"For Now"

So, we all had to say our "goodbyes"... for now. It was great to meet (re-meet) everyone's parents and get to share my appreciation for their son or daughter being a part of COSMOS.

I loved every minute of COSMOS and will miss it even more on Monday. It was a great way to spend my summer - to get to know and work with exceptional students and faculty. We truly had the best cluster faculty - it was evident from Day 1 that they all cared about the students and each other. Teamwork and community were a key part of the success we had. I believe that the students felt that we cared about them because we did! Everyone was a valued person in our cluster community. Joe immediately set that tone from Day 1 - technically, pre-Day 1 when we had our opening day events. I am so appreciative to be allowed to be a part of an awesome team. It was an intellectually and personally growing experience. I know it will help me in my teaching practice this fall and the future. Thank you for allowing me to be your Teacher Fellow. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Congratulations to all of Cluster 1's students in completing their projects and proudly showcasing their work today for everyone. I spent almost all of the Expo morning in the lounge where we had our backboards and EVERYONE was very impressed with our students' work and in awe. Each project got rave reviews. You should be incredibly proud of what you acheived in four weeks time! Congratulations to Albert, Tiffany C. and Ale for receiving scholarships!

Please keep in touch and let me know how you are doing! Remember, you have until the end of September to submit a proposal to COSMOS to receive Intel's Researcher Grant of $500 for a science fair project idea. If you need help, please feel free to contact me! I am more than happy to help. The world needs to benefit from your ideas and hard work. This is one way to get some grant money to do it! You could use your COSMOS experience as a starting point for a future project!

The following are some lyrics from "For Now" from Avenue Q. I thought it fitting - with my sadness about the end of COSMOS (compounded by the end of the San Diego run of Avenue Q tomorrow - yes, I saw it again tonight, one last time here, it made me feel better about the conclusion of COSMOS). This song makes feels me better. As a background, Princeton (the main character) just graduated from college with a B.A. in English. He is trying to find his purpose in life - with no luck. This the final number from the musical and all the characters sing in it.

Why does everything have to be so hard?

Maybe you'll never find your purpose.
Lots of people don't.

But then- I don't know why I'm even alive!

Well, who does, really?
Everyone's a little bit unsatisfied.
Everyone goes 'round a little empty inside.
Take a breath, Look around, Swallow your pride,
For now...

Nothing lasts, Life goes on, Full of surprises.
You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes.
You're going to have to make a few compromises...
For now...

But only for now! (For now)
Only for now! (For now)

For now we're healthy. For now we're employed.
For now we're happy... If not overjoyed.

And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid, for now...

For now...

Only for now! (For now there's life!)
Only for now! (For now there's love!)
Only for now! (For now there's work!)
For now there's happiness! But only for now! (For now discomfort!)
Only for now! (For now there's friendship!)
Only for now (For now!)
Only for now!

Don't stress, Relax,
Let life roll off your backs
Except for death and paying taxes,
Everything in life is only for now!

Each time you smile...
It'll only last a while.
Life may be scary...
But it's only temporary

Everything in life is only for now.


Here's to life being "full of surprises" in the future! I'm sure our paths will cross in the future - perhaps, when that happens, I'll be able to do the brain twister yo-yo trick! Hopefully at next year's Intel International Science and Engineering Fair or California State Science Fair. =)

Presentations and Goodbye...

"The Unknowns"


"The Apocolype"


"The Chick-A-Ds"


"Team Sunset"


"The Juggernauts"


Today was presentation day. The students demonstrated how much they learned from their four weeks here. They showed they came a long way from the first day. I'm proud of them! After presentations and lunch, it was time for the long awaited viewing of everyone's movies! It was great! It was further proof of what can be accomplished by working as a team and what they learned. Students have so much potential and they got to taste was it was like. They have so much more to explore. So much awaits them in their future. I hope they carry this experience forward in the lives - all that they learned both in the classroom and personally.

The Screening of the Movies!

I can't believe COSMOS is done. It has been an absolutely wonderful experience and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I learned a lot and remembered a lot. I got many ideas to use in my classroom in the future. Despite working the last four weeks, I feel invigorated for the Fall. It has been an absolute pleasure and privilege working with everyone - students and faculty. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Thank you all for sharing your lives and talents! It made for a richer experience.
Cluster 1 rules!
Cluster 1 Faculty: Me, Joe, Krista, Wenjing, Ming and Paul. Not pictured: Liz and Tiffany.

Avenue Q!!!!

Each time you smile, it'll only last a while..." -- Avenue Q
I saw Avenue Q tonight! I love this show. My husband says that I'm on a theater high. It renews my spirit. Gives me hope. It's life reaffirming. I love the music, the characters (talk about great character development) and the story. It won the Tony for best musical in 2004. The first stop of the tour is here in San Diego and it's been here for about 5 weeks. It ends on Sunday at 2pm. As two of the characters say in the show, "That makes me sad."

So, last time I saw it, I happened to run into one of the actors in the show as we were leaving the theater. I said "hi" to him and told him how much we enjoyed the show. But that was it. So, this time, we walked over to the side where they exit, which is on our way to the parking garage, and a few of the actors were already out. I got to meet Robert McClure, Minglie Chen, and Christian Anderson from the show. Robert plays the lead character Princeton as well as Rod. Minglie plays lots of different characters such as Mrs. T and Bear. Christian plays Trekkie Monster and Nicky, among others. They have my utmost respect and admiration. They not only sing, dance and act, but they also have to be puppeteers. They do such a wonderful job having their emotions and body language carry over to the puppets that they play/hold/act with. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I talked with Robert a bit, he's my favorite. I am in awe of him - so talented. He plays two COMPLETELY different characters and you quickly differentiate the two, despite seeing him man both (often at separate times on stage, however there are occasions where both his characters are on stage). Anyway, I also got their autographs on the Playbill for the show and a picture. This is the first time I ever got a picture with the actors from a theater show I saw. I'm getting "fearless" in my "old age". My philosophy has become, it never hurts to ask! Anyway, here is my picture! =)

From left to right: Christian, Robert, me and Minglie.


From left to right: Rod, Princeton and Lucy. Robert plays both Rod and Princeton.


Alright, on to COSMOS stuff. The students finished A LOT of stuff today - their backboards and movie. I'm very proud of how their backboards have turned out. We practiced their presentations and videotaped their practice. I hope they practice, it will only improve their presentation. I saw some of their videos and I loved them. The creativity and hard work put into the videos are apparent. I know they put in a lot of time and energy -- you will see it paid off! You should be proud of all you did. Everyone accomplished a lot in a short period of time.

So, one of the quotes I opened with "Each time you smile, it will only last a while...". I love this quote. It's from the song "For Now" from the show. "Everything in life, is only for now." Now, if we told students at the beginning of COSMOS that you'd be sad for a little while, that the uncomfortableness would only last a while, they probably wouldn't have believed us. Even if some of that remained throughout COSMOS, COSMOS is "temporary". It's only four weeks of their lives - an important four weeks mind you - but they will return to the comfort zone soon enough. Very soon! If you think about it, we are only "happy" for a while. Everything comes in waves, big waves, small waves, still waves. But smiles will come again! Because sadness/frustation/indifference/etc. only lasts a while. It's reassuring. I guess I look at it as "glass is half full".

Look! It's a new month!

Oh my gosh, it's August already! That tends to happen the day after my birthday. =) It still amazes me that its already August, that means the summer is almost over. I report back to school at the end of the month. I actually go back about a week earlier than that for Link Crew training. If you don't know what Link Crew is, it is a when current juniors and seniors "link" with incoming freshmen (and sophomores in our school as well) to do orientation. The juniors and seniors are trained on icebreaker activities, give the campus tour, do orientation activities, etc. We (the class advisors -- the Junior Class Advisor) train the Link Leaders before the registration day for the incoming students. It's a great "club". The juniors and seniors have been nominated by their teachers, so it's great students. They have a lot of fun as well.

It's been media authoring all day. They have lots of work to do before the deadline tomorrow. It's really coming along. I'm so impressed with all of their work. They have come a long way from the first day of COSMOS -- both in content and their personal growth.

I've reviewed all their materials for their backboard. Good foundations. I provided feedback and their backboard is due tomorrow.

Beth Simon came in and discussed metacognition today. I thought it was very cool how it was tied to CS. I'd be interested in doing that research for my PhD work. Hmmm... I found her page on the UCSD and will read the papers that were listed. They all seem fascinating to me. It's a blend of my CS and education backgrounds. In the future, when I move on from teaching at the high school level, I'd love to teach at a university. I don't have any interest in switching high schools, but when I feel it's time to move on, I'll look at university/college positions. I've occasionally looked at what I would need to position myself eligible for it, so it's been in the back of my mind as I further my own education. I would love to teach at UCSD one day. I wonder what I would have to do to accomplish that goal - and what department would it be in? I guess I have to figure that part out first, before anything else. So, basic goal is there, I just have to focus it a little more so I can hit that target.

Today is yo-yo-ing Part 2. I'm excited. I've been practicing. I've been able to do the brain twister twice! Not that anyone saw me, so there are no witnesses. But believe me, I was shocked that I pulled it off --- all the way! Since then, I've gotten about half way through the trick.

July 31

Today started with a Discovery Lecture on art and technology. It reminded me of a NUMB3RS episode called "Provenance". Charlie (the mathematician) used mathematical analysis to determine the authenticity of a piece of art that was stolen. This is what imdb.com has as the episode description: "The robbery of a painting that unexpectedly turned to murder, has the team exploring a disputed provenance and possible insurance fraud." It's a powerful episode about not only math and how it can be applied in the art world, but history and the Holocaust.

Students got time today to work on their backboard presentations. Many were doing revisions after my "lecture" on backboards. I showed them pictures of my backboard for my master's presentation. I really do practice what I preach. I firmly believe that if I expect my students to do something, I should do it too. It's a two way street.

The day ended with a wonderful surprise. They threw me a surprise party. Today is my birthday. Joe and Krista pulled off a wonderful thoughtful surprise. We had cake and drinks. Cluster 1 is the best cluster. I don't see us just as faculty and students - we are a community. It's evident in the offering of extra-curricular activities for our "Computer Scientists are Real People Too", in the participation by students and faculty, and the little things - that mean big things like today. Thank you so much to everyone. It made my birthday all the more special.

This evening, I went out to dinner with my husband and my parents. We went to Mimi's Cafe. One of the nice things about that restuarant is the bread you get when you sit down -- a french sourdough and carrot bread. Not all together in on loaf, two separate ones. Yummy. My mom mentioned to some people at her work that it was my birthday, and they asked her, "How old is she?" She simply replied - "She's all grown up." Giving them my age will give them a frame of reference for hers. Why would she want to do that? Especially when she looks younger than she is! =)

Music!

"Music! Food of love, emotion, mathematics, isolation,
Rhythm, power, feeling, harmony, and heavy competition" - Rent

So, today's extra-curricular activity for "Computer Scientists are Real People Too" was Karaoke Revolution, Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and Guitar Hero games for the PS2. Not only was it music - but it was Computer Science in action! It was a lot of fun. Just see for yourself!

DDR and Karaoke all-in-one! No one wanted to try both at the same time! So, we made it a two player effort!


Guitar Hero!



DDR was played by all: those who loved the game, and those who did it for the first time! I hope everyone who wanted to play got a chance!

I had a blast! It's always fun to play these games, especially in a group. Everyone was so encouraging and supportive - even for those of us (i.e. me) who can't seem to dance and trip over ourselves when we try to play. I think that says a lot about our cluster -- supportive and encouraging of others, such truly wonderful qualities. The applause and laughter was all done in good spirits. Like I said, I had a blast!

Yesterday, I went and painted pottery. It was a lot of fun. After, we picked up dinner and karaoked (is that a word? Well, it is now!). I'll see how they turn out in about a week after they are "baked" and "kilned" (I think that's the word). Anyway, I painted a square plate with blues and purples and some yellow. No real design, just abstract I guess. I made up my design/pattern. I'll put up a picture when I get it back. I should have taken a "before" picture, but I didn't. But here are some of my friends and family at Color Me Mine.

My mom painting a very intricate design. She did an AWESOME job! I'm so proud of her!


My friends Shane and Ana. Shane made a "matching" (when you handpaint something, doesn't come out exactly the same, but it came out pretty darn close!) set of mugs. Ana painted a "box" that was flip flops. Very cute, she drew her own butterfly on it.


My friends Sarah and Donna. Sarah painted a big seahorse (she did an awesome job) and her mom Donna painted a soap dish with little duckies on it and a horse - very cool, I think that when it's baked it will look great!

Today was the first time I ate at the Price Center since I went here as an undergrad. My brother (who doesn't live here) was down for the weekend for my birthday. Since he'll miss my birthday tomorrow, he stayed an extra day and we had lunch. It is always great spending time with him.

I had a great weekend and Monday was a lot of fun. Today was how Mondays should be!

Three Fridays Down... Wow!

July 27th, 3:20pm, Pacific Standard Time, I can't believe three weeks went by so fast. I'm reminded of the line from Rent, "December 24th, 10pm, Eastern Standard Time, Can't believe a year went by so fast." The next line is, "Time to see what we have, time to see, turn the projector on..." Of course, that's for next Friday. =) I should have saved that for next week. Oh well.

They have spent all day working on their videos and presentation. Several groups had a chance to go to the media center here on campus to film with a blue screen. The footage that the groups have so far are very cool. I'm anxious to see their finished work.

Today, I'm taking the Juggernauts and the Unknowns to the movies. This will be a late night for me. I'm not much for going out at night. When I do, it tends to be to the theater, not the movies or anything. The idea that I'll be out until 10pm at least already exhausts me. But the groups deserve it and I want to reward their good work.

I'll practice this weekend with my yo-yo. Hopefully, I won't hurt my hand or arm again. Who needs to lift weights or do bicep curls when you can yo-yo? That's what's working out my bicep. Of course, only one arm is getting worked out, so I'll be lop-sided. Oh well.

My plans for the weekend... I'm doing a "Girls Day Out" where we will go to Color Me Mine and paint ceramics. It's a combination of "Girls Day Out" and my birthday. If people are interested, we're going to karaoke afterwards. Then I'll get to bring karaoke to COSMOS on Monday. Yea! I think it will be fun!

Down... and up?

So, today was our yo-yo lesson from Liz. Very cool! I had a lot of fun! Although, my yo-yo would go down and not necessarily come back up. I had a few moments of success for a couple of the tricks, but I couldn't replicate it. It'll take practice. It's funny because I seem to put my whole body into trying to yo-yo. I know I don't have to throw in everything, but it order to attempt to get momentum going, I find myself putting my shoulder, back, etc. into it. I'm not very coordinated, so I think that's why I do that. As I was practicing just now, I hurt my hand -- I got so much momentum going that when the yo-yo came back up, it hurt! =) Ming had to have gotten some great pictures of all of us attempting yo-yo tricks.

The storyboards and scripts that the teams have come up with look great! I'm excited to see their final product. They are making good progress with the pre-production portion.

So, I announced today the winning teams for the invention proposal. The Juggernauts' iWish invention and the Unknowns iPoo product were the recipients of the "grant" from C.A.S.H. We will go to the movies tomorrow as their prize.

Thank you so much to Liz for teaching us how to yo-yo. I'm sure I'll be asking you questions next week. Thank you Joe for getting us the yo-yos! I appreciate what you both have done! Next up for the "Real People" series will be a Guitar Hero and Karaoke Revolution (American Idol style) activity. Music is a big part of many people's lives. This should be fun! Laughs I pretty much guarenteed! =)

AHH!!

So, I had a very long "to-do" list for tonight. And this was on it. Then of course, I get side tracked because my DVD-CD drive didn't work and my NEW computer kept telling me that the driver wasn't installed properly. (SIGH!) So, after trying to track down my problem on my own - to no avail, I discovered that Gateway had a chat support on their website. What was wonderful about it was that they were still supporting it at 11pm! What I loved about it was that I didn't have to talk to people out of the country for tech support. Nothing (well almost nothing) drives me crazy more than calling tech support when I've tried MANY different ways to solve the problem (and when I call, it's a real problem, not something that is easily fixed) and they tell me (well read to me from their book) what to click and do, when it was in fact the first thing I did and I told them that I had already done that. This time, it wasn't like that, thankfully. I got the feeling that they've had this issue before and just KNEW what to do -- and it was a real tech support person, not a guy/girl sitting in front of book to read me a script. In a few minutes, it was fixed. Of course, this doesn't explain why it was 11pm and I still hadn't blogged. That's because I was still tweaking my lesson for tomorrow. I kept getting different ideas and working things out. The last part needed my DVD drive, that's when I discovered that it didn't work. But it does now. Whew! When I thought that the alternative was for me to bring two laptops tomorrow to class, I wanted to cry.

Anyhow, my lesson is all set for tomorrow, although I know I'll keep getting ideas - I always do. To me, teaching is like engineering... so many different ways to get to a "solution" or "output" which allows me to be creative. It is my hope that the students find it useful and it provides a good foundation for their final projects.

Today the students showed the short videos of 1-2 minutes. It was great to see what they were able to put together. The transformer and stop motion effects that the Juggernauts did was hysterical! Chick-a-dee's video on Petco Park (from their Padre game outing to our field trip) was really cool and captured the events so well!

In the afternoon, Joe did a lesson on combinatorics. I love combinatorics. It was one of my favorite classes in college! I always digress from my lessons for a day or so when I get to a topic that involves combinatorics. My students get a crash lesson on it. It's great fun! One of my favorites to introduce to the students is the ice cream problem. You go to your favorite ice cream place and you can't make up your mind. The employee looks at you impatiently and you feel a little pressured to make up your mind immediately. How can you? You have THOUSANDS of combinations to choose from: small? medium? large? one scoop? two scoops? flavors? toppings? mix-ins? cup? cone? It's a wonder we don't stand there for hours trying to decide! Since I teach Statistics (which includes at least a full chapter on Probability) I get to incorporate lots of different activities which involves combinatorics. Great fun I tell you!

Well, it's way past my bedtime, but I had to blog before I went to bed. What kind of teacher would I be if I didn't do what I expected my students to do? I do my best to abide by the expectations that are set before them. That's only fair. We are all in it together. One cluster. One community! Cluster One.

Ok. That's was officially goofy. Time for sleep.

Wow! Cool! Very Cool!

Wow! The lecture by Dr. Geist on Dark Matter / Dark Energy was very interesting. I took my fair share of Physics at UCSD as an undergrad, and it always was very interesting to me and mindblowing. This reinvigorated my interest in it. The idea that when we see something 14 million light years away, it was a "picture" from 14 million years ago. I never really thought about it. So, if we (anyone at their planet) look out and see a planet or something that far away, it's possible that life exists and has evolved, but we're seeing a VERY OLD picture of it giving us the initial impression that we're the only ones existing. Did that make sense? Anyhow, I'm sitting here watching Star Trek: The Next Generation at the same time thinking about it and it's all pretty cool.

Cool! Students presented their inventions to C.A.S.H. (that's the Committee for the Advancement of Scientific Humor, which today consisted of myself and a math teacher friend of mine, Ana). It was fun, engaging -- I loved how every group had questions asked of them from the others -- and a different way for them to think on their feet and present their work. Ana was impressed with everyone. The written proposals will be reviewed prior to the grant being awarded. Everyone did a wonderful job and I could tell thought and creativity was put into it -- even with procrastination. Thank you to Ana who came out and found us at Center Hall (this is a great feat because she found it with my directions -- and I'm directionally challenged!).

Very Cool! Petco Park - behind the scenes! It was very cool! I have always loved seeing behind the scene stuff. It was a rare treat to sit in the dugout. I got video footage of most of the tour. My regular digital camera is officially dead I think. I guess I'll have to ask for one for my birthday, but it might be too late to add to that list since it's in a week. I'll have to download that video and create pictures from it. It was fascinating to me to see all the video and audio technology that is put into producing the game. I loved how he showed a script from a past game. It reiterated the importance of a script to them - even with a live sports game! The concept of team work, not just on the field but in the booth!

Thank you Joe for arranging this wonderful field trip! I know we all will remember this - and will make others jealous of our opportunity!

Monday, July 23

On Saturday, I saw Hairspray! It was great! As I mentioned before, I haven't see the 1988 movie, I've only seen the stage version. This movie is definitely based on the stage version. The cast was wonderful.

On Sunday, some of us went to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. It's been awhile since I've been there. It's full of fun hands-on activities. I think those that went had a good time. Sonia and Patricia got some good pictures/videos.

Today was Media Programming and Beyond Media Computing. Lots of information and learning going on! Wow! Logic gates, very cool. I thought the simulation and "gate building" were great activities! I wish we had more time to work on them. Hopefully, we'll have some time tomorrow in my class to work on that. Some students asked if they could have more practice and help with it. In Media Programming, some time has passed since they last programmed in Jython.

Tomorrow is our next installment of the Discovery Lecture Series. Then, students will present their proposals for their inventions to "C.A.S.H." I'm excited to see their work. It will allow them to demonstrate creativity, write a proposal, create a backboard, presentation skills, and media authoring abilities. One team will be awarded the mock grant from C.A.S.H.

My camera is not working. I was taking pictures at the Science Center, then a few minutes later, it wouldn't. I'm bummed. I got to figure out what's going on. I want to take pictures during the field trip to Petco Park tomorrow and during their presentations.

Friday, July 20

Today the latest movie version of "Hairspray" comes out. I know lots of people are excited about tonight because Harry Potter comes out, but I'm excited about "Hairspray." I saw the musical at the Civic Theater last month, which was timely since the movie opened about 6 weeks after I saw it on stage. If you are not into musicals, just think of this... John Travolta plays the MOTHER of the lead character (that's him in the top right corner of the poster). Anyway, it's a great story with wonderful, funny, catchy music about being who you are, breaking down barriers and stereotypes.

I am anxious to see the students' projects next week -- the CASH "invention" project and their 1-2 video for Paul's thread. The beginnings I saw on some of their computers intrigues me.

Sunday we have our Science Center trip. It's too bad we couldn't schedule it when it wasn't family visitation day so more of the students who wanted to go could go. But family is important. It will be good for them to catch up and see some of the stuff that the students have been working on and see their room and stuff. Maybe students from the other clusters will be interested in coming along - those that don't have family visiting. I have a student that is attending at UCSC's COSMOS. I don't know if his family would be able to go there to visit - it's a long drive. I hope he's have a great time, meeting fun and interesting people and learning new things.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I'm still trying to think of a prize for the best "invention." I got some ideas from the students today. I'll keep thinking...

Presentations & C.A.S.H. Projects

This is a display that was in the lobby at Avenue Q, playing at the Spreckles Theater in San Diego. The national tour starts HERE! Which one is real picture of me and which two faces of me were Photoshopped in?

The students had two presentations to do today in my Science Communication class: two important concepts in the movie making process and a Photoshop technique they used in their postcard. They did a good job conveying content. Some were really great presenters - making eye contact, asking questions of the audience and projecting their voices. With a little more practice, they will be ready for the final presentations. They have demonstrated that they are learning quite a lot! In listening to their presentations, most of them reiterated that pre-production is important. That was what they found the most important thing to share. Many talked about scripting and storyboarding. Which is great because that's what they'll do for their final projects and THEY'VE discovered/learned that it's important due to their own research - not just me saying so.

So, their next presentation/project is to write a proposal for an invention or experiement - demonstrating the use of engineering methodologies or the scientific method. They are not to do the experiment or create the invention - just dream up a "fake" one. They will be presenting to C.A.S.H - the Committee for the Advancement of Scientific Humor. They are supposed to have fun with it and come up with something that would implement scientific/engineering principles. No real cash involved, but I think I'll come up with a prize for the best "invention" or "experiment". In the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair (GSDSEF), we call these "fake" projects. On the surface, they look real and follow the scientific method (good practice), but it's meant for fun. I shared the story of one of the fake projects done when I was in high school -- "Urine Content in Mission Bay". It looked real, the experimentation looked authentic, but the data and conclusions were all made up. Essentially, it said that within 1/10 a mile of the shore, the bay was 99% urine. Of course, that wasn't true, but to the layperson, it sure looked real. The Student Advisory Board (SAB) for the GSDSEF has great fun flexing their presentation and scientific and engineering methodologies creating the CASH projects.

I'm trying to think of what kind of prize to offer the proposal and presentation team that "wins." Sort of like the award or "grant" they would win if it were real. I wonder if they have microwaves in the residence halls. Hmm...

Finally, sorry to my Cluster 1 students if I wasn't quite my peppy self today. I woke up with a headache. I haven't been drinking enough water the last few days apparently and I'm prone to dehyrdation headaches. By the time I realized that I was starting to suffer yesterday, it was hard to cut off what was inevitable. So, a lesson to everyone -- drink plenty of water!!! It's warm, especially with all the walking in the sun we do here at COSMOS. You may not realize you are losing water, but you are. Maybe now, it manifests itself as being tired, but it could get worse. Drink water - otherwise you're forcing yourself to drink water and the thought of it makes you want to throw up. Anyhow, I'll be more myself tomorrow -- that's the plan!

Wednesday...

CSE 4th Floor Hallway - Reminds of those mirror in a mirror reflections.

Today was all programming, all day. Very cool. It was wonderful seeing the functions that the students wrote. We had a "gallery walk" of their transformations and the "before" picture. The students wrote the name of the picture and we mixed them all up and so, they did their transformation on someone else's picture. I think everyone got a kick out of seeing what other people did to their photo.

Tiffany had a hard copy of their postcards stamped today. It was wonderful seeing them in print. They did such wonderful jobs! The creativity and innovation! =)

I stopped by the Bookstore after class today and ran into some students from Cluster 1 (the best cluster at COSMOS!). Not sure if anyone bought anything. I didn't - I was looking for license plate frames and diploma frames. I finally found a "Jacobs School of Engineering" Alumni frame that I think I might get next time. When I graduated from UCSD, I got a diploma holder that was more like a picture frame. I just graduated and I didn't see spending a lot of money on the "nice" mounted frames. When I got my master's, I decided I wanted a nice mounted frame. So, I ordered one. Of course, I'm still awaiting the actual diploma to put in it, should come in next month. But now, I can't have my master's diploma and undergraduate diploma in two completely different looking frames. So, after all these years, I'm finally "upgrading".

Tuesday, July 17

We attended our first Discovery Lecture today (we missed the first one because our field trip to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center for a seminar). I thought it was a cool topic: "Transforming Men into Mice: Genome Rearrangement in Cancer and Evolution". It seems that humans and mice have an ancestral connection, from millions of years ago. There was a computer science connection to it too! I couldn't help but think how cool it would be to develop the simulation for genome evolution. The wheels in my head were turning.

I can't it going to be Wednesday already. Time sure flies. There is so much to do. Today we learned how to use the abacus and the slide rule. I thought it was so cool! I had a great time and I think the students did as well. It was like a big puzzle. I couldn't help but think that if we taught the abacus in school, students would have a better grasp of math. It would definitely help with understanding math. I want to teach a lesson or two about the abacus to my classes in the fall! I think it's also great for logic and algorithms. I'm a nerd, what can I say! =) I see math and CS everywhere! I know I said that in an earlier blog.

I went to Rubios for dinner tonight - it's $1 fish taco night. A couple different police officers decided to have their dinner break there. As I saw one of the police cars pull into the parking lot, I couldn't help but think - how cool it would be to see the software running (and how it was designed) in their cars.

I used to work for a company that provided software solutions for the retail industry. The receipts are nothing but printouts. So, if you think about, the software has to automatically handle the fact that the DAY is Tuesday, from whatever time to whatever time and change the price to $1 from $1.99. The software must allow for overrides, for when you ordered something during the timeframe, but the server/cashier entered it into their system after the timeframe. I think of these things... CS is everywhere. =)

July 16

Week two is officially underway! The students have earned the trust and responsibility to walk to and from the residential halls and class. Some discovered CUPS (the coffee/food stand) near the CSE building, and entered class this morning with frappachino type drinks. Most of the students opted to eat at the Price Center today. I can kind of understand why, but free food at Cafe Ventanas, is still free food. As free food goes, it's not bad. I know they are getting tired of eating at the same place everyday, every meal. However, as our Cluster TA Tiffany put it, "When you go to college, you'll eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same place for a year!" Spending approximately $7 everyday for lunch for the next three weeks, seems like a lot to me. I don't mind the walk to Cafe Ventanas, I'm getting used to it. I know I don't have to walk back and forth several times a day, so my perspective is different -- but it's free! I would rather spend my money shopping or for activities. Between the coffee drinks and lunch everyday, I'd go broke really fast!

In class today, Paul, Ming and Tiffany showed the students how to use Adobe Photoshop and Preimer. Their project today was to make a postcard of their COSMOS experience. I was wonderful to see the creativity of the students and see how they are applying what they've been taught. I loved seeing their postcards. They had to explain what they did in their postcards to make it. I asked them to write down those concepts/techniques. We'll use this information for an activity this week.

I'm excited about this week. We're really into the "meat and potatoes" of the cluster. I'm going to do more on presentation skills this week. I hope to give the students lots of practice before the final projects and presentations. So many ideas, so little time...

COSMOS Olympics

So, last night was the COSMOS Olympics. I think it was fun. It was great seeing all the students having fun, laughing and enjoying themselves. Below is a picture of the end of the relay for the mummy wrap event. I've never been wrapped up in toilet paper before. Thank goodness it was clean! =)
Mummy wrap! No, that's not a new take of sandwich!
You can't help but have a good time and laugh at yourself when you are being wrapped up as quickly as possible. Now, that's team building! =) I don't think they realized it but they were applying algorithms and important skills for computer science in their olympic events and how they carried it out. I'm so proud of them! Again, math and computer science is everywhere!



It's Christmas in July - Cluster 1

Math and (therefore) Computer Science is Everywhere!

Today was my first leading a session. We talked about the course goals, compared and contrasted the posters in the CSE building and science fair backboards that I brought in. We discussed their project a bit, how we learn and communication. I think some of the students were surprised at how much of communication is nonverbal and how important it is to use the body language and tone of voice to convey ideas and findings. Their first research paper is due Monday night, emailed to me. It is about the structure of a movie. This is to help them start pre-planning what it takes to make a movie for their final project. It was important to me to have them research a relevant topic for the cluster. This is our first step in working toward the final project.

I enjoyed Krista's discussion today. AI is a fascinating topic. It is interesting how the movies cause/help us think about the ramifications of it and maybe cause some fear. It's funny how "I, Robot" came up in the discussion because I just re-watched it last night. A friend came over to hang out and we told her to pick a movie and that's what she picked. Another example of how "It's a small world" and funny how things in life intersect! The students came up with a good list and ideas of where AI is, and where Computer Science is. We talked about that some in my section too. At least, I imparted by thoughts on how its everywhere, even if the fan in the window doesn't "use" computer science, CS was used to design and create it!

Today is the COSMOS Olympics. I asked the cluster to do the cheer today before lunch, and they didn't want to. They said that I had to come tonight to see it. I'll be there -- with my video camera!

UCSD and VM (that's Veronica Mars)

Do you notice the UCSD Library behind Veronica?
It's funny that a couple days ago, I mentioned Veronica Mars in my blog. Last night was the episode that was filmed at UCSD - specifically, in front of the CSE building. Our home away from home for the next four weeks.



See the CSE building behind Logan?

As one of the songs says from one of my favorite places on earth... "It's a small world". See how things in life can intersect?
*Photos above from Jason-Dohring.com. Veronica Mars, Season 3, Episode 9 "Spit and Eggs"

Wow! Today was filled with lots of cool stuff! I love base conversions! I think by the end of Christine's lesson, all the students got it. They started playing with Python a bit. I think they are starting to get a feel of instructions. In the afternoon, they worked with Photoshop. I liked the activities that were planned for them. It gave them great exposure to the application and its functionality. I got a chance to review my own skills with Photoshop.

Tomorrow is our first science (and engineering) communication class. I have lots of ideas and plans. In some cases, three hours is a lot of time, and in another light, it's not. I'm excited. Then in the evening is the COSMOS olympics. I'll be there to cheer on my cluster!

July 10 - First field trip and more

What an event filled day! We went to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Theater for a seminar. The featured speaker was absent, but I think it was a good discussion. I loved that some of our COSMOS students participated in the discussion. What was additionally interesting, was that I got to drive a 2008 Expedition. That was an interesting experience. Until then, the biggest thing that I've driven was a mini-van. The Expedition was really easy to handle. I'm glad that I didn't know that before I shopping for a car. =)

We got back with plenty of time for lunch. Boy, they really pile on the food there, even when you say you only want one pasta shell. Today is first posting the students will place on the discussion board. I'm interested in seeing what they thought about the discussion. I wish we had more time to spend in Balboa Park and specifically the Science Center. At least they had a quick chance to take some pictures on our way to the Science Center.

Great lecture today. I thought it was great that it illicted their thinking and have them share. Socratic seminar is a great thing! Really made them think and gave me good ideas!

Big version of my picture

This is entire photo that I cropped my picture. As I mentioned in my staff description, one of my favorite shows is Veronica Mars. I suppose, I should say "was" since it will not return this Fall. That is a HUGE shame. It was one of the sharpest and smartest shows in a while. This picture was from a cast signing in August, 2006. It's me and "my boys". =) From left to right: Jason Dohring ("Logan Echolls"), Percy Daggs III ("Wallace Fennel"), ME!, and Ryan Hansen ("Dick Casablancas"). The one on the far left (Jason) is my favorite and will be in a new show on CBS called Moonlight in the Fall. With Veronica Mars not returning, at least I'll be able to see him in a weekly show. I do have the DVDs, so I will always have that... =)

First Day

I am very excited about COSMOS. It was great to meet everyone. I like today's icebreaker -- got us to really get up and moving and talking with one another. It was already interesting to see some of the pictures that were taken just today.

I'm glad I bought new walking shoes for this! It's been awhile since I've walked all over UCSD. I think that after a few days those hills between CSE and Cafe Ventanas won't seem so bad for any of us. It will balance out the brownies and fried chicken strips for lunch. One of my goals for the summer was to walk more, I definitely will now!