Computer Science Education
Shakespeare’s Spreadsheets: Use Data and Charts to Take Reading to Another Level
Shakespeare’s Spreadsheets: Use Data and Charts to Take Reading to Another Level
We can use numbers to better understand literature. That’s right: there are fruitful ways for readers to deepen their analysis…
The Great Gatsby: A Mixed Literary Analysis
The Great Gatsby: A Mixed Literary Analysis
I’m a firm believer that readers can use computational methods to uncover new insights into literature. As I’ve written about…
A Sneak Peek at Chapter 1 from Upcoming K-12 CS Education Book
A Sneak Peek at Chapter 1 from Upcoming K-12 CS Education Book
I’m amped to share this rough draft that will frame the book in the works with three fantastic co-authors. (We’re…
Baby and Jesus Are the Top Two Names Used in Popular Music? Go On….
Baby and Jesus Are the Top Two Names Used in Popular Music? Go On….
Want another reason to teach computer science in humanities classes? Check this out. In their latest project, the data journalists…
I Need Your Advice, English Peeps: What Texts Should I Focus On for My Next Big Project?
I Need Your Advice, English Peeps: What Texts Should I Focus On for My Next Big Project?
For years now, I’ve been slowly bringing to life a vision for bringing computational methods to secondary English classes. I’m…
Tolkien’s Lesson on Computationality and Creativity–Whilst Smoking His Pipe
Tolkien’s Lesson on Computationality and Creativity–Whilst Smoking His Pipe
On a recent visit to the Tolkien exhibit at the Morgan Library and Museum, I was fascinated to see process…
Why Are Letters on Keyboards So Oddly Arranged? Here’s a Primer on the Origins of QWERTY!
Why Are Letters on Keyboards So Oddly Arranged? Here’s a Primer on the Origins of QWERTY!
Keyboards are literally where human beings communication with computers. Considering how ubiquitous they are, it is odd that many of…
Watch How Children’s Vocabulary Grows
Watch How Children’s Vocabulary Grows
The more work I do at the intersection of education and technology, the more I am convinced that simple high-leverage…
Let’s Take a Moment to ‘Love’ Shakespeare on the Day of His Birth…and ‘Death’
Let’s Take a Moment to ‘Love’ Shakespeare on the Day of His Birth…and ‘Death’
We often learn to read literature by looking closely at a text. You know: focusing our attention on a word…
The Language and Law of Your Location
The Language and Law of Your Location
Whatever device you are reading this on is probably tracking tons of data about you right now, including your geographic…
How Computers Know What You Are Going to Write
How Computers Know What You Are Going to Write
What a fascinating write up over at The Pudding about how predictive text works. I’d love to see how authors…
Let’s see How a Computer “Feels” about Walt Whitman in Honor of #NationalPoetryMonth
Let’s see How a Computer “Feels” about Walt Whitman in Honor of #NationalPoetryMonth
In honor of National Poetry Month, I unearthed this computational example of reading poetry. I took an e-text version of…
Language is Always Susceptible to Bias. That Includes Algorithms.
Language is Always Susceptible to Bias. That Includes Algorithms.
All this digital stuff is comprised of software. And software is comprised of languages. That means, just like human languages,…
Want to Learn to Code? Start WITH Scratch, Not From It.
Want to Learn to Code? Start WITH Scratch, Not From It.
The father of Scratch, MIT’s Mitch Resnik, offers this thoughtful talk on why it’s important to learn to code, how…
Step It Up: Girls Who Learn to Code Through Dance
Step It Up: Girls Who Learn to Code Through Dance
Dance and coding might seem like an odd pairing, but in fact they go together gloriously. One of the core…
Some or All of the Above: College Board’s Timely Lesson on Education Reform
Some or All of the Above: College Board’s Timely Lesson on Education Reform
When a friend asked me what I thought about a recent New York Times column lauding College Board’s overhaul of…