Why create this research project?
When I was growing up, my parents pushed me to be the best that I could be. And when I was in high school that entailed looking into the future and really getting to know life beyond high school. They wanted me to research what I wanted to do in life and where it could take me. As a teacher, I feel the same way. I want to guide my students to see what their future could hold.
So, I created this project – “Future in Computer Science – Research Project – Using Latex” to do just that.
Not computer science class specific
Teachers can use this resource in any computer science class. I use it with my juniors and seniors in the AP® classes; however, I feel like it would be just as beneficial for freshman and sophomores.
What does this research project entail?
There are several parts to this project – 5 to be exact and each of the parts have a corresponding rubric with a points breakdown.
- Learn about Latex and how to code basic commands.
- Research colleges and universities that have computer science majors.
- Computer science internships.
- Resume creation.
- Learn Beamer and present what you have learned.
Part 1 – Learn Latex
The first part is essential to the rest of the project. Students will learn how to use Latex by watching a series of YouTube videos. Once complete, they will program/recreate a given document.
Part 2 – Research Schools
The second part is where the research begins. Students will find colleges and universities that offer computer science majors. They have to justify why they believe the colleges they choose are a good fit for them. The reasons could be cost, location, extracurricular activities, etc. Students also have to complete 1 essay question for 2 of the 5 schools they choose. Some example essay questions are listed in the file.
Part 3 – Research Internships
Students will research internships where they can improve their computer science skills either now or once they get into college. Therefore, they will find 3 opportunities and justify why they chose those options.
Part 4 – Resume Creation
As an upperclassman teacher, I have students who are applying to college or internships. I ask them for a resume before writing any recommendation letters, so that I can write the best recommendation possible. Some students are not sure what a resume looks like, so this is a great way to get students to already have one.
The students can use pre-made templates or create their own.
Part 5 – Beamer Presentation
This part is the conclusion for the project andIt is a presentation that the students will create to present what they learned throughout the project. The presentation is also created in Latex, which creates a “Beamer” presentation, so, the project gives them YouTube videos to help this process.
Below are several images of the different “Beamer” presentation formats.
Why do I have them use Latex?
I was first introduced to Latex as a sophomore in college, where there was a special math class to teach me how to use it and program with it. From then on, it was expected that when we wrote mathematical papers, we needed to use Latex. It is also a very fast and easy way to write formulas.
When I did my honors thesis in undergrad at ETSU, titled Modeling Antibiotic Resistance when Adding a New Antibiotic to a Hospital Setting, it combined Matlab programming (Fortran) with a system of differential equations to model antibiotic resistance in a hospital setting. Therefore, latex is extremely beneficial to any subject matter, not just computer science.
Pacing
I gave this as an assignment while on maternity leave last year and it took about a month to do. I think it could go faster if need be or slower, so the pacing is completely up to the teacher implementing the project.
Try it out!
Let me know what you think!
Please drop a comment letting me know how you and your students like the project!
Something else you might like…
Check out this blog post about why commenting program code is important! >> Click here!
