Energizing ECS

Students: Sujeeth Goud Ramagoni, Sam Mazzone

Mentor: Dr. Dennis Brylow

Project Background

Exploring Computer Science (ECS) is an immersive, comprehensive, and year-long research-based program designed for high school students as an introductory-level computer science curriculum. The program not only encompasses a robust curriculum but also includes a teacher professional development component. The primary objective of ECS is to foster inclusivity and encourage wider participation in the field of computing.

Since 2014, Marquette has been at the forefront of promoting the ECS curriculum throughout Wisconsin, leading the charge in ensuring that students have access to this valuable educational resource. However, the rapid evolution of the computer science field, combined with the significant changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic in the classroom environment, has highlighted certain shortcomings in the effectiveness of the latest version of ECS.

To address these challenges and adapt to the current educational landscape, a dedicated project has been initiated. This project aims to deliberately update and rejuvenate various aspects of the ECS curriculum. By incorporating the necessary revisions, the program will be better equipped to meet the demands and overcome the obstacles faced by both students and educators in today's classrooms.

The envisioned updates will allow ECS to remain relevant and impactful, ensuring that students receive a comprehensive and engaging computer science education. Through this initiative, Marquette and its collaborators aim to empower students with the necessary knowledge and skills to excel in the dynamic and ever-evolving world of computer science.

Project Description

As stated in the project background, this initiative began during the summer of 2022. Our initial objective was to develop a website catering to teachers utilizing the ECS curriculum. The primary requirement was to establish an online platform where students could submit their journals. Hence, I dedicated that summer to learning HTML coding and constructing a website that allowed students to navigate through each unit and select the corresponding day to find their journal question. Additionally, the website featured a few other functionalities, such as integration with Google Calendar and a live streaming option, enabling students to collaborate by activating their cameras. The final addition was an online HTML compiler that allowed students to visualize the real-time output of HTML and CSS code. However, many of these website features could be replicated using tools like Google Classroom, lacking a distinct advantage. We needed to devise a unique tool. During the academic year, we conceived the idea of incorporating the existing journal directory and HTML/CSS compiler by introducing an online compiler specifically designed for students to create webpages each day. For instance, on the first day, students would be tasked with creating a basic website about their favorite restaurant. After students have finished, they would be able to submit their finished webpage to the teacher, where the teacher can add comments and send it back to the student. During this summer, I hope to continue to add features to this website, finish the curriculum, and contribute to the Exploring Computer Science initiative.

2022 Goals For Each Week

Week	Description
Week 1	Set milestones and goals for the project duration Meet with project leaders, mentor, and other students Making a list of features that could help improve ECS Discuss project with Dr. Dennis Brylow
Week 2	Evaluate teachers feedback on improvements Start building website based on features from feedback
Week 3	Start building website features such as: Home Page Log In Screen Registration Screen One Activity For Demo
Week 4
Week 5	Start reviewing the progress that has already been made Start live streaming classroom using Agora
Week 6	Continue working on live streaming classroom using Agora Start HTML online compiler If at time at end of week, go back and fix fundamental bugs from previous work
Week 7	Start working on Google Calendar and Google Classroom integration Continue working on bugs from previous work
Week 8	Continue working on Google Calendar integration Start working on Google Classroom integration

2023 Goals For Each Week

Week	Description
Week 1	Set milestones and goals for what needs to get done for the ECS website Meet with project leaders, mentor, and other students Rework existing code to fix bugs and improve efficiency Start planning out how to include new features such as error detection and notifications
Week 2	Read research papers on computer science education, project future, and other relevant topics Start to apply the changes made in test code to each day of the curriculum. Identify errors from new code changes and implement bug fixes.
Week 3	Continue reading research papers on computer science education, project future, and other relevant topics Fix the starter code given to include header information we can now include, such as DOCTYPE, html, head, title and body tags Fix the current instructions for assignments by making them one format. This is so in the future if teachers uploaded their own curriculum, it will be one format. Add instructions in the code to include the header information. Start creating Days 20-25 in curriculum
Week 4	Continue creating Days 23-25 in curriculum (A little sidetracked from Project Future hosted in Milwaukee)
Week 5	Work on fixing the template section on the teacher side of the website. This is where teachers will demonstrate code on the projector to students. (A little sidetracked from Project Future in Connecticut)
Week 6	Start fixing the student submission pages on the teacher side of the website. This is where teachers will see student's submissions.
Week 7	Start reading through all of the curriculum to make sure it makes sense and is accessible for everyone Put the curriculum in the proper teacher correct format. This includes matching the CS standards to each lesson. Fix the database for ineffiencies Implement a notification system so students and teachers can see the progress of their website Implement a sorting feature for teachers to sort through student's responses easier Bug fix for all of the potential errors coming from these changes