Computer Science: Beyond the expected definition

Faces of Computing

Posted on Dec. 17, 2014 in “News”

Mass Academy team produces winning “Faces of Computing” video

For many people, “Computer Science” hearkens images of young men hunched over laptops, programming, encoding, analyzing algorithms.

And while those are significant components to it, the discipline is far more wide-reaching and expansive.

Students at the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science at WPI recently explored that diversity in a winning video for the Computer Science Teachers Association.

Titled “Faces of Computing,” the goal of the video contest was to represent a variety of young people with an array of backgrounds and interests taking part in computing. Winners were announced earlier this month, with Mass Academy winning the high school division. Awards were also given out for middle school and elementary school.

“Computer science is a core part of our curriculum. It’s important for kids to embrace it,” said Mass Academy director Michael Barney. “Computing touches almost every aspect of what people encounter nowadays.”

Led by computer science teacher Angela Taricco ’98, nine students put together a 1-minute, 15-second video portraying themselves using computers for programming, 3D printing, robotics, and CAD; others made use of computer tools to capture audio of themselves playing instruments, or to edit video of a dance performance they took part in.

“It demonstrates what the students are interested in,” says Taricco, and how computing is incorporated into that, and vice versa.

In the video, as the wide array of uses are represented, a voice-over affirms: “Every day, we come together, students of all backgrounds, but with one goal: To be the future, to learn, to explore, and to discover. And who do we learn from? Each other. Because together we can do more. The future is built on collaboration and diverse thinking. So who are we? We are the artists of the century, we are the harbingers of innovation, and we are the creators of tomorrow.”

The video culminates with each of the nine students – Josephine Bowen, Sarah Duquette, Jackie Forson, Ana Khovanskaya, Eva Moynihan, Amol Punjabi, Sashrika Saini, Christopher Thorne, Ryan Vereque – proclaiming “we are the faces of computing” in languages representing their ethnic heritage.

According to Taricco, six teams were involved in the school-wide competition, which spanned several weeks. Each team submitted a video, and the student body ultimately voted on their favorite.

As she noted, students not only had to brainstorm and portray the myriad of ways in which they used computing, they had to learn the “behind-the-scenes” skills, such as editing, splicing and overlaying audio.

“It’s clear that [computer science] appeals to many kinds of kids,” reads a post announcing the contest winners. “In the videos, there are artists and athletes, writers and math geeks, and budding computer scientists. The students show that computer science really is for everyone and can be useful in a variety of fields.”

Taricco agrees, stressing that the project not only represented the different facets of computing, but helped students to, in turn, hone their computer skills.

“Because it’s woven into so many disciplines,” she says, “it’s a very useful skill to have.”

Watch the video: http://blog.csta.acm.org/2014/12/08/winners-of-faces-of-computing-contest/

Original story link. 

- BY TARYN PLUMB

Art to answer an age-old question

Students ask ‘Who am I?’ in their art

By Taryn Plumb GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

DECEMBER 07, 2014

Highlighter-bright rays of color streamed through the sky over charcoal-gray mountains. Dark cutouts of birds wheeled against that sky, along with gray-and-white depictions of the flapping flags of the United States, United Kingdom, and Scotland.

At center, a young man stood in profile, flanked on either side by featureless, carbon-copy silhouettes of himself.

This was Chelmsford 16-year-old Matt Piper’s artistic answer to the query, “Who am I?”

The question was posed to hundreds of students from schools throughout the region — including Lynn, Acton, Waltham, Lowell, Ashland, Hopkinton, Lexington, Malden, and Swampscott — as part of an international art project with an ultimately celestial purpose.

“I don’t think what makes you you is your body,” the Chelmsford High School junior said of his piece, “but rather the people who have come before you, and places that you’ve been and experiences that you’ve had.”

Such is the purpose of the Dream Rocket Project: to encourage young people to look in and outside of themselves and turn their ideals, experiences, and hopes for the future into art. An initiative of the International Fiber Collaborative, the project will take thousands of collected works from around the world and stitch them together into a momentous 32,000-square-foot piece that will then be wrapped around a replica of NASA’s Saturn V moon rocket at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. The exhibition is planned for May 1 through June 30.

More than 900 students from around the state contributed pieces addressing the theme “Who Am I? Personal Connections to Immigration or Migration.” They will be amassed with more than 8,000 other pieces from 46 states and 17 countries and swathed around the spacecraft, which is modeled on those that launched dozens of astronauts to the moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

“I thought it was pretty cool, because it will be taking all these different backgrounds and putting it into one,” said 15-year-old Kenneth Padilla-Salguero, a 10th-grader at Waltham High School. Through the process, he said, he learned that “we’re all different, but we are the same in some way. We all go through the same stuff.”

More than 50 students from his school used 12-inch-by-12-inch linen panels to create abstract self-portraits alongside images depicting their heritage, interests, and career goals.

“Some of them really scraped,’’ said art specialist Mary Coughlan, who led the project. “It was self-examination. It was hard for them to put this stuff down.”

In Padilla-Salguero’s reflective piece, he portrays only the upper part of his face, from the bridge of the nose up, before a background of a partial Guatemalan flag (his ethnicity), a soccer ball (his passion), and a stethoscope and the caduceus medical symbol (his career ambition).

His classmate Tiffany Nguyen depicted herself from the nose down, notes drifting out of her mouth to illustrate her love of music, a suitcase for her interest in traveling, and a nod to her background with a hint of the Vietnamese flag.

“When I started out, I didn’t know what I wanted to be, [but] as I thought more about where I came from and where I am now, I could see more what my future could be like,” said the 15-year-old 10th-grader, who is contemplating a career as either a pediatrician or a pharmacist.

Piper had a similar experience when he sat down with pen to paper.

“It’s harder to put into a picture who you are as a person than it seems,” said the teenager, who has aspirations to become an architect. He said he typically focuses on drawing still-lifes, such as a recent piece showing work boots that seem like they have just been thrown off after a long day.

“It was a really good experience for developing artistic inquiry,” he said of the Dream Rocket Project. “I had to actually think about what I wanted to do and what I wanted to represent, rather than just drawing something based on something.”

His 2-foot-by-2-foot contribution depicts his heritage with the willowy-drawn American, Scottish, and United Kingdom flags, and mountains that “resemble my favorite place on earth,” his grandparents’ lake house on Pleasant Pond, Maine, where he said he has his “most patriotic childhood memories.”

Ultimately, “what makes you a person is not anything material,” he said. “I’ve never really had to think about that before.”

Students at Luther Conant elementary school in Acton took a rather different approach; 22 youngsters in a third-grade class embroidered circular designs based on the flags of their heritage.

For Curtis Ying, 8, that translated to yellow stars set against a red felt background in honor of the Chinese flag.

“I thought it was very creative,” he said. “I really like art. It’s basically what I usually do at home.”

Although he called needlework a new experience, “It turned out pretty good,” he said. “I learn fast.”

Similarly, at the ethnically diverse E.J. Harrington Elementary School in Lynn, students analyzed their lives and families and how and why they came to live in the United States. Their consensus: more freedom, a better education, more job opportunities, and a wish to join family members already living here, according to art teacher Mary Parks.

They then chose images to represent the words “immigration’’ and “migration’’ in their artwork; many students created airplanes, ships, and trains to show how they came to the States, while others used the sun to represent the warm climate of their native country. Others chose to include the earth, which, as Parks explained, “symbolizes the many different cultures and countries of our students.”

Overall, as Conant visual arts specialist Melissa Hayes noted, collaboration – what she called a “21st-century skill” – was one key takeaway of the project.

When students grow up, “they will have to work collaboratively in almost every workplace they will encounter,” she said. “Giving students experience, and practice working collaboratively, is so important.”

Piper’s teacher at Chelmsford High, Terry Karangioze, agreed. She said she has long emphasized participation in real-world art projects, including at assisted-living programs, hospitals, libraries, and with larger nonprofits.

“They encourage my students to have a sense of purpose, accomplishment, pride, and meaning in their lives,” she said.

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Some of the country's greatest minds discuss the future of education

Focus on the Future

Posted on Nov. 10 in “Inauguration Countdown”

Inspired to Innovate symposium looks at critical topics in higher education

Growing up in the inner city Bronx, Wanda Austin acknowledges that she didn’t have much in the way of mentors.

Still, the encouragements of one teacher in particular have stuck with her to this day: “You’re good at this. Don’t let anybody tell you that you’re not,” the president and CEO of The Aerospace Corp. pointed out at a symposium on Friday as part of President Laurie Leshin’s weekend inauguration ceremonies.

“It’s helpful if you have a role model who looks like you, but it’s not critical,” she added. “We all benefit from getting those diverse viewpoints in.”

The importance of mentors to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship was just one of the points touched upon in a lively and informative discussion,“Inspired to Innovate: A Future-Focused Conversation,” moderated by Leshin on Friday afternoon at Alden Memorial. Among the key topic areas were the Global Impact of STEM Higher Education; Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship; and Disruptive Innovation in Higher Education.

The four panelists included Austin; Craig Barrett, retired chairman and CEO of Intel Corp.; Mariko Silver, president of Bennington College in Vermont; and Subra Suresh, president of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and former director of the National Science Foundation.

The distinguished panel was hand-picked by Leshin based on their numerous professional achievements, as well as their dedicated commitment to technological innovation and STEM education. The panelists steadfastly agreed that the country’s schools, beginning at the kindergarten level, must do more to foster an interest in STEM fields that can be used to take on a panoply of real-world problems. Addressing the country’s performance in STEM leadership,Barrett noted the strong standing of U.S. colleges and universities, but cautioned that they face intense competition.

Although the world has historically “voted with their feet” in coming to the U.S. for its top-tier universities, “there are some leading indicators (that) the rest of the world is catching up,” he said.

For example, he pointed to the fact that American students are falling behind foreign students when it comes to GMAT scores, and are also lagging in worldwide contests in which they once excelled, such as those held annually by the Association for Computing Machinery.

Ultimately, “everyone wants to work with talented people,” Austin added, whether they’re in the states or not. To get them here and keep them here, “we need well-educated, tech-savvy leaders,” she said, noting that, whatever their background, “he who builds the best toy wins.”

Leshin interjected, “Or she.”

“Well, we know if it’s a she, she wins,” Austin quipped back.

It comes down to encouraging students from a young age to embrace mathematics and science-based disciplines “and not run from them,” Austin said. Opportunities to do this include creating programs that require mathematics or other STEM disciplines, setting firm expectations, assisting teachers with creating examples that inspire, getting students involved in internships at an earlier age, and encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit and helping lead young people through the complicated process from germ to completion.

It’s not a sprint, or an honor for just a select few, she said. “This is very much a journey.”

Barrett suggested another way to make STEM fun is to sanction competitive robotics teams at the high school and collegiate levels.

Another key to moving ahead is creating more of a synergy between science and the arts.

“How do we get students to actually live in the middle?” said Silver (as opposed to taking an engineering course in one place and a painting course elsewhere).

She said she envisions a “scientization” of the study of the human condition, which can ultimately help the next generation of creators and great thinkers interpret and understand problems and ask the right questions. “How does storytelling help us to understand the way that we want to think about designing a technology so that it will be useful to people?”

It’s also important to recognize how important diversity is to education, Suresh stressed.

People from different backgrounds “look at the same problem from very different lenses,” he said, also noting that innovation comes “in many different flavors,” and is one of the greatest equalizers. For example, “we put a man on the moon before we put wheels on the suitcase,” he said, the crowd chuckling in return.

While the moon landing was monumental, “wheels on the suitcase is very innovative, as well,” he said. And ultimately, in addressing any issue, technology isn’t the sole answer. It’s a tool, and it’s how you use it that’s key, Barrett said.

“Computers aren’t magic in the classroom,” he added. “Teachers are the magic in the classroom.”

- BY TARYN PLUMB

Original story link. 

STEM the focus of the future at WPI and beyond

STEM SUMMIT
Posted on Oct. 27, 2014 in “News”

WPI well represented at annual STEM Summit
There’s no doubt that STEM is one of the hottest topics in education right now. But one of the biggest hurdles to overcome in further integrating it into curriculum, according to WPI adjunct professor of mechanical engineering Martha Cyr, is that so many people have a different idea of what it is.

“There is a wide variety of interpretation of what STEM means,” says Cyr, noting that in her experience, “what STEM is, is using the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as well as critical thinking skills, to work on problem solving.”

Last Wednesday, some of the state’s greatest minds and influencers in STEM disciplines gathered to grapple with this and other issues at the 11^th annual Massachusetts STEM Summit, held for the first time in Worcester, at the DCU Center.

Featuring numerous speakers from around the state, as well as dozens of sessions, panels, and exhibitors, the event’s theme was “Gateway to the Future.” Attendees included more than 1,300 educators, business leaders and legislators, and WPI “had some amazing representation,” says Cyr, who also serves as executive director of the STEM Education Center at WPI, which provides licensure, degree programs, and professional development for educators, and performs research on teaching and learning.

For example, dean of undergraduate studies Art Heinricher took part in a session on scaling STEM models in gateway cities, while associate dean Kris Wobbe participated in another session on integrative science in higher education. Other WPI representatives discussed such topics as cultivating a next-generation workforce, strategic planning for STEM implementation on a district-wide scale, and fostering student motivation and achievement based on National Science Foundation research. Students from the Mass Academy of Math and Science at WPI also showcased a science fair.

WIDE RANGE OF TOPICS

Other speakers focused on a wide range of topics, from teaching algebra through video game programming; to employer needs and policy implications; to developing a diverse workforce; to preparing students for careers in advanced manufacturing.

“The summit is really an opportunity for people to come together and understand what is happening with STEM in the state,” says Cyr, who not only attended, but helped by providing input for the K–12 aspects of the event. “This is one of the best STEM summits I’ve been to in years, and I’ve been going to them since they first started.”

One of the biggest overall takeaways, she says, was the notion of teaching STEM from an iterative standpoint.

For instance, one high school technology engineering teacher discussed how he gives students real projects to work on, then tells them to embrace failure so that they can continue to tinker and make it better. The approach, Cyr notes, emphasizes critical thinking and STEM in a real-life situation.

Other groups discussed completely changing the formats of high school and college courses to get students immersed in real-world problems.

“It’s to get them invested in learning, gathering the data, and analyzing it because they’re interested in the big question. It’s a different way of looking at education,” says Cyr, adding that attendees are really beginning to grasp the idea that “engaging students in projects or problems that are relevant is the way to get them learning the material and thinking it’s an important thing to do, versus just studying information.”

Other ongoing issues are attracting not only more women, but more minorities, to STEM fields. Cyr notes a lack of role models in both areas.

Overall, though, she lauds central Massachusetts, saying there’s “such a great sense of community around STEM,” and also credits WPI’s continued efforts.

Of President Laurie Leshin, she says, “She’s a scientist who gets that STEM matters.”

She adds, “It’s great to have a president here at WPI who understands the importance of learning through that integrated, hands-on method.”

- BY TARYN PLUMB

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The centuries-old tradition of wife-carrying continues to gain traction

Couples go to extremes in wife-carrying contest

By Taryn Plumb GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Chris and Sarah Nelson of Berlin, Mass.

NEWRY, MAINE — Turn by turn, the competitors queued up at the starting line.

“Racers ready!” The cry boomed from a sound system on the mountain, which was teeming with spectators.

“Saddle up!”

“3-2-1!”

The men rocketed up a rugged obstacle course, navigating over boulders, traversing through mud, and wading through thigh-deep water.

The runners also had to ensure that the women they were carrying on their backs like backpacks did not fall off, wipe out, or otherwise get hurt.

Such is the delicate balancing act of the quirky sport of wife carrying, a challenge that 50 couples — including five with Massachusetts ties — defiantly took on earlier this month during the 15^th North American Wife Carrying Championship at the Sunday River ski resort.

The Massachusetts men whose wives – or girlfriends – were literally in tow were Braintree residents Christian Carlsson and Tuyet Nguyen; Chris and Sarah Nelson of Berlin; Jeff and Kelly Lyons of Melrose; Wenham nativeJohnLund and his Austrian partner, Stefanie Weisseisen; and Mark and Tricia Bouchea of Newburyport.

Jesse Wall of South Paris, Maine, carried 96½-pound Christine Arsenault to victory, finishing in 1 minute, 4 seconds. Their prize? Arsenault’s weight in beer and five times her weight in cash.

“It’s a neat thing to do,” said Carlsson, 36, who hefted his wife, Nguyen, 33, along the 278-yard course and placed 10th. “A new challenge.”

The sport’s origins can actually be traced to kidnapping: Notorious 19th-century Finnish thief Herkko Rosvo-Ronkainen made potential recruits to his gang prove their worth and strength by whisking women away from neighboring villages.

But wife-carrying is much more than slinging a woman over your shoulder and taking off into a run. Although there are many positions, most competitors use what is known as an “Estonian hold,” in which the woman — legs crossed in front of the man’s face — hangs upside-down, facing his back.

The sport’s world championships are held annually in Finland — the 20th is scheduled for July 3-4, 2015 — but the mirthful tradition also has spread to other countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, and Estonia.

“It’s a sport that’s really growing,” said Lund, 37.

Lund has participated in the Sunday River event with various partners since 2001, and the world championships since 2005. He also has done wife-carrying tutorials on German TV and created short films about his sport of choice.

Competitors in the international events, he said, are much more dedicated to eccentricity, with people dressing up in whimsical and often outlandish costumes.

Which explains his look at Sunday River: As music spilled out of a nearby tent and onlookers angled for views around the course, Lund struck an imposing figure: Standing 6 foot 5 inches tall, he was clad all in black, with shoulder pads adorned with fake spikes and an eerie skull mask covering his head. His girlfriend, Weisseisen, was similarly attired, with a studded collar and a fake sword. (The pair placed 13th.)

In the past, Lund has dressed as what he called “super wife-carrying man,” pulling off a stunt in which he miraculously changes from Clark Kent conservative into red-and-blue Spandex and cape,then “saves” his Lois Lane partner when she falls into a pool of water.

“It’s a wacky way to express yourself,” he said. It comes down to “how seriously does somebody want to take these events? The most important element is the fun element. If you can win, it’s that much better.”

For many who participate, winning isn’t everything.

“I grew up in Maine, and thought it would be a great way to celebrate our first wedding anniversary,” said Chris Nelson, 28, of Berlin, a small town near Marlborough.

His wife, Sarah, 29, set herself apart with a mismatched pair of turquoise and orange socks.

The couple finished 23d.

The Nelsons got in shape for their second wife-carrying contest with hill runs and by hopping a fence in their yard. As for next year, they’ve “already started training.”

The Boucheas of Newburyport — Mark, 41, and Tricia, 38 — were newbies who ended up “in the middle of the pack,” said Tricia (26th place, with a finish time of 1:57).

“I just tried to keep balance and shift the way he was shifting so that I didn’t throw us off,” she said. “I think the wife definitely has the easier part of the job.”

Nguyen agreed, although she noted that there is more technique involved for the passenger than she expected.

She contracts her core muscles while her husband runs, “so that I’m not flimsy, which could cause imbalance,” she said, “and any laughter, flatus, nausea. or vomiting should be held back until after the race.”

A big setback this year for many of the runners was a rather steep uphill climb right out of the

gate.

“It doesn’t look that bad, but after 10 to 15 seconds of that with your wife on your back, you get tired,” Carlsson said. “I hit the wall a lot quicker than I thought I would.”

Of the competitive sort, Carlsson was a little disappointed at placing 10th, compared with a fourth-place finish in 2011.

Like Lund and Weisseisen, Carlsson and Nguyen also embraced the costume element, he in a kilt and she wearing lederhosen, traditional Bavarian shorts with H-shaped suspenders. Nguyen said that next year she can improve her results by “better hiding all the KitKats, candy corn, and Rolos from Christian...I’m running out of hiding places in my kitchen.” “You can definitely tell we are a few years older,” Carlsson joked. “I’m gonna keep it up until I get on the podium.”

Original story link.