Saturday, May 4, 2013, 9 am - noon
Recital Hall, Santa Clara University
On Saturday, May 4, 2013, Santa Clara University will host a contest for students enrolled in Exploring Computer Science at any of the following high schools in the greater San Jose area: Evergreen Valley, Independence, Oak Grove, Pioneer, San Jose, Santa Clara, Santa Teresa, Silver Creek, Wilcox and Willow Glen. The contest will be held from 9 amuntil noon in the Recital Hall of the Music and Dance building on the northwest corner of the SCU campus. Registration information will be distributed in early April.
Each ECS teacher will select four team projects as finalists to represent their school – one each from Units 3-6 of the ECS curriculum (Web Design, Alice Programming, Data Analysis, and LEGO Robotics). Team members must present their project at the contest to qualify for prizes. On the day of the contest, the ECS teachers will serve as judges, but will not judge projects from their own school; all ties will be resolved by SCU project leaders. Prizes will be presented to the winning teams and their schools in each of the four categories as follows:
1st Place: $100 in gift certificates at Round Table Pizza and a plaque for the school
2nd Place: $60 in gift certificates at Round Table Pizza and a plaque for the school
3rd Place: $30 in gift certificates at Round Table Pizza and a plaque for the school
All students competing in the event will receive a certificate honoring their position as finalists in the competition.
Project Guidelines:
Web Site Design: Create a website for your school’s ECS course, a club, or a community organization. Each team must present their project directly from files stored on their own thumb drive. Each team will have a maximum of three minutes to present their project.
Alice Programming: Create an animation to illustrate/demonstrate a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) topic of your choice. Each team must present their Alice project directly from files stored on their own thumb drive. Each team will have a maximum of three minutes to present and run their animation.
Data Analysis and Visualization: Prepare a poster with tables, charts, or graphs to describe an investigation into a subject of your choice. Provide a hypothesis, collect and analyze supporting data, and support your conclusion. Posters may be up to 3’x4’ and will be displayed in the reception area.
LEGO Robotics: Program a LEGO Mindstorm robot to dance to the music of your choice. Music must be provided on a thumb drive in an electronic format that can be played using Windows Media Player. Each team will have a maximum of three minutes to present and demonstrate their dancing robot.
In order to finish by noon, project presentations must occur every five minutes. Note that this only leaves two minutes between presentations, including introductions. The three minute presentation time includes any setup/description by the team as well as the “running” of their entry. Students not on time for their scheduled presentation will be disqualified.
For further information, please contact Dr. Dan Lewis () or Dr. Ruth Davis ().
