"While the Mars Curiosity rover is the most complex machine NASA has ever sent to another planet, the computer that runs it is no more powerful than the one in your smartphone."

"The Java Bridge is Java code equivalents for all the app inventor components. It is a high-level Android library for rapid development of apps."

"Adding a solid-state drive (SSD) to your computer is simply the best upgrade at your disposal, capable of speeding up your computer in ways you hadn't thought possible. The even better news: A good SSD is now cheaper than ever. But as with any new technology, there's plenty to learn. Here's everything you should know about your SSD, whether you're interested in upgrading or just like to know the ins and outs of your hardware."

"Python is a powerful and expressive language that has very simple syntax. If you're unsure of which programming language to learn, Python is a great choice. The language is used in a variety of disciplines: application, web, and game development. Python can do it all. Courses are based on Python 2.7.3."

MinecraftEdu is the collaboration of a small team of educators and programmers from the United States and Finland. We are working with Mojang AB of Sweden, the creators of Minecraft, to make the game affordable and accessible to schools everywhere. We have also created a suite of tools that make it easy to unlock the power of Minecraft in YOUR classroom.

Educators have been tapping into the wildly popular online game Minecraft for its potential as a learning tool for a while now - to teach physics, math, and computer science. But until recently, the game was mostly the territory of computer science teachers, and even they were forced to use the commercial version of the online game. So a few months ago, two teachers, Santeri Koivisto and Joel Levin, decided to make the software more accessible and relevant to teachers. They joined forces to found MinecraftEdu and started offering discounted educator licenses to Minecraft.

Speaker Presentations and Keynotes from the 2012 CS & IT Symposium ACSE members, you may wish to have a look at some of these presentations! 

The Nifty Assignments session at the annual SIGCSE meeting is all about gathering and distributing great assignment ideas and their materials

Applications, games, tools and tutorials for the HTML5 canvas element. 

 Oracle Academy prepares students for 21st century careers and provides teachers with world-class training and professional development opportunities.

This is the new home for App Inventor programming. Material at their old site will be moving here.

This is MIT's official site for resources related to using App Inventor in the classroom.

So you've got a kickass computer, but the summer heat means a warmer office, which means a hotter computer, which explains why your computer's been impersonating a jet engine lately. If your computer's generating a bit too much heat and noise, here's how to give its cooling system an overhaul for cool, silent operation.

If you've ever built your own PC, you know it can be a rewarding and cost-saving experience. But unless you're really fluent in pin counts and socket shapes, remembering which pieces go where requires a lot of Googling. Reddit user Proteon shared a fantastic image that itemizes all the ports, connectors, sockets, cards, slots and cables you'll need to identify when piecing your baby together. The valuable resource quickly reached the front page of /r/pics, and Redditor zeug666 pointed out in the comments that the poster was created by deviantART user Sonic840. There's a larger and more up-to-date version on his profile which we present to you here.

You've heard the word "server" thrown around a lot, but usually in the context of web sites or big companies that have a lot of data to store. In reality, a server can be just as useful in your home. In this guide, we'll walk through how to create your own server at home that you can put in the closet and leave on 24/7, ready to do any streaming, downloading, or backup you might need at a moment's notice.

Welcome! In all likelihood, you have come to this site to find out more about the exciting field of computing. The goal of this web site is to provide additional details that will help you prepare for a career in this area. In particular, we hope this site can help you decide how to develop the skills you need to be successful in a computing career - a journey that ordinarily begins with an undergraduate degree in a computing-related discipline. To find out more about the world of computing, click on the links at the left of this page.

Last week Doug Peterson pointed me to an article called "Let's not call it computer science if we really mean computer programming." My initial reaction was "Let's not call it computer programming if we really mean software engineering."  Really the author was talking more about the difference between CS and SE than much else.The ACM has a great Computing Careers web site which lists a number of computing fields and degrees. I recommend this series to teachers and guidance councilors all the time. They list five different degree paths:

Think Java is an introduction to Java programming for beginners. It is tailored for students preparing for the Computer Science Advanced Placement (AP) Exam, but it is for anyone who wants to learn Java.

Every day, more and more teachers are using the world-building game Minecraft to engage and educate. The game is a true phenomenon and gamers young and old are using it in countless creative ways. Practitioners of Games Based Education have realized the potential and have embraced Minecraft in classrooms around the world. Now you can too!