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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Delay after delay, but I'm getting there at 5am. Just enough time to head over to the PD Provider Summit. Sleep deprived but ready to go! #CSTA2026

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Currently diverted and hoping I can still get there in time for the PD summit in the morning.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

On my way to #CSTA2026! Look forward to seeing everyone there!

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Did you tape them in your journal like when they found one in the Harvard Mark II? 😆

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Reposted by Ciphersoup

Computer Science for Fun (CS4FN) @cs4fn.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Gender stereotypes aren't just visible, they're audible too Toy advert music isn't just background noise. It tells you who the advert is aimed at. A machine learning model hears it even when you barely notice it's different. Luca Marinelli tells us more in our latest blog cs4fn.blog/2026/03/31/t...

cs4fn.blog

The Hidden Code in Toy Adverts

Image by Ben Kerckx from Pixabay The music in a toy commercial isn’t just background noise. It tells you who the advert is for, and a machine learning model can hear it (even when you barely …

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

How have we dealt with cheating on homework in the past? That would be a good place to start.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

They let me take a bulletin board! I need to up my bulletin board game, but this was really last minute. #CSEdWeek #TeamCompSci

White bulletin board with several signs for cs education week activities, and binary paper ring garlands.

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Reposted by Ciphersoup

Dr. Allison Master @allisonmaster.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

Happy #CSEdWeek! Since 2020, I’ve been sharing some of our lab’s research on gender equity in CS to celebrate. Despite progress in access/participation, disparities remain in K-12 CS education. (1/12) #WomeninSTEM #AcademicSky #PsychSciSky #DevPsychSky #SocialPsyc #EduSky #CompSky #GirlsLeadSTEM

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

Students have been blowing me away with their work this year. The creativity and individual expression are amazing. It's been great seeing their excitement when sharing their creations. #Edusky #CSed #TeamCompSci

Collage of screenshots of various student-created games, each with its own look and feel.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Best. Job. Ever. (gaming controllers kids designed for the games they're coding) #EduSky #TeamCompSci #CSed

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Reposted by Ciphersoup

Myra Deister @myrad.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

#csta2025 CSTA Greater Los Angeles meet-up this morning.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Thank you to all the participants in the Cybersecurity #Unplugged workshop at #CSTA25, and congrats to everyone for freeing their ducks with excellent code cracking skills. #CSed #TeamCompSci #releasethequacken All this thanks to the great staff and volunteers at @csteachersorg.bsky.social!

CSTA workshop participants holding yellow rubber ducks

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

I was there many years ago and was even able to talk to one of the women who operated the bombes. It's a lovely campus, too. Others told me a visit would just take a couple hours, but I spent a whole day there.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

Usually only for a 'road trip', in which the journey is most of the point, or when moving house and needing to move the car. I drove 24h to see family, but stopped to sleep in the middle.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

It's a 35 hour drive, but I'll take a plane to save time!

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

Just submitted my slides for #CSTA2025, right at the deadline. I'm so excited for this conference! Thanks, @csteachersorg.bsky.social for putting this on. See you in Cleveland! #TeamCompSci #CSEd

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

This looks like so much fun! I want to combine this with some other e-textiles (circuits/LED) next year with my new middle school group. #CSEd #physicalcomputing

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

To clarify, I teach mapping, filtering, aggregate operations (HS). I teach loops, but not really traditional for or while loops. Of what you listed, the only thing (I think) required by the K12 standards is loops, but they can be taught in different ways (e.g. 'until' is easier than 'while').

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

I don't want to get in the weeds of which algorithmic constructs are important, but I would say in regards to belonging, vector and aggregate operations are as much real CS as anything else, and I'd rather change focus on constructs than take sense of belonging from K12. (I teach them both, btw)

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

Thanks, got it! I don't see anything in it about vector operations, but regardless I think that overall the paper is coming from the premise of what I was saying before that cognitive load is reduced not from particular algorithmic constructs, but from matching the learner's level of abstraction.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

What do you mean by "computing education for non-CS"? Non-CS what? I agree that programming is used in different ways, but your point in bringing up vector programming seemed to be that it was an example of 'not CS' and I disagree with that anyway.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

That link doesn't work for me. Also, students in 5th grade tend to be 10 or 11 years old. A twelve year old would typically be starting grade 7 or ending grade 6.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

It's not about the tools. It's about cognitive development and age appropriateness. I also am not a fan of a lot of the ways that CS is taught, but that doesn't detract from my view that a sense of belonging is important.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

Bootstrap is not for K5. This type of abstraction is appropriate for algebra.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Yes, if students are already operating at a higher level of abstraction, using a function that reflects that level would be less cognitively demanding than moving between levels of abstraction and constructing the underlying behavior. But that's not a question of repeats versus vector operations.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

My second point is that the very idea of operating in aggregate is going to be hard for K5, and it will need to be explained by having the students traverse the list by hand and construct a new list. It would not initially make sense to them to do it all at once. It's too abstract. (cont'd)

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

That's what I'm saying. If you compare using a loop to specifically do something that involves traversing a data structure in order to map an operation to all items, of course using a native mapping function will be easier. But that doesn't mean that mapping is easier than loops. (cont'd)

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

This paper doesn't appear to say that. It appears to say that if you want to map an operation or do an aggregate operation, it's easier to have native functionality to do that rather than to construct it with a loop. I doubt most K5 students would easily grasp below without explicit traversal.

"• 1 + (1,2,3) evaluates to 2,3,4
• (1,2,3) + (2,3,4) evaluates to 3,5,7"

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Yes, totally agree that's an aim. I would also like to add that they should get what they need for personal fulfillment, too.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

If that is the criticism, that you think it's too much to say that each student is an indispensable and integral part of how CS intersects with society, I think that's fair. I would like to know more about what the authors mean by 'indispensable'. The absence of one person won't collapse society.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

But we don't start by saying 'you belong in CS' either. The idea is to create a curriculum that instills a sense of belonging, and to have that as an explicit goal that shapes the way we build courses.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Yes, that does not talk about enrolling in any courses, declaring a major, or choosing a career path. I'm talking about CS as a discipline that exists as part of general society, and whether all students feel belonging and agency within that aspect of our shared culture.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Can you explain more about how vector operations are easier for a K-5 student to learn than a repeat loop? I'm having a really hard time understanding what that would look like in a K-5 classroom. What makes it more useful to a child's goals?

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

I have a lot of thoughts on this, too much for BlueSky posts, but I do think that a lot of this has to do with the way we approach in K8. I would question the ultimate goal of having CS classes 'draw in a majority of students', and if there's a better way to reach that instead.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

I didn't say that I didn't want them to value the class. I said that's not the main reason I want them to feel a sense of belonging.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

I'm curious. If a student rejects literature and feels that reading isn't for them, is that something educators should accept, or is it a sign that we should change the way we teach it such that everyone feels a sense of belonging when it comes to this component of our culture?

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

I agree that computing classes aren't about recruitment or assimilation. I don't agree that they shouldn't generate a sense of belonging in CS. I think that you and I interpret the phrase "sense of belonging" differently, and it is important that the standards clarify what that means.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Can you clarify? I don't see how "going into CS" would mean "Not take classes in CS", so I think we crossed wires at some point. I still think that the computing that they need would be part of the computing of CS, but this may be a K12/higher ed divide. I'm talking about this in the context of K12.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Actually, I responded, but can you clarify what you mean by "going into CS"?

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

I don't think this is an either/or situation. I think that one supports the other, especially when the class incorporates diverse and authentic experiences with CS and highlights different forms of engagement in CS.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Valuing the class more is not my goal in instilling a sense of belonging, so that's not really relevant to me.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

You can be a scientist/artist/manager/whatever, and still feel a sense of belonging in CS. I chose to pursue CS in terms of major and (at the time) career, but I still felt a sense of belonging in history, literature, science, maths, etc.

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Reposted by Ciphersoup

Computing at School @computingatschool.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

#TeamCompSci📣 we have a brand new resource for you and your #KS3 + #KS4 students! Whats included? 🌏Hands-on exploration of real climate data 🌏 Interactive coding with Scratch 🌏Learning to collect, analyse & present data effectively Download Scratch the Surface🔗https://buff.ly/ob56HuT #CSed #EduSky

buff.ly

Scratch the Surface: Climate Data in Code

Use Scratch to plot climate data, spot trends, and explore how data can be misrepresented.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

I didn't say challenging the mainstream is the same as belonging in CS. I said challenging the mainstream is different from rejecting CS. My point is that they are not rejecting CS just by challenging the mainstream, so promoting a sense of belonging is not preventing them from engaging in this way.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

The way I see it, promoting diversity within the discipline is not a form of rejection. It's expanding and improving the culture, providing more opportunities for people to feel what I would characterize as a sense of belonging within CS.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

Okay, thanks, I'll keep a look out for it.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

I would say that it's okay for anyone to be using computing and programming, and that if they are doing so, they are already engaging in CS. Yes, absolutely their high school teacher should be telling them that they are doing CS, and that they belong in CS, regardless of chosen major or career path.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

But they aren't. There's nothing in the paper that says they are rejecting computing. (If I missed it, please tell me where.) They are working in the space, making it better by adding their perspective to it. Section 6 is an extensive description of this process.

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Ciphersoup @ciphersoup.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Did you interpret my saying that they don't feel like they are doing computing as "They don't want to do computing"? I was saying that they are programming, but they they don't feel that it is "real" computing.

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