Express yourself: to the compiler and to your fellow developer.
The keynote speaker at CGO 2012 (Chris Lattner, LLVM) put some crazy thoughts into my head. Want compiler to know about: memory disjointness aliasing Usage of data structures (array of struct vs struct of arrays) whether arithmetic is done on…
Why Grading Sucks
It’s not just that the student provided solutions are unexpectedly “creative” and don’t fit the designed rubric. Nor that they make you wonder “Why am I even trying?”. Nor that they invoke thoughts such as “How did we ever make…
Tricks of the Trade
Today, Howard Rheingold was searching for examples of clear posts in which to use as examples of online communication. One of the respondents identified a really good series set of descriptions answering the question, What is it like to have…
Introverts
Even though extroverts make up the majority of people on this pale blue dot, I happen to feel comfortably at home in academia. The profession seems overwhelmed with introverts. It’s not as if we are shy, or afraid of interaction,…
Don’t Fear the Mistakes
During teaching, there is a fascinating (and unfortunately common) problem: Students are VERY reluctant to suggest an answer, for fear that they might be wrong. Salman Kahn, noticed this phenomenon after he started doing videos for his niece and nephew:…
A Configurable Keyboard
For a long time, I have hated the layout on all keyboards I’ve ever laid hands on. It’s not just that I prefer Dvorak to Qwerty; it’s that the slanting of the rows causes an awkward bending of the left…
Merovingian Neckwear
Somehow, I feel that I betray my cyberpunk heritage because I’ve recently found it entertaining to don extravagant neckwear. But, my recently conducted anthropological expedition has revealed evidence that I am in fact upholding a veritably geek tradition.
Abelard to Apple
I heard through the blogosphere about DeMillo’s book Abelard to Apple. I checked it out from the library, because, if I’m to be self-employed as an educator, I thought it would be useful to get an institutional view of the…
Teaching Consultation
A couple weeks back I substituted as the TA for a discussion section. I was recorded on video, which was reviewed by the Teaching, Learning, & Technology Center. Here are some notes about educational techniques that I took during the…