heidi
New Member
I am about to teach SDD to both Year 11 and Year 12. I would appreciate you sharing the kinds of things you did in class ie projects and lessons that made the subject fun, or perhaps a little amusing...
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Fun in SDD (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter heidi
- Start date
My teacher brought in games and showed us videos at times to loosen up the class and yeah. You would really like to notice your class first, like if majority are actually good and interested in the subject if it is then teaching would be a lot more better. I think the key thing at times of learning is being more interactive and getting everyone involved, at least it incorporates learning as you would notice that if you conducted an activity in class which also included the subjects content in it, most students would tend to remember more so than actually sitting at the table hearing you read the text book or make them summarise topics.
Fosweb
I could be your Doctor...
I cant stand teachers that don't know how to teach, don't have their own ideas, and ask students for help. Especially in this subject.
But here's my tips:
1. Master algorithms.
2. Master situation/scenario-based problems.
3. Learn to understand their cryptic syllabus.
4. Get the past HSC exams, go through the questions and the standards packages, work out exactly WHY this person only got this band, bitch about the board's marking guidelines, complain and argue that they haven't even marked to their own syllabus. When everyone realises how things are done, people will start to get things right.
5. Do the online multi-choice questions on board's website.
6. Just like you would in maths, use a number of textbooks and sources. Dont just focus on one. Use Sam Davis' SDD book as a basis, then get other ones as well. I think the Heinemann book does the Hardware option topic well.
7. Sign up to teachers boards/web-rings/mailing lists.
Projects:
My major tip here is to base the projects around what the syllabus will ask as an algorithm or scenario based question in an exam.
So for example: In the syllabus, there is this section which lends itself wonderfully to in class programming projects. This is the section that mentions: string manipulation, file handling, etc.
In whichever language you are using, do a one or two lesson project based around each syllabus point which may even SLIGHTLY suggest a programming project.
People will remember MUCH better something which they have actually written in code in class, and will produce much better algorithms from something like this.
SO some examples:
1. Give people a random list of words. Tell them to concatanate random words together to make other random phrases.
2. Give every person the same text file, a sequential file, with data on every line, separated by a new line. Get people to read the data from the file, place it into an array, and print the array. This may be this simplest idea, but you will be surprised how many people doing this course actually cant program at all. You need these people to be able to do this tasks.
3. Repeat above with a random file.
4. Do a LOTTO number generator. This will get people working with random numbers.
5. Get people to figure out how errors have occured in some software that you have coded and get them to fix it.
Eg: Interminable loops, syntax errors, logic errors.
6. Either using the results from 2/3 or a new array of strings (or numbers) get people to implement a linear search to find a certain value.
Now get them to find out how many of that value are in the array.
Now get them to find where each occurance is.
Now get them to print out these results: Value, Occurances, Array locations.
7. Get them to do a random number generator (for simplicity sake limit it to 100 numers) and dont allow them to get the same number twice. So in all effect it will generate a random order of 100 numbers. This is a good one because they have to detect when a number has already occured, use a loop to generate a different number, and so on.
8. Make a fully functional Clock(digital, unless you want to waste time on graphics as well.)/Stopwatch/Timer. You may use system.Now only once in this project, to get the initial time.
This will prove helpful for everyone in the major project you will give them, which will no doubt use a number of methods from this little project. Everyone will need to know how to time an event sometime or other.
If you are doing the Hardware option topic:
9. Give people a string. Delegate how many characters (...bits/bytes - get them to figure that out as another part of the project) make up the header/data/trailer parts of the datastream and get them to separate it into sections.
Then get them to decode what you have put in the stream.
10. Use any language, and 'control' the printer using code... Whilst its not 'strictly' what the syllabus wants, it will give an idea of how control codes control a device.
11. For each of these ideas used, send me $50.
There was another cool project that took me 20 mins to get working and about 20 mins to 'touch up' which was on here before, you could probably do it in a lesson or two, but it will cover a few of the above things. Take a string, get the frequency of each letter in the string, and graph it. Graph it either as a cumulative total or a relative frequency.
Leave it to later in the year, but have a look and download the solution:
http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20294
There are things that need to be demonstrated, but which are beyond an in-class programming project, such as all of the sorting routines. I take this chance to plug my program, which you can use to demonstrate them, which is at http://fosweb.com/portfolio.html
under the Programming section.
Read through the other threads here. Make sure you GIVE everyone a FULL copy of the syllabus, the MAD document (Methods of Algorithm Description - see other thread: http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6467 )
and the address to this forum.
Oh: and I wouldnt tell them that you will be leeching on this forum either, it may stop them using it... You may also find out interesting things about your teaching if you find they use it... ('our idiot teacher...' or 'wow, we jsut got this cool project...')
I think if you do even some of the things above, you class will benefit. We had 30% in band 6 and 80% in band 5/6.
Also dont forget that their is a lot of theory in SDD, and a good set of notes covering the syllabus will help.
-Michael
But here's my tips:
1. Master algorithms.
2. Master situation/scenario-based problems.
3. Learn to understand their cryptic syllabus.
4. Get the past HSC exams, go through the questions and the standards packages, work out exactly WHY this person only got this band, bitch about the board's marking guidelines, complain and argue that they haven't even marked to their own syllabus. When everyone realises how things are done, people will start to get things right.
5. Do the online multi-choice questions on board's website.
6. Just like you would in maths, use a number of textbooks and sources. Dont just focus on one. Use Sam Davis' SDD book as a basis, then get other ones as well. I think the Heinemann book does the Hardware option topic well.
7. Sign up to teachers boards/web-rings/mailing lists.
Projects:
My major tip here is to base the projects around what the syllabus will ask as an algorithm or scenario based question in an exam.
So for example: In the syllabus, there is this section which lends itself wonderfully to in class programming projects. This is the section that mentions: string manipulation, file handling, etc.
In whichever language you are using, do a one or two lesson project based around each syllabus point which may even SLIGHTLY suggest a programming project.
People will remember MUCH better something which they have actually written in code in class, and will produce much better algorithms from something like this.
SO some examples:
1. Give people a random list of words. Tell them to concatanate random words together to make other random phrases.
2. Give every person the same text file, a sequential file, with data on every line, separated by a new line. Get people to read the data from the file, place it into an array, and print the array. This may be this simplest idea, but you will be surprised how many people doing this course actually cant program at all. You need these people to be able to do this tasks.
3. Repeat above with a random file.
4. Do a LOTTO number generator. This will get people working with random numbers.
5. Get people to figure out how errors have occured in some software that you have coded and get them to fix it.
Eg: Interminable loops, syntax errors, logic errors.
6. Either using the results from 2/3 or a new array of strings (or numbers) get people to implement a linear search to find a certain value.
Now get them to find out how many of that value are in the array.
Now get them to find where each occurance is.
Now get them to print out these results: Value, Occurances, Array locations.
7. Get them to do a random number generator (for simplicity sake limit it to 100 numers) and dont allow them to get the same number twice. So in all effect it will generate a random order of 100 numbers. This is a good one because they have to detect when a number has already occured, use a loop to generate a different number, and so on.
8. Make a fully functional Clock(digital, unless you want to waste time on graphics as well.)/Stopwatch/Timer. You may use system.Now only once in this project, to get the initial time.
This will prove helpful for everyone in the major project you will give them, which will no doubt use a number of methods from this little project. Everyone will need to know how to time an event sometime or other.
If you are doing the Hardware option topic:
9. Give people a string. Delegate how many characters (...bits/bytes - get them to figure that out as another part of the project) make up the header/data/trailer parts of the datastream and get them to separate it into sections.
Then get them to decode what you have put in the stream.
10. Use any language, and 'control' the printer using code... Whilst its not 'strictly' what the syllabus wants, it will give an idea of how control codes control a device.
11. For each of these ideas used, send me $50.
There was another cool project that took me 20 mins to get working and about 20 mins to 'touch up' which was on here before, you could probably do it in a lesson or two, but it will cover a few of the above things. Take a string, get the frequency of each letter in the string, and graph it. Graph it either as a cumulative total or a relative frequency.
Leave it to later in the year, but have a look and download the solution:
http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20294
There are things that need to be demonstrated, but which are beyond an in-class programming project, such as all of the sorting routines. I take this chance to plug my program, which you can use to demonstrate them, which is at http://fosweb.com/portfolio.html
under the Programming section.
Read through the other threads here. Make sure you GIVE everyone a FULL copy of the syllabus, the MAD document (Methods of Algorithm Description - see other thread: http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6467 )
and the address to this forum.
Oh: and I wouldnt tell them that you will be leeching on this forum either, it may stop them using it... You may also find out interesting things about your teaching if you find they use it... ('our idiot teacher...' or 'wow, we jsut got this cool project...')
I think if you do even some of the things above, you class will benefit. We had 30% in band 6 and 80% in band 5/6.
Also dont forget that their is a lot of theory in SDD, and a good set of notes covering the syllabus will help.
-Michael
Last edited:
Beaky
You can read minds?
Please get your students to understand algorithims and use PSEUDOCODE!!!
THere are many suggestion I have for you but I cant type all of them out...
One that stands out is an interactive way of learning a bubble sort..
Get your students to stand out the front and get them to be data (i.e Use the first letter of their names) and sort them using the bubble sort methods into alphabetical descending order.
I was in my trials thinking about this question and this lesson popped into my head and helped me heaps!!!
THere are many suggestion I have for you but I cant type all of them out...
One that stands out is an interactive way of learning a bubble sort..
Get your students to stand out the front and get them to be data (i.e Use the first letter of their names) and sort them using the bubble sort methods into alphabetical descending order.
I was in my trials thinking about this question and this lesson popped into my head and helped me heaps!!!
uno the actual best tip i should say is
start off with using turbo pascal !!!
no kidding the structure and syntax is almost identical to psudeocode, and first it will get the control structures and indentation stuck in the students head for good.
start off with using turbo pascal !!!
no kidding the structure and syntax is almost identical to psudeocode, and first it will get the control structures and indentation stuck in the students head for good.
honky tonk
in Miracle World
Algorithms: Pseudo Code. 'Nuff said.
dark`secrets
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emphasis on CODING
im currently in yr 12 and probs need alotta help on algorithms
im currently in yr 12 and probs need alotta help on algorithms
dark`secrets
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well, have fun teaching might i add
Freedom_Dragon
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Personally "little amusing" has nothing to do with SDD.
students need to learn "amusing or not amusing"
they need to dig deep within them and find that motivation to learn, challenge themselves as well as other others.
Then again fun is an important factor, so teacher[or who ever u are].
Please make it interesting to those ur teaching it to.
#If ur student dont like doing theory all the time then convert that theory lesson to a practical lesson.
eg: dont like drinking tea in summer, well fear not cos theres ice tea.
And if all fails, u can use [Reverse psychology] on ur students
always worked for my teacher.
Last edited:
Heidi didn't ask for descriptions on how to teach, the question was basically what was fun for you in SDD, I think some people took this Q too seriously still very nice answers.
SDD was constant fun but I was just fortunate to have a small class were everyone was close friends. My IPT teacher however, made it her soul purpose to make lessons interesting and interactive as can be while still focusing on the syllabus, some of things included constant use of computers (everyone loves that), to prevent goofing off she setup a projector and sat at the front of the room, the computers were arranged so everyone had their back/side to her and no comp blocked the view of another comp, it worked remarkably well, perhaps not possible at all school's, she often would bring in physical examples of the things we were learning about, she setup a website and made all the lessons available online and put all helpful resources, she allowed homework and such to be emailed to her or used as a means of contacting her with help (she would be online to reply from X to Y), she always made sure there was constant class involvement during the more boring topics throwing in jokes and little stories to ease the pain etc
Basically she made use of current technology that appealed to students, it worked very well, it wasn't fun in the sense "Hey, I'm Smiling my face off" but it was fun, similar methods could be used with any subjects.
still very nice answers.SDD was constant fun but I was just fortunate to have a small class were everyone was close friends. My IPT teacher however, made it her soul purpose to make lessons interesting and interactive as can be while still focusing on the syllabus, some of things included constant use of computers (everyone loves that), to prevent goofing off she setup a projector and sat at the front of the room, the computers were arranged so everyone had their back/side to her and no comp blocked the view of another comp, it worked remarkably well, perhaps not possible at all school's, she often would bring in physical examples of the things we were learning about, she setup a website and made all the lessons available online and put all helpful resources, she allowed homework and such to be emailed to her or used as a means of contacting her with help (she would be online to reply from X to Y), she always made sure there was constant class involvement during the more boring topics throwing in jokes and little stories to ease the pain etc
Basically she made use of current technology that appealed to students, it worked very well, it wasn't fun in the sense "Hey, I'm Smiling my face off" but it was fun, similar methods could be used with any subjects.
Beaky
You can read minds?
awww SDD is always fun. Depends how you look on it
Inhuman
Member
I'm one of those people who always found SDD fun
However, a couple of things that stand out in my memory are that my teacher had a never-ending store of semi-relevant anecdotes, we had a fairly relaxed environment in class, and the teacher taught us the great anti-Microsoft way, which acted as an in-joke for the whole class all through years 11 & 12
However, a couple of things that stand out in my memory are that my teacher had a never-ending store of semi-relevant anecdotes, we had a fairly relaxed environment in class, and the teacher taught us the great anti-Microsoft way, which acted as an in-joke for the whole class all through years 11 & 12
beergirl
polka dots are cool
Our teacher never turns up lol...
But you know Im sitting here in software browsing these forums...
It's still fun though, you make your own fun. For us its self directed learning, and its ok. But now out teacher actually does turn up.. strange.. But then again year 11 wasnt fun lol... year 12 is though we get to use flash
Tips:
Dont restrict ur students with their prac wrk, we spent most of our time screwing around with flash b4 we did nething 4 our major wrk n it's all good, we just get used to it
If you set restrictions in year 11, its easier for us to be good, i mean our teacher would screw around and we would bludge on the cpmputers doing this kind of stuff, so you gotta limit our "bludge" time.
Showing up 2 class helps, and setting rules, wihich helps us respect u, rather than abusing our time n showing up 2 class wenever coz the teacher did
Ok i hope that helps
But you know Im sitting here in software browsing these forums...
It's still fun though, you make your own fun. For us its self directed learning, and its ok. But now out teacher actually does turn up.. strange.. But then again year 11 wasnt fun lol... year 12 is though we get to use flash
Tips:
Dont restrict ur students with their prac wrk, we spent most of our time screwing around with flash b4 we did nething 4 our major wrk n it's all good, we just get used to it
If you set restrictions in year 11, its easier for us to be good, i mean our teacher would screw around and we would bludge on the cpmputers doing this kind of stuff, so you gotta limit our "bludge" time.
Showing up 2 class helps, and setting rules, wihich helps us respect u, rather than abusing our time n showing up 2 class wenever coz the teacher did
Ok i hope that helps
As a student for SDD I'd say this:
- Interactive Examples for year 11
- Lots of Algorithms that they can relate to:
eg. Getting up in the morning.
Making a cake (recipies are always good examples)
If you're doing Software Developers Approach to Hardware then
- Explain how Binary is used in radio waves and other "cool" things (please, make sure they're cool =\)
- Give examples...
Most importantly, DO NOT relate this information to RANDOM appliances around the house. Our teacher does that... If you're going to relate it, make sure the example is a good one.
ie. Remote controlled car recieves a package of information with a 8 bits, then a second of 8 bits, and a checksum. Combined, this is 24 bits. (2002 Paper I believe).
Do something they can relate to from their youth, or something they SHOULD be able to relate to.
And most importantly...
ASK the students for input.
Heh, in the opening class of year 11 try doing an IPO chart on the board, they input, you process, then you both output. Use this during the discussion of the syllabus, but don't write anything in the title except I P and O. Then explain afterwards that what they've copied down will help them understand everything.
Sorry for random rambling *looks at watch* meh, too early.
Thats my 2 cents.
- Interactive Examples for year 11
- Lots of Algorithms that they can relate to:
eg. Getting up in the morning.
Making a cake (recipies are always good examples)
If you're doing Software Developers Approach to Hardware then
- Explain how Binary is used in radio waves and other "cool" things (please, make sure they're cool =\)
- Give examples...
Most importantly, DO NOT relate this information to RANDOM appliances around the house. Our teacher does that... If you're going to relate it, make sure the example is a good one.
ie. Remote controlled car recieves a package of information with a 8 bits, then a second of 8 bits, and a checksum. Combined, this is 24 bits. (2002 Paper I believe).
Do something they can relate to from their youth, or something they SHOULD be able to relate to.
And most importantly...
ASK the students for input.
Heh, in the opening class of year 11 try doing an IPO chart on the board, they input, you process, then you both output. Use this during the discussion of the syllabus, but don't write anything in the title except I P and O. Then explain afterwards that what they've copied down will help them understand everything.
Sorry for random rambling *looks at watch* meh, too early.
Thats my 2 cents.
RCMasterAA
I vant to suck your blood
Let your students do Software Developer's view for god's sake. In my opinion it's a much easier option to grasp and it can favour both those who like maths, and those who like writing more.
Some people in my class couldn't code at all even at the end of the yaer, and never got their projects together. Good coding problems aren't so much around knowledge of the code, but problem solving for example the earlier mentioned problem of gereating 1-100 random numbers, no numbers repeated, you could supply an example-with say loops that checked whether a number had already been generated- and ask them to think of a better one- like making the numbers 1-100 in order then shuffling them. This means that the students who cant code well can still join in, otherwise they could just get disheartened and not bother at all . Now THATS a big sentence
. Now THATS a big sentence