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  <title>C'est la Z (old posts, page 17)</title>
  <id>http://cestlaz.github.io/index-17.atom</id>
  <updated>2017-12-22T12:59:45Z</updated>
  <author>
    <name>Mike Zamansky</name>
  </author>
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  <generator uri="https://getnikola.com/">Nikola</generator>
  <entry>
    <title>Announcing def hacks("Winter",2015)</title>
    <id>http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-11-09-def-hacks-winter-2015.html/</id>
    <updated>2015-11-09T00:00:00-05:00</updated>
    <published>2015-11-09T00:00:00-05:00</published>
    <author>
      <name>Mike Zamansky</name>
    </author>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-11-09-def-hacks-winter-2015.html/"/>
    <summary type="html">&lt;style&gt;
div.center {text-align:center;}
&lt;/style&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Last March, we (CSTUY) hosted our first hackathon - def hacks():
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
It was a tremendous success. Fifty students of all experience levels,
a bunch of great mentors and judges - added all together and it was a
terrific day.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
I wrote about it &lt;a href="http://cestlaz.github.io/2015/03/29/defhacks.html#.VkFAN5_0-Ak"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
We're doing it again. We love last years hosts &lt;a href="http://sumall.com/"&gt;SumAll&lt;/a&gt; and are grateful
that they continue to host our Saturday &lt;a href="http://cstuy.org/programs/hacking_sessions"&gt;Hacking Sessions&lt;/a&gt; but we are
also grateful to Facebook NY for allowing us to use their larger space for
this edition of def hacks(). Larger space = more hackers.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
So, if you're a high school student who wants to spend a fun day
building something cool or if you know one, more information and
registration can be found here:
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
&lt;a href="http://defhacks.com/"&gt;http://defhacks.com/&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;</summary>
    <category term="cstuy" label="cstuy"/>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Finding the Bell Tower</title>
    <id>http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-11-06-bell-tower.html/</id>
    <updated>2015-11-06T00:00:00-05:00</updated>
    <published>2015-11-06T00:00:00-05:00</published>
    <author>
      <name>Mike Zamansky</name>
    </author>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-11-06-bell-tower.html/"/>
    <summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;
No Edu-Rant today nor a clever lesson plan.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
I just thought I'd share an email exchange that cracked me up. 
&lt;/p&gt;


&lt;p&gt;
We're out in Ann Arbor visiting our son Natan who is in his first year at Michigan.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Devorah sent an email asking where we should meet.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
It turns out that Natan's last class of the day is Music Composition. 
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Here's what followed:
&lt;/p&gt;


&lt;p&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;Natan:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;

&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Composition is in the bell tower on Central. It's hard to miss. It's a
bell tower. It's right by Hill Auditorium, and looks like a bell
tower. It also sounds like a bell tower at certain points in the day,
but I don't think I've heard it sound like a bell tower around the end
of class, so you're probably better off looking for the thing that
looks like a bell tower rather than listening for the thing that
sounds like a bell tower. I would assume it also smells and tastes
like a bell tower, but if you're in close enough proximity to smell or
taste the bell tower, I think you've probably found the bell tower. It
looks like a huggable building, but please, dad, do not hug the bell
tower. I have class there.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;


&lt;p&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;Devorah:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;

&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
We can meet you at the bell tower as long as we can figure out what it
looks like.  Can you please give us a detailed description? Maybe
you should taste it just in case.  Does the bell tower on Central
smell like the bell tower on North?
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
&lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;Natan:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;

&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
The bell tower is around the size and shape of a bell tower. It's ten
stories high, with the first nine stories being a little less than
one-tenth of a bell tower tall, and the tenth being rather more than
one-tenth of a bell tower tall (the tenth story being where the bells
are). The width is about equal to that of a bell tower. It has two
doors, one on one side of the bell tower, and the other on the other
side of the bell tower. It has clock faces on top, which should, at
the point you see it, resemble a clock face indicating the time which
it is. (The appearance of the clock faces should update in near-real
time.) If you stick around long enough, it should start to sound like
a bell tower, or perhaps like a monster descending the stairs singing
Gilbert and Sullivan. I don't know what the bell tower on North smells
like because the bell tower on North is currently blocked off. But it
also resembles a bell tower, being approximately the same size and
shape of a bell tower. It is much less likely to sound like a bell
tower, though.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;</summary>
    <category term="misc" label="misc"/>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Interview questions and tests</title>
    <id>http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-11-04-tests-and-interviews.html/</id>
    <updated>2015-11-04T00:00:00-05:00</updated>
    <published>2015-11-04T00:00:00-05:00</published>
    <author>
      <name>Mike Zamansky</name>
    </author>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-11-04-tests-and-interviews.html/"/>
    <summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;
The StuyCS Family mailing list was host to an interesting discussion
today. One of our younger members asked if the practice of giving
technical problems during an interview was going to follow him
throughout his career or if it goes away for more senior applicants.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
An interesting discussion followed.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
It reminded me of a time I was talking to a few senior engineers at a
large tech company. A couple of younger engineers were with us along
with a new hire. The youngsters started talking about the new hires
technical interview questions. One older engineer light heartedly
asked another "I don't recall any tricky technical questions, how
about you?" "I don't recall any either…" and on around the table.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Of course these senior engineers had track records that stretched for
miles.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
I never liked those tech interview questions. If you just took
algorithms, you've got an edge and it really seems to be more of a
test of "have you seen this problem before" rather than a true test of
ability.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
I much prefer those few companies that give "take home assignments" or
use other ways to determine fit.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
The tech interview reminds me of the pop quiz or a poorly designed
test. If you just ask the question that the kid doesn't get, the kid's
in trouble. A kid could know how to handle 90% of the work but if the
question is that last 10%, zero credit. 
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
As teachers, we end up using many forms of assessment and try to
develop an overall picture of a student.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Companies should try to do the same.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Why to companies still use these technical interview questions?
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Quite simply because they can.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
A company might miss out on a number of great candidates by using a
bad technical question but they will probably get at least a
reasonably strong hire that passes the test. For the company, mission
accomplished.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
As teachers, we can't do that. I'm not given a class of 32 kids and
asked to pull out a couple of software engineers. As teachers, we're
supposed to pull everyone along. 
&lt;/p&gt;</summary>
    <category term="pedagogy" label="pedagogy"/>
    <category term="policy" label="policy"/>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Teachers - boy do we suck!!!!</title>
    <id>http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-11-03-teachers-suck.html/</id>
    <updated>2015-11-03T00:00:00-05:00</updated>
    <published>2015-11-03T00:00:00-05:00</published>
    <author>
      <name>Mike Zamansky</name>
    </author>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-11-03-teachers-suck.html/"/>
    <summary type="html">&lt;style&gt;
div.center {text-align:center;}
&lt;/style&gt;
&lt;div id="outline-container-orgheadline1" class="outline-2"&gt;
&lt;h2 id="orgheadline1"&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline1"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
Today was a "professional development day." That means that instead of
teaching, we were supposed to work on our craft. 
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Rather than the normal nonsense - forcing CS teachers to sit through
common core math lectures or how to use the latest calculator, our
host principal, Randy Asher, of Brooklyn Tech let us do our thing. 
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Basically, it was a bunch of CS teachers from two schools - Stuy and
Brooklyn Tech, talking shop for most of the day. 
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Given the ridiculous "professional development" we're subject to weekly
at Stuy, it was a welcome change.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
We talked about a number of issues:
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul class="org-ul"&gt;
&lt;li&gt;How difficult concepts like iteration can be to actually teach.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;How retention is a real issue.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;How we have to deal with a range of students with a range of
interests.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;What happens when we have a kid who finds out they're less
interested in CS than they thought.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;How do we create a comfortable setting for a diverse population.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
and more.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
I mean, really - all we do is talk about how hard it is to teach CS.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div id="outline-container-orgheadline2" class="outline-2"&gt;
&lt;h2 id="orgheadline2"&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline2"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
Contrast that with every after school, summer, drop in, coding school
and program. They seem to:
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul class="org-ul"&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Teach kids to be software developers just like adults in the course
of a summer.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Teach kids how to make we apps in N weeks.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Leave kids more prepared for the APCS A exam than kids to take the
course.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Solve the diversity problem.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Seeing how much and how well all these non-educators can do with kids
vs what we were talking about I can only conclude that us teacher folk
are pretty lousy.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
On the other hand, us real teachers have to pay attention to to
little things like long term retention and success and can't just
parade out a few nice stories and outlier results.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Give me a real teacher any day.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
I've written a bit on my concerns with drop in programs before &lt;a href="http://cestlaz.github.io/2015/05/07/learning-takes-time.html#.VjlSyd8Sr0o"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://cestlaz.github.io/2015/08/17/setting-up-to-fail-cs.html#.VjlSsd8Sr0o"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;, and
&lt;a href="http://cestlaz.github.io/2015/10/12/nycda.html#.VjlSqd8Sr0o"&gt;here.&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
I remember a few years ago I was talking to someone about all the CS
Ed hype we were seeing. We both noted that many of the people doing
the best work are so busy doing that work that they can't spare the
time to generate the hype.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
I was with a bunch of those people today.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
    <category term="policy" label="policy"/>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Halloween 2015 - the video</title>
    <id>http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-11-01-halloween-video-2015.html/</id>
    <updated>2015-11-01T00:00:00-04:00</updated>
    <published>2015-11-01T00:00:00-04:00</published>
    <author>
      <name>Mike Zamansky</name>
    </author>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-11-01-halloween-video-2015.html/"/>
    <summary type="html">&lt;style&gt;
div.center {text-align:center;}
&lt;/style&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
As a teacher, sometimes your gut tells you to do something and it
turns out to be a really good idea.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
That's what happened in October, 1994. I decided to dress up as &lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groo_the_Wanderer"&gt;Groo
the Wanderer&lt;/a&gt; for Halloween. I never dressed in costume for school
before and back then, no many did. A few students and very few
teachers.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Afterwards, I noticed that my younger students - the ones that didn't
know me that well yet, really loosened up and so a tradition was born.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Over each of the next 20 Halloweens, I did something
different. Sometimes solo, sometimes as a pair and more recently as
part of a team.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
What started as a lark has now become something of an obligation but
it's still fun.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
So, with no further ado, let's go to the video tape:
&lt;/p&gt;


&lt;div class="center"&gt;
&lt;iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/81qHI-iNkXg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
And of course, the full playlist:
&lt;/p&gt;


&lt;div class="center"&gt;
&lt;iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PL9KxKa8NpFxJYgovyJhF4HZRsAqYKBLiG" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
    <category term="community" label="community"/>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Inner voices</title>
    <id>http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-10-30-halloween-2015.html/</id>
    <updated>2015-10-30T00:00:00-04:00</updated>
    <published>2015-10-30T00:00:00-04:00</published>
    <author>
      <name>Mike Zamansky</name>
    </author>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-10-30-halloween-2015.html/"/>
    <summary type="html">&lt;style&gt;
div.center {text-align:center;}
div.half {width:50%;}
&lt;/style&gt;



&lt;div class="figure"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://cestlaz.github.io/img/halloween-2015/inner-voices.jpg" alt="inner-voices.jpg" width="480px" align="center"&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
It's Halloween again. This time, "Inside Out." 
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
No video yet, but stay tuned.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
For the time being, enjoy some of our past madness:
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PL9KxKa8NpFxJYgovyJhF4HZRsAqYKBLiG" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</summary>
    <category term="community" label="community"/>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Something growing in the Hudson Valley</title>
    <id>http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-10-29-catskills-2015.html/</id>
    <updated>2015-10-29T00:00:00-04:00</updated>
    <published>2015-10-29T00:00:00-04:00</published>
    <author>
      <name>Mike Zamansky</name>
    </author>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-10-29-catskills-2015.html/"/>
    <summary type="html">&lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</summary>
    <category term="community" label="community"/>
    <category term="misc" label="misc"/>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Know your tools - intermediate Emacs</title>
    <id>http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-10-28-emacs-intermediate.html/</id>
    <updated>2015-10-28T00:00:00-04:00</updated>
    <published>2015-10-28T00:00:00-04:00</published>
    <author>
      <name>Mike Zamansky</name>
    </author>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-10-28-emacs-intermediate.html/"/>
    <summary type="html">&lt;style&gt;
div.center {text-align:center;}
&lt;/style&gt;
&lt;div id="outline-container-orgheadline1" class="outline-2"&gt;
&lt;h2 id="orgheadline1"&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline1"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
A good workman is known by his tools, or so the saying goes. My tools
of choice are my terminal shell and Emacs.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
I suppose if I was a full time developer working with a limited set of
tools I might like an IDE like JetBrains or Eclipse but no matter how
many alternatives I try, I always end back in Emacs.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
I recommend that my students spend time not only in Emacs but also in
tools like Vim or Sublime Text.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
I do warn them, though, that as a commercial product, Sublime might
not be around forever, I mean before Sublime was sublime, TextMate was
sublime. If you go back to the 1980s, Brief was sublime. 
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Commercial tools come and go but I've been using Emacs since the mid
eighties.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
A few students have been asking me for some pointers on going past the
basics of Emacs so here we go.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;



&lt;div id="outline-container-orgheadline2" class="outline-2"&gt;
&lt;h2 id="orgheadline2"&gt;Notes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline2"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
This post just has some getting started notes. There are mode powerful
and advanced ways of doing most things.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
I think I'll just talk about a few of the basics here and will write
about code development with Emacs in a later post.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div id="outline-container-orgheadline3" class="outline-2"&gt;
&lt;h2 id="orgheadline3"&gt;Starting out&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline3"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
Once you're OK with the basics (by using the built in tutorial or
on line resources) start to fore yourself to get to know:
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div id="outline-container-orgheadline4" class="outline-3"&gt;
&lt;h3 id="orgheadline4"&gt;Buffers&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;div class="outline-text-3" id="text-orgheadline4"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
when you find a new file &lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;(C-x C-f)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt; it opens it into a new
buffer. You can also open a new buffer using &lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;C-x b&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt; and rather than
selecting a buffer typing in a new buffer name.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Each buffer can hold a file and you can switch quickly between them
using &lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;C-x b&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt; and hitting &lt;b&gt;&amp;lt;Enter&amp;gt;&lt;/b&gt;. 
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
You can kill the current buffer with &lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;C-x k&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Using buffers lets you edit multiple files in a project quickly and
efficiently.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div id="outline-container-orgheadline5" class="outline-3"&gt;
&lt;h3 id="orgheadline5"&gt;Windows&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;div class="outline-text-3" id="text-orgheadline5"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
Your Emacs frame can be split into multiple windows. &lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;C-x 2&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt; splits
the window top and bottom, &lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;C-x3&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt; left and right. You can switch
between windows using &lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;C-x o&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt; for other window. Switching to one
window is done with &lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;C-x 1&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;


&lt;div id="outline-container-orgheadline6" class="outline-2"&gt;
&lt;h2 id="orgheadline6"&gt;Getting Help&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline6"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
Get to know the built in help. You can always use functions like
&lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;M-x describe-function&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt; or &lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;M-x describe-key&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt; and of course
you can use completion to help speed things up but the help functions
are bound to:
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul class="org-ul"&gt;
&lt;li&gt;C-h k  for describe key&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;C-h f  for describe function&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;C-h a for search for command&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
You can usually type &lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;q&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt; to close the help.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div id="outline-container-orgheadline7" class="outline-2"&gt;
&lt;h2 id="orgheadline7"&gt;Navigation&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline7"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
Use search for navigation rather than arrow keys.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
This can change the way you edit. 
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
For example ,if I wanted to go up to the word Navigation, above,
rather than using traditional motion keys, I'd do a reverse search
(&lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;C-r&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;) and search for Nav.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Incremental search forward (&lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;C-s&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;) and back are your friends.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div id="outline-container-orgheadline8" class="outline-2"&gt;
&lt;h2 id="orgheadline8"&gt;Packages&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline8"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
You can check out my emacs configuration here: 
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
&lt;a href="https://github.com/zamansky/dotemacs"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="https://github.com/zamansky/dotemacs"&gt;https://github.com/zamansky/dotemacs&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
You can find basic installation instructions there or you can use the
interactive package manager, invoking it with &lt;b&gt;&lt;b&gt;M-x list-packages&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Some of my favorite general purpose packages are:
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul class="org-ul"&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://github.com/abo-abo/swiper"&gt;Swiper&lt;/a&gt; - for navigation and finding files&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://github.com/nflath/hungry-delete"&gt;Hungry Delete&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://github.com/magnars/expand-region.el"&gt;Expand Region&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://github.com/abo-abo/ace-window"&gt;Ace Window&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div id="outline-container-orgheadline9" class="outline-2"&gt;
&lt;h2 id="orgheadline9"&gt;Next steps&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline9"&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
We haven't even talked about code development or killer packages like
org-mode but I think this will do for a start.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
    <category term="emacs" label="emacs"/>
    <category term="tools" label="tools"/>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Self Appointed Experts</title>
    <id>http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-10-26-self-appointed-experts.html/</id>
    <updated>2015-10-26T00:00:00-04:00</updated>
    <published>2015-10-26T00:00:00-04:00</published>
    <author>
      <name>Mike Zamansky</name>
    </author>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-10-26-self-appointed-experts.html/"/>
    <summary type="html">&lt;style&gt;
div.center {text-align:center;}
&lt;/style&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
While looking over my tweet stream, I noticed this:
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;RSVP today for the K-12 CS Education Panel, presented by &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Uber"&gt;@Uber&lt;/a&gt; + &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/FlatironSchool"&gt;@FlatironSchool&lt;/a&gt;: &lt;a href="https://t.co/nVBbSbRn9d"&gt;https://t.co/nVBbSbRn9d&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/NAxowSIfff"&gt;pic.twitter.com/NAxowSIfff&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Flatiron School (@FlatironSchool) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/FlatironSchool/status/658748945481474049"&gt;October 26, 2015&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
So, on November 12, one can head over to Uber and listen to three
experts talk about K12 CS Education. To quote the landing page:
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul class="org-ul"&gt;
&lt;li&gt;How can we engage our students in CS, and train our teachers to teach it?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;What are the biggest obstacles to overcome?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;What is the future of K-12 CS Education?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;What's working?`&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Sound great. 
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
The problem? 
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Who are these expert voices that we're supposed to be listening to.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
The panel consists of three people: &lt;a href="https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=ADEAAACdvOoBuWtX0sqm4gkJmOZ0AxArrQJgvnQ&amp;amp;authType=OPENLINK&amp;amp;authToken=IPmC&amp;amp;locale=en_US&amp;amp;srchid=9425671445893373413&amp;amp;srchindex=1&amp;amp;srchtotal=1&amp;amp;trk=vsrp_people_res_name&amp;amp;trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A9425671445893373413%2CVSRPtargetId%3A10337514%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary%2CVSRPnm%3Atrue%2CauthType%3AOPENLINK%0A"&gt;Adam Enbar&lt;/a&gt; of Flatiron School,
&lt;a href="https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=ADEAAARHMgcBmb0ZqmtDHzi3b46_kZiEIL56VsQ&amp;amp;authType=NAME_SEARCH&amp;amp;authToken=uR-M&amp;amp;locale=en_US&amp;amp;srchid=9425671445893351065&amp;amp;srchindex=1&amp;amp;srchtotal=63&amp;amp;trk=vsrp_people_res_name&amp;amp;trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A9425671445893351065%2CVSRPtargetId%3A71774727%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary%2CVSRPnm%3Atrue%2CauthType%3ANAME_SEARCH%0A"&gt;Rebecca Novak&lt;/a&gt; of ScriptEd, and &lt;a href="https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=ADEAAAA2T2oBLc3-qal-_GfdMlMRdFEjP47jnOw&amp;amp;authType=NAME_SEARCH&amp;amp;authToken=4qXf&amp;amp;locale=en_US&amp;amp;srchid=9425671445893344587&amp;amp;srchindex=1&amp;amp;srchtotal=67&amp;amp;trk=vsrp_people_res_name&amp;amp;trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A9425671445893344587%2CVSRPtargetId%3A3559274%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary%2CVSRPnm%3Atrue%2CauthType%3ANAME_SEARCH%0A"&gt;Debbie Marcus&lt;/a&gt;, the Executive Director
of CS Education for the New York City Department of Education.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Sounds interesting. 
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
As a disclaimer, I have to say that I know Adam and Rebecca and
consider them friends. I like ScriptEd and what they do in the
schools. In fact, I think that my CSTUY programs are terrific next
steps for ScriptEd kids. ScriptEd is becoming good at what they do and
I think they're also aware of their limitations as an ed program. I
also know that Flatiron has done a solid job retraining adults for the
workforce. I don't think I've ever met Debbie Marcus. I also believe
all these people are well meaning.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
What's the lay of the land?
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Given her position, Ms. Marcus will be considered a voice of
authority and I can't seem to go to a CS Ed event without someone from
the Flatiron School or someone from ScriptEd there in a place
indicating that they should be considered an  authority on K12 CS
Education.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
As much as I like what ScriptEd does in the schools and as much as the
Flatiron School has a strong reputation as an adult coding school
/ workforce program should these voices be the ones we're listening
to?
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Let's dig deeper.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Higher up in this post, I link to all three panelists LinkedIn
profiles. All three are conspicuously missing one thing - experience
in CS and Rebecca is the only one who's LinkedIn profile indicates any
time teaching.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Now, let's contrast that with the CSTUY and Stuy teams. Regular
readers know what I've done building Stuyvesant's CS program and CSTUY
over the past 25 years and if you look at my team they all have
considerably more CS experience, Ed experience, and of course CS Ed
experience.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Who's driving the train? 
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Who's being excluded?
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
What's wrong with this picture.
&lt;/p&gt;</summary>
    <category term="policy" label="policy"/>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Alan Alda on Teaching Science</title>
    <id>http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-10-20-alda.html/</id>
    <updated>2015-10-20T00:00:00-04:00</updated>
    <published>2015-10-20T00:00:00-04:00</published>
    <author>
      <name>Mike Zamansky</name>
    </author>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/2015-10-20-alda.html/"/>
    <summary type="html">&lt;style&gt;
div.center {text-align:center;}
&lt;/style&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Scale, scale, scale. Scripted lessons. Online resources, Moocs. No
excuses schools. All of these are modern trends in education. None of
these are about good education. It's really demoralizing reading
article after article devaluing true master teachers and real
education. 
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
So, last night was a real pleasure.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
I attended a talk, given by Alan Alda on communicating science. The
talk was sponsored by &lt;a href="http://academyforteachers.org/"&gt;The Academy for Teachers&lt;/a&gt;. I grew up watching
Hawkeye on MASH and more recently Arnold Vinick on The West Wing but
Mr. Alda has really been keeping himself busy in the world of
education. Check out what he's doing at the &lt;a href="http://www.centerforcommunicatingscience.org/"&gt;Alan Alda Center for
Communicating Science&lt;/a&gt; at Stony Brook University.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
	At it's core, Mr. Alda's talk was about teaching. Making a connection
	with your students and engaging them. The exact opposite of many of
	the current ed reform trends.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
	Mr. Alda talked about &lt;a href="http://www.centerforcommunicatingscience.org/the-flame-challenge-2/"&gt;the Flame Challenge&lt;/a&gt; where he challenged
	scientists to teach 11 year olds all about &lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chemical_History_of_a_Candle"&gt;a candle&lt;/a&gt; without dumbing it
	down. Communication.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
	He also talked about story telling. At one point he had a volunteer
	from the audience carry a glass across the stage. He then had her do
	it again, but this time with a full glass telling her "if you spill a
	drop everyone in your village will die." The difference in audience
	attention was striking.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
	Mr. Alda also talked about using improvisational games to help
	students open up as well as about &lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_knowledge"&gt;the curse of knowledge.&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
	One of my favorite parts of the talk was when an audience member asked
	for a few teaching tips. He replied that he hates tips because out of
	context, without the connection to the class, they're
	meaningless. Mr. Alda used as an example:
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;
	&lt;p&gt;
		Imagine that you're about to give a piano recital at Carnegie Hall 
		and you asked for a few tips.
	&lt;/p&gt;

	&lt;p&gt;
		If you've never played before, those tips aren't going to help you.
	&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
	I'm asked for CS teaching tips all the time, and Mr. Alda very much
	captured my feelings on the subject. My friend and Colleague Jim
	Cocoros also captured the feeling when he reminded me that the only
	"tip" he gives new teachers is "be yourself." I couldn't agree more.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
	It was a delightful and a refreshing evening. I very much appreciate
	and admire what Mr. Alda is doing beyond his acting and while I very
	much hope he's able to extend his reach to more high school teachers
	as he continues to work on communicating in science.
&lt;/p&gt;</summary>
    <category term="pedagogy" label="pedagogy"/>
    <category term="policy" label="policy"/>
  </entry>
</feed>