You must be logged in and have an enrollment key to enroll in a course and view course materials (See Instructor for details). Feel free to visit the links on the top Menu Bar (no login required). Also, you can view my schedule by clicking here.

Courses currently offered at Boulder High School 2012-13:

• Computer Science in the Modern World - D80
• Java Programming using Computational & Engineering Principles - D77
• Internet / Web Page Design - D87
• C++ Programming (Weighted) - D86
• AP Computer Science Java (Weighted) - D78
• Advanced C++ Programming (Weighted) - D89

This site is best viewed at a 1024 by 768 or higher resolution. 

This site is powered by Moodle 2.1.0.

Mr. Jiron

HTML5 Death Star Game

IT Jobs Will Grow 22% Through 2020, Says U.S.
Computerworld (03/29/12) Patrick Thibodeau 

The expansion of healthcare technology and mobile networks in the U.S. will increase demand for software developers, support technicians, and systems analysts so much so that by 2020, employment in all computer occupations is expected to increase by 22 percent, according to the biennial update of employment projections by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Demand for software developers will be the strongest during this period, with increases reaching as high as 32 percent, depending on the type of software developed. Demand for database administrators is expected to increase 31 percent, while employment for information technology (IT) managers is projected to increase 18 percent by 2020. Growth in the healthcare industry and the need for more IT security may spur an increase in the number IT management jobs, and "cloud computing may shift some IT services to computer systems design and related services firms, concentrating jobs in that industry," according to BLS. Employment for computer systems analysts is expected to grow by 22 percent, demand for computer programmers will increase just 12 percent, BLS predicts, which notes it is the occupation most vulnerable to offshoring.

Computer Science Transitions From Elective to Requirement
U.S. News & World Report (04/03/12) Kelsey Sheehy 

Although many universities offer computer science as an option to satisfy science or math requirements, some schools are now making it a required course in order to graduate. For example, each of the nearly 2,000 freshmen entering the Georgia Institute of Technology each year must take a computer science course regardless of their major, says college of computing associate dean Charles Isbell. In addition, every student at Montclair State University must complete a computer science course in order to graduate. Most Montclair students take "Introduction to Computer Applications: Being Fluent with Information Technology," which is designed to teach students majoring in nontechnical fields about network security, artificial intelligence, databases, and e-commerce, says computer science department chairman Michael Oudshoorn. "It's not aimed at making them experts; it's aimed at making them aware," Oudshoorn says. "They do live in a digital age ... they have an obligation to know something about the technology." University of California, Irvine professor Geoffrey Bowker says more schools should make computer science a requirement. "All aspects of our personal lives and our work lives are affected by computers," he says. "We need to know about the tools that we're working with."

A Researcher and a Robot Walk Into a Bar…
Wall Street Journal (04/20/12) Rachel Wolff 

Carnegie Mellon University social robotics graduate student Heather Knight has helped develop Data, a stand-up-comedy-performing robot that can read, replicate, and respond to human social cues. Her research includes formal psychology-like user studies and software programming. Through hours of trial and error, Knight carefully composes each word and gesture that is part of the stand-up routine. She also conducted interviews with professional stand-up comedians to learn about self-awareness and persona. "One of the first things they taught me is that [Data] needs to be real and authentic," Knight says. "If a robot just walks out there telling random jokes and not acknowledging that he is a robot, it isn't going to create a rapport with the audience." Data has been programmed to gauge audience response by hearing laughter and applause and by seeing green and red cards held up by audience members. Knight recently conducted a series of user studies using Data as a Carnegie Mellon campus tour guide. Knight monitored where people lost interest as indicated by their wandering eyes, a technique that she hopes robots will ultimately be able to utilize.

BBC Tech Chief Says New ICT Curriculum Will Boost Supply of High-Quality Graduate Developers
Computing (02/23/12) Sooraj Shah

Business will benefit from Britain's move to overhaul the information and communication technology (ICT) curriculum because organizations will be able to recruit graduates with more highly developed technical skills, says the BBC Center of Technology's Andy Wilson. The government announced in January that computer science and programming will be the focus of a new ICT curriculum. Wilson says students will learn technical skills at a younger age. "In the extra two to four years of academia they will be able to develop their skills a lot further and it means we could recruit a far higher-skilled graduate developer than we are recruiting right now," he notes. Although Wilson says it is necessary to replace the current ICT curriculum, he notes that more needs to be done to make IT a more attractive career option for young people. "When the industry and educational institutes try to show how attractive the industry is for younger people to work in, do we say maintaining servers is very interesting or do we show BBC workers at the Glastonbury festival plugging in audio and visual feeds and getting this out to people at home?" Wilson asks.
View Full Article

ZuckerbergOnRose_Short.mov
 

Wall Street Journal (12/21/11) Emily Glazer  

Cornell University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology recently funded a new applied-sciences campus on New York City's Roosevelt Island, highlighting the recent boost in popularity of computer science education among students. From 2010 to 2011, the number of declared undergraduate computer science majors at Columbia and New York universities rose 12 percent and 10 percent, respectively. In addition, the number of students enrolled in computer science classes rose between 30 and 50 percent this year over last year, according to university professors. The increase follows a national trend, as computer science majors increased 7.6 percent across the U.S. from 2009 to 2012, according to the Computing Research Association. "People certainly realize [computing] is now getting to be a basic skill in the 21st century," says Queens College's Computer Science Department chair Zhigang Xiang. New York, which has traditionally lagged in terms of technology innovation, is starting to catch up. "New York is really the up-and-coming place because people who don't have traditional technology backgrounds are starting companies in completely different sectors and utilizing technology," says Columbia University computer science student Arvind Srinivasan.

Women in Technology (12/19/11)  

Computer science education should be an essential disciple in the United Kingdom's new national curriculum, and changes should be made to the information and communications technology (ICT) program to encourage more young people to study the subject and pursue information technology (IT) careers, according to the government. The statement from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) comes in response to Nesta's Next Gen report on reforming ICT and computer science education in schools. Launched last January, the new national curriculum will set out the core knowledge that students should acquire, including core subjects such as English, math, and science. The report also considers ways to improve the quality of computer science teachers, such as by offering training scholarships and bonuses. Moreover, Next Gen says video games could be used in schools to get more students interested in IT jobs. The report makes special mention of the success the Computer Club for Girls has achieved in exposing girls to IT, and DCMS believes the program could work with the video-game industry to make IT careers more attractive to girls. The trade body UKIE says the computer science course should be relevant to the industry and ICT skills should be delivered across the wider curriculum.