Posts on AP Computer Science Tutoring

Web based assessment

Fri, 19 May 2023 12:07:19 -0400

The following is a research paper that I wrote for a graduate class on using data to improve instruction. The paper was written before schools commonly used learning management systems. The material below is still relevant; however, I now use my school’s learning management system instead of Moodle.

The appendices have been removed.

Research exists on the use of statistical data to improve instruction; however, there is considerably less agreement on what data is to be analyzed and how it is to be acquired. It is more difficult than is widely understood to acquire data that is both statistically valid and directly relevant to instruction. Results from standardized tests are often cited as reliable and relevant data sources despite a number of serious issues. Concerns include the manner in which standardized tests are administered, the knowledge and skills the tests seek to measure, and the manner in which the results are reported.

Meet IEP and 504 accommodations with Moodle

Fri, 19 May 2023 12:02:36 -0400

This article was written before schools commonly used learning management systems. The material below is still relevant; however, I now use my school’s learning management system instead of Moodle.

Moodle helps me quickly and easily meet many of the accommodations often required by IEPs and 504 plans. Since most of the accommodations require no additional work per student, I can offer those that are appropriate to all of my students.

Use data from existing assignments

Fri, 19 May 2023 11:55:57 -0400

This article was written before schools commonly used learning management systems. The material below is still relevant; however, I now use my school’s learning management system instead of Moodle.

On Monday, I assigned a review packet for the upcoming AP exam. It contained AP style multiple choice questions covering a wide variety of topics as well as short answer questions typical of those found on real exams. Throughout the next 3 evenings, students entered their answers on Moodle. The students who were absent Monday and Tuesday saw the assignment online and used the electronic copy. They knew better than to return to class with a feeble, “I didn’t get the packet.”

Increase instructional efficiency

Fri, 19 May 2023 11:54:47 -0400

Increasing efficiency of instruction enables a teacher to effectively instruct a greater number of students. This makes it possible for a school to offer a a wider variety of courses and for a greater number of students to benefit from each course. In the face of decreased funding, increasing the efficiency of a course can be an alternative to eliminating it.

This post explores a few techniques that reduce the educational impact of an increase in the ratio of students to teachers. The techniques can also be used in the absence of increasing class sizes to free up teacher time for other purposes. The techniques improve, rather than sacrifice, educational quality.

Bandwidth vs latency

Fri, 19 May 2023 11:36:19 -0400

Latency

Latency is the amount of time between when you start sending data and when the recipient starts receiving it. Latency is often measured in milliseconds. When you visit a web site, your computer sends a request to the web server that hosts the site. The web server responds with a web page. Latency, not bandwidth, determines how quickly your request gets to the web server and how quickly you start to see the web page.

Public interface then instance fields then method bodies

Sat, 18 Mar 2023 23:12:51 -0400

I write classes in the order below. Students should write classes in this order too. Assignments and projects should be written with this order in mind.

Public interface (methods headers & documentation)
Instance fields
Method bodies (implementation code)

Public interface

A class’s public interface defines how the class will be used by other classes. Everything else about a class exists to support its public interface.

Writing all method headers and complete documentation for each method forces the designer to consciously consider how the class will be used. When the public interface is written concurrently with the implementation the final class is less likely to be a coherent and tightly integrated set of methods and public fields.

New Jersey teacher tenure

Sat, 18 Mar 2023 23:03:31 -0400

The post below contains information on NJ teacher tenure that may be outdated. An updated primer on the new NJ teacher tenure law can be found at: https://njpsa.org/primer-the-new-tenure-law/

This post refers solely to tenure of public school teachers in New Jersey. The facts presented may not apply to other positions or in other states.

How does a New Jersey teacher acquire tenure?

Tenure is established by state law, not by contract. The New Jersey Legislature has the power to modify or eliminate tenure. In the past, the Legislature has eliminated tenure for school district superintendents.

How to configure BitLocker with TPM, PIN, and USB StartupKey

Sat, 18 Mar 2023 22:40:26 -0400

The BitLocker GUI in the Windows 7 Control Panel supports TPM + PIN and TPM + USB StartupKey but not TPM + PIN + USB StartupKey. This configuration requires editing Group Policy and using the command line tool manage-bde.

This guide is intended for a sophisticated audience. The consequences of following the procedure are not discussed here.

Environment

Variations on this also work, such as Windows 7 Enterprise or a USB hard drive instead of one of the flash drives.

Intermediate home computer security

Sat, 18 Mar 2023 22:35:47 -0400

This is the third in a series of posts that explain the need to properly secure your home computer and that provide recommendations to do so. My post on Basic home computer security presents non-technical recommendations that you can follow to enhance the security of your computer. Those recommendations focus on altering behavior that attackers can take advantage of to compromise your computer. This post presents technical recommendations and assumes that you have a moderate level of technical proficiency.

Basic home computer security

Sat, 18 Mar 2023 22:31:27 -0400

This is the second in a series of posts that explain the need to properly secure your home computer and that provide recommendations to do so. This post does not assume that you have a technical background. Each recommendation presented can be followed without learning any new technical skills. My post on Intermediate home computer security presents basic technical recommendations.

Why should I care?

You may not be convinced that the security of your home computer is important. If this is the case, you may wish to read my post explaining why attackers are interested in your computer.

Attacking home computers

Sat, 18 Mar 2023 22:20:05 -0400

Why would anyone want to attack my computer?

Amateur attackers usually write and release viruses for their own amusement or to impress others. Viruses written by amateurs often behave in ways that make it apparent to the victims that their computers have been infected. Files may be deleted or moved. Images may be displayed. The infected computers may turn off at apparently arbitrary times and operate in other unexpected ways.

Accidentally triggered BitLocker recovery mode

Sat, 18 Mar 2023 22:15:52 -0400

While on a trip to New Orleans, I accidentally triggered recovery mode for the Microsoft BitLocker full disk encryption on my laptop. Once triggered, recovery mode requires that a recovery key be provided before the machine will boot. Recovery mode is intended to protect against a variety of attacks including bootkits. Unfortunately, accidentally triggering recovery mode renders the machine useless until the recovery key is available.

The recovery key can be either a file stored on a USB drive or a long string of numbers. When I enabled BitLocker, I mistakenly guessed that the recovery key would be rarely needed and could be stored in a manner that provided security but not ready access. This mistake cost me the use of my laptop during a trip.