class chapter quizzes and exams to quizzes/exams in Canvas. Normally, these would have been closed-book, but since I had no reasonable way to enforce that, I chose to make them open-book, but timed-limited. I’m sure a few learners benefited from the open-book policy, but I did not observe a significant increase in exam grades.

My HONR 296 (Computer Science and Algorithms to Live By) course was a bit more challenging to transition, due to half of the time previously being discussion-based and the other half hands-on activities during class time, usually in small groups. I chose to meet with the learners synchronously via WebEx each week for half of the class time to facilitate discussion and provided detailed written instructions for them to follow on their own to perform what would have normally been the in-class activities. All things considered, this worked fairly well, given the circumstances.

In all courses, there was a very small number of learners who were not able to meet with the class during the scheduled synchronous meetings. I made accommodations, as needed, for these learners. I also made myself very available for online “office hours” via WebEx, meeting with learners whenever they had a need, provided it fit in my schedule, which it generally did. I received comments from many students that my courses had transitioned the best of any of the courses they were taking that semester.

Summer 2020

BSU required all summer courses be taught online during 2020, with the expectation that they would be delivered asynchronously. I requested that I be able to teach CS 222 (Advanced Programming) synchronously online and was granted a waiver to do so. I had concerns about how the course would translate to online delivery and considered the synchronous online delivery to be as close to in-person, on-campus delivery as possible. As it turned out, due to the heavy use of small group activities (which translated into breakout rooms reasonably well) and scheduled team work days, this approach worked better than I expected.

Fall 2020

During the fall semester, I taught two section of CS 222, my immersive learning course (Computer Science for Muncie (and Surrounding) Schools (CS4MS+)), and HONR 296. I taught both sections of CS 222 synchronously online (again, I had to request for a waiver to do so), while the other two courses were taught in-person on-campus. Since I had taught CS 222 synchronously online during the summer, I simply made some minor adjustments to my delivery of the course, based on my summer experiences. Even though CS4MS+ and HONR 296 had social distancing requirements in the classroom, instructional spaces were available for me to use so that the entire class could meet at the same time. I made minor adjustments in delivery of these two courses so that learners could maintain social distancing requirements.

Starting fall semester, the university provided us access to Zoom, as well as WebEx. I chose Zoom moving forward.

The major impact the pandemic had on the courses I taught fall semester was that the CS4MS+ learners were not able to physically meet with the community partner teachers and students. Although not ideal, we managed fairly well utilizing Zoom meetings to meet with the school administration and teachers but did not have any opportunities to interact with the students.

Spring 2021

Similar to the previous semesters, spring 2021 continued to bring changes. I taught two sections of CS 120, two sections of CS 239 (Social and Professional Issues), CS4MS+, HONR 296, and mentored an Honors College learner on their honors thesis. All courses were taught in-person, on-campus, with the exception of the honors thesis and HONR 296, which was delivered asynchronously online at the request of the Honors College administration. Similar to fall semester, instructional spaces were available to accommodate all learners in the course at the same time.

So the room could be utilized at its normal capacity, we installed clear protective barriers between the computer work spaces in the room where CS 120 met. Normally, CS 120 heavily utilizes pair programming, where two learners share one computer to develop solutions to daily in-class activities, but this was not feasible with COVID protocols. I still had the learners work in pairs, but on separate computers. Thus, it was more of a consultant role than pair programming, but still seemed to work acceptably well.

I normally use small group discussions in CS 239 and was pleased to find the learners could still hold discussions even while maintaining the appropriate distance from each other. Once again, the CS4MS+ learners were not able to physically meet with the community partner teachers and students, although they did arrange for a few Zoom presentations with some of the middle schools’ students during their classes.

HONR 296 was the major change for spring semester, as it was the first time I delivered the course asynchronously online. Since I finished HONR 296 online during spring 2020, I had previously reworked a few of the in-class activities. I updated the rest of them so that they could be completed individually, or with roommates or family members, etc. I also shifted what would have been in-class discussions to Canvas discussion boards. Not being able to have the learners present their final projects to the rest of the class is my only major disappointment. In retrospect, I could have had each learner record (audio or video) their presentation and shared the recordings with all other learners. I believe the course is better taught in-person in a classroom, but the asynchronous online delivery worked much better than I expected it would. I am willing to teach it in that modality again, if needed.

In summary…

The last year of teaching has been an interesting, tiring, exciting, and learning experience. I did not experience any failures but did discover a few things I could do better if I were to do them again. Not that I want to experience another year like I just did, but I am thankful to have had the opportunity to learn from it.

Were it not for the fact that I had to do some things differently, I likely would not now know that holding office hours via Zoom is very viable, and perhaps even better than sitting in my office waiting for learners to show up. Nor would I have realized that I can deliver a course online by using breakout rooms to facilitate what would have been small group discussions in the classroom. I was forced to further explore the use of Canvas discussion boards and modules and now understand their use and worth, especially for asynchronous on-line courses, but have thoughts about how I can use them in other modalities as well.

But the most significant impact the pandemic had on me is that I am now a much more compassionate and understand human being, teacher, and mentor, and am willing to try to better understand the life experiences of my learners so I can do what I can to make the learning environment more equitable for them. So, thanks COVID-19 for changing me. But you can leave now. Please!

What was your experience teaching during the last year? Share them in the comment area below. 

P.S. The above photo is a picture I took of my office the last day I was on campus in March 2020, before being exiled to my home. I used it for my Zoom virtual background to make it look like I was sitting in my office. It was one small way I could provide a bit or normalcy for those I was meeting with, although it did confuse a few people who know that I should not be in my office at the time. Included in the picture is the container of lemonade mix I mentioned in my Of lemons and lemonade on Friday, the 13th of March, 2020 post.

Creativity as expressed in HONR 296 final projects (fall 2020 edition)

Last summer, I wrote about the creative ways learners in my spring 2020 Honors College course (HONR 296) exhibited and documented their knowledge and understanding of the course's material. The course title was "Computer Science and Algorithms to Live By." The course final project, in summary, was to create a tangible artifact that recorded their responses to the course’s essential questions, as it related to their chosen major(s) and/or minor(s). I am reporting about the creativity of the fall 2020 learners in this post. 

The fall 2020 learners ended up creating visual art (3), writing a computer program (1), writing an essay or report (5), writing a journal article (1), creating or arranging music (2), developing a PowerPoint presentation (5), writing a script (1), writing a short story (1), and recording a video (3). I asked all of the students if they were willing for me to share their work. Ten of them responded positively, and the rest of this post is devoted to showcasing what they produced.

I encourage you to read to the end of this post, and click on all the images and links to experience the full breadth of how these students understood computer science and algorithms to impact their current and future lives. In the interest of brevity, I have not provided any commentary on them, but rather have provided a very brief description and an image or link for you to investigate further. They are not listed in any particular order.

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Bobbie Burton created a string and nail composition of a human brain meant to explore the connections between computer science and psychology. She also provided a report explaining the connections. An example of the connections she drew includes the following.

My artifact depicts a computer (an outline of the human brain), inputs from the environment (circles of nails beyond the borders of the brain), and connections between these pieces (string connecting all of them together) that go into information processing.

Caitlin May wrote a report taking a look at the essential questions from the perspective of a future wildlife biologist using anecdotes, current events, and other evidence. Part of her report conclusion states:

In conclusion, the widespread introduction of technology to the field of wildlife biology has brought innovation, but also disruption. Though many forms of technology and algorithms have positively influenced the field, such as the use of trail cameras for anti-poaching efforts, the use of these same devices by the public has begun to create a public relations issue. How can this issue be resolved? The solution lies within the problem: engaging the public.

Cameron Keough wrote an essay exploring algorithms and teaching social studies. In the essay he stated:

Applying this to broader student development, the habits and concepts that serve as “Algorithms” in the field of social studies can become a foundation for students so that they may be responsible, caring citizens. ... As algorithms and computing continue to advance the internet, we need to keep in mind elements of “computational kindness” and truth so that we can all work and collaborate more effectively.

Erin Thomas created a woodwind quintet arrangement of the song, "I Hear a Symphony," by Cody Fry. She was able to detail and explain how the process of creating this arrangement addressed the course's essential questions relating to computer technology and algorithms. You may listen to her arrangement here.

Cassie Pomierski created a digital art piece which explored the course’s essential questions by encompassing several examples of what computer science looks like in a work place environment, and how humans use and discover algorithms without always being aware of it. Since we talked a lot about connecting computer science topics to our future careers throughout the semester, she wanted to incorporate a work environment into her image that demonstrated how humans utilize algorithms to complete tasks aside from simply using a typical computer device.

Kameron Rogers wanted to create something that was visually engaging while adequately answering the essential questions of the course. His major, Data Analytics, is about gathering data and communicating it to clients in a user-friendly way, so he thought it was fitting that his final artifact would aim to achieve the same goal. Watch his fast-paced video here.

Eli Skokeland wrote a machine learning computer program that uses a video camera to "read" the letters of the YMCA dance by recognizing a human body in the four poses. Try running his program here.

Carlie Merriweather responded to the course's essential questions in the form of a scientific journal article titled "Computer Science As it Pertains to Psychology" wherein she explored the points of intersection between psychology and computer science and, ultimately, the relationship between the two. An example follows.

How do we use algorithms in our daily lives? Psychology and computer science agree on this point, in that both fields generally hold that we use algorithms/behaviors daily. However, computer science is concerned more so with the “how” we carry out algorithms/behaviors whereas psychology is concerned with the “why.”

Rachael Garland, being a Telecommunications major, wanted to be able to create some type of video to represent her understanding of our class’ essential questions. She compiled several sources to create one coherent video that touches on the development and impact of both computers and algorithms. She explains the basics of each topic, but she believes the visuals are the most important part of this project as they could easily stand on their own and do the topics justice. You may watch her video here.

Cassie Moreau developed a presentation wherein she related computer science and algorithms to her major of exercise science. Although she stated there are many positives about technology, she wondered if there may be job shortages because of technology replacing people.

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So, there you have it. Ten different responses to the same prompt. Leaving an assignment open (as opposed to strictly defined)  provides the learner an opportunity to explore their passions, and thus they are likely to more fully engage with the assignment. It also makes the evaluation of the assignment a lot more interesting, since they are not cookie cutters of each other, and often I learn something new as well. Learner-centered teaching for the win.

What interesting assignments have you had? Describe it in a comment below.

Image credits: All images were provided by their creators.