I’m looking for post AP Exam ideas, suggestions, projects, etc.
So far, I’ve seen: Create a project using a new programming language, Hidden Figures movie w/lessons, Autodesk fusion 360 tutorials for those that have 3D printers, Code.org post AP lessons? - When/Where are these?
I’d love to hear what everyone is doing or fun projects to keep students engaged and interested.
Code.org post AP lessons are at https://studio.code.org/s/csppostap
Those actually look pretty good. I had a few students use the data storage and retrieval commands for their Create app and it was really powerful.
Given our schedule, we have about 3 weeks of classtime left. I’ve given students two options for their final project - they should pick one.
Option A is to produce a film that tells a story about the human impact of some technology in 2027. They can choose the style of film - scifi, mockumentary, action, drama, romcom. They can choose the technology. The focus is on human impact (i.e. nobody has a job because robots took them all, or nobody gets a driver’s license because of self-driving cars). They can work in teams of 2 or 3. They have to produce a story idea and storyboard for my approval before they start filming. The finished films will be shown to the class.
Option B - create a game. They can use whatever programming environment they choose, a lot of my kids will probably use Adobe Flash CS6 because I teach that, and Actionscript is nearly identical to Javascript (with much better graphics create tools). Again, it can be a team project, with game due for class play in 3 weeks.
JR
Even though there are less than three weeks for us to get it done, we dive right into a database application. We have a local marathon that runs on Memorial Day weekend that attracts thousands of runners every year. For the past decade or so, my AP students have created an application that they operate at the event to track runners receiving medical service. It has become a service that the event organizers have grown to rely on, as it is the only way that these athletes can be tracked while they are receiving medical support and the data is returned to the organizers in electronic form afterwards, so that it can help them improve medical services the following year.
Every year the students write the application pretty much from scratch. It’s always a nail biter for me, because I sometimes don’t know if this will be the year that they drop the ball and we don’t have a working application the day of the event, but the students have always risen to the challenge and have pulled it off. It’s a great project and one that no sane person would believe a bunch of high school kids could complete successfully, but obviously they can. These kids do everything, from setting up a secure wireless network, to creating and populating the database and the application and server to interact with it, to actually running the application during the race. I’ve even had students come back after graduation to help out.
This is excellent. Can you post a link to older versions of the app?
Not really, as much of it is a database–typically MySQL or similar. The rest of it is either a webpage (preferred) or a client-based GUI. Here’s a pic of it in action.
–Stephen Barner
I love option A. I added it to a survey with different options to give students a choice and a sense of ownership over our last unit. The majority voted for it. Do you happen to have any resources you can share?
Here’s my project sheet:
"In 2027 you will be working in a job somewhere (or living in your mom’s basement 
). What will technology be like? What do you imagine that future will be ? Will robots have taken all our jobs? Will nobody need a driver’s license? Will we be human/computer cyborgs? Will Cookie Clicker 4.0 be so addictive that it is outlawed?
William Gibson, who brilliantly imagined “cyberspace” in Neuromancer, is my favorite scifi futurist. When asked about the future, he said:
‘The future is already here, it is just not evenly distributed.’
Your job is to form a team of 2 or 3 people (and try to find at least one person with some video production experience). Imagine a specific technology and its potential impact on us 10 years from now, then create a movie about it. The movie will be ~5 minutes in length. It could be an imagined news report, an action film, a comedy, a romance - you decide on the method of story-telling.
Your team will brainstorm to come up with an idea (run by me), create an outline or storyboard (review this with me before you start filming), record your film, edit it (adding music/special effects), and show it to the class. It is due the end of May. This is your final project.
Here’s my rubric:
Collaborative Worker
I LOVE this! It is a great way to incorporate creative writing and thinking into the “impact” portion of the course!
We finished our “what to do after AP exam” video projects. And our seniors have all graduated, leaving me with a handful of juniors, and another week of class. So I am running the “what to do after the what to do after the AP exam project” project. Our school is throwing away a bunch of 7 year old Dells. I’ve had each of my juniors grab one, and I’m leading them through the process of installing Linux (Mint), configuring it, adding Chromium and PyCharm, and learning a bit about running Linux. The kids are having fun, and learning about an O/S that is important in Comp Sci. JR
Nice! That is a great idea to do with a smaller group of students AND a great way to reduce, reuse, recycle! Thanks for sharing!
One of the projects we did was “Advice to Next Year’s APCSP Students”. Here is the winning video. https://www.wevideo.com/view/934462649
