Hello folks,
I'm back to the midnight game!

thats the only way to do it

Hi Raggedy,
Nope, for the last week or so I was playing much later in the day. It works, but I like midnight from my home in Wisconsin.

hey penguin, ya, i have been slacking off a bit too, cuz i have had a class at 8 am thats about a 1/2 hr away. and its 1 am in my time zone, but i should be back to the usual 1 am from here on out

So, the class is over? Are you taking more summer courses or is that it?

i have a week until my next summer course starts, but its at 9 AM

but yes, the first one is over, as of this morning

So, EST insomniacs unite, Penguin? :)

Ah, I understand. That hour in the morning is huge!
I'm going in to school tomorrow, but I'm done with "work" until September.

but of course, it never ends does it?

Hi Bangping,
I was on the east coast for the last week and a half, but returned to the midwest today.

Ahh :)

I'm too young to be anywhere near wanting things to end, Raggedy. 8-)

Although you are right. I will be in e-mail contact with several of my students later this week. Summer is a pause, not a stop.

You're a teacher, Penguin?

Yes, Bangping, I'm guilty. 8-)

That's wonderful :) Mind if I ask grade level or subject?

(I'm in school to be just as guilty) :)

I teach high school computer science.

How cool :) I considered that exactly, before deciding that I like the littler 'uns better :)

You are much stronger than I am. I find large groups of small children terrifying!

*chuckle* They're fun at about age 9 or so... I'm really hoping I can land a 3rd or 4th grade class eventually.

They're a lot more likely to be excited about what you have to teach at that age

Without having to spend all your time tying shoes and wiping noses ;)

Good luck! Just, please, really teach them. There are far too many schools where students move from grade to grade without learning anything. It is ridiculous to see high school students relying on a calculator to do simple addition and subtraction. It is absurd that some don't know the difference between a noun and a pronoun (not to mention more obscure parts of English, like prepositions).

Sorry for the rant ... there are also some great kids out there. I am spoiled teaching the smartest kids in my high school.

Heh, I know how it goes.

Dad's a math teacher, who is very adament about teaching CONCEPT, not MECHANICS.

It amazes me in some of my math methods classes, how many college students struggle with basic math skills.

I called him up about a week into that class, and thanked him for the way he taught me.

I hope I can pass it along, once I'm in the classroom.

When I went back to school to become a high school teacher, I was appalled at the low level of knowledge of my fellow pre-teachers. I continue to see others in the classroom who, in my arrogant opinion, have no business being there.

I just do my part of the puzzle, which is offering classes that my students describe as both the hardest in the building and the most fun. (Some mean that as an insult, but I take it as a compliment).

Why should you take a class where you (assumingly) know everything already? Does that not defy the purpose of education?

hullo

Understandably so. The biggest thing I'm trying to figure out how to do, is how to keep the quickest kids in the room challenged, without undermining the slower ones as well. It's the mark of a great teacher, that they can pull that off, IMO.

Generally when I've done it, Augurus, it's been because I needed a checkmark on a transcript. ;) Although, I will admit, there have been classes that I've taken that've covered topics I'm self-taught in. They're sometimes useful to help fill in the gaps.

Hi Augurus,
I'm not sure that I follow. If you are responding to my complaint about those who are seeking to learn to be teachers, it is my opinion that they should already have a high school education. They should be learning how to teach and already be familiar with the topic areas at a high school level.

Balancing teaching slower and faster students can be challenging at first. What I do is offer lots of extra credit opportunities. The E.C. is only available after a student has done a good job, on time, on the related assignment.

(In my school, there is no difference between 93, 103, and 153 when it goes on the final transcript ... 93 being the lowest A).

How do you define a good job on the assignment? Is that based on the grade they received, or some other criteria?

Since it is computer programming, a good job is working code with the required documentation (problem specification, templating, and examples that are used to test the code).

(And, I hope you don't mind me picking your brain here - I rather unashamedly gather tips and tricks anywhere I can get it.)

No problem ... this is one of my favorite topics. 8-)

*nod* True, there is a lot clearer definition of 'good' in comp sci than in, say, an analysis of "Wuthering Heights" :)

hi all! finally, a "hard" one

Do you find that there is any resentment among slower students (or their parents), that EC opportunities are generally provided to the folks that, they might argue, least need the help raising their grades?

(I have to admit, I loathe the focus on grades, to the extent of everything else that seems so common in education today. So many people don't seem to care if their kids learn anything or not, as long as they bring home A's on the report card.)

Well, what's important is that I have clearly specified to my students what I expect with a good solution. If analyzing any novel, it is best if there is a clear rubric with several examples so that students know when their goal is achieved.

Yes, some parents complain about the E.C. being out of reach of their children. I teach college-prep classes and make no apology for challenging the kids.

I also agree with you regarding grade inflation.

Some great stuff, though, thank you :)

Considering how tired I am right now ... I wonder that anything was useful. Nonetheless, you're welcome.

As a hard, that wasn't too bad. Time for me to fall over. Good night.

Night Penguin :)

not too hard...

Not hard at all!

Hard???? That was easy... sone before I take kids to school!!!

jdog what were you saying about gone are the days of hard and mediums??? LOL

indeed. here's hoping for a nice friday "expert" tomorrow.

Good afternoon all

Yes it has been a looooong while since an expert

hi Sprite

So far this hard one is no hard one...

I have only just started and it doesn't seem to bad but I have a way to go

o-o, I have 2 possible solutions here. Must have made a mistake somewhere :(

hi all

another hard?

I think the random number generator needs work

Hi peter! Not hard, I think, I am afraid I have been stupid somewhere.

it happens

Darn, again, 2 possible solutions. This is weird.

All done , byeeeee

not hard? I have sinusitis. can't think. :' (

Hey Babbler :)

hi Sprite : ) how are you?

This grid is frustrating me. I keep coming back to a point where I have a rectangle with 4x the same 2 numbers. That cannot be correct.

hmm... haven't got as far as you yet, I think, I have the top and the middle boxes in the centre completed, but the rest is baffling me. : /

And the 6th column, I think?

exactly! can't figure out what i am missing!

yes, the 6th column.

I have started over 3 times now, and I get the same. All goes well up till the rectangle thing. I must be making a mistake in my logic.

: ( here's a fresh cup of tea, to help. *reaches over and puts tea on desk*

Awwww, how sweet :) That will help!

hee hee. want a chocolate biscuit to go with it? ; )

Yeah! If all else fails, chocolate helps! :)

*reaches over, puts super duper triple chocolate chip cookie on desk, next to tea* :D

You're the best :D

awwww, my pleasure. got a fresh cup of tea myself. : )

babsmgl, you want a cup of tea too?

and a chocolate biscuit?

*puts kettle on*

Yeah! Done!
Here's what I did: I used that darn rectangle to reason out one of the 4 corners HAD to be different from the rest, and that did it.

congratulations!! what rectangle thing?

It's this technique:

http://www.brainbashers.com/sudokuuniquerecta
ngles.asp

ahh, I haven't been looking for a UR...

ooh, thanks! I didn't know about this

Krys10 taught me.

There is one such a rectangle in the upper right/middle right boxes. Solving that was the key to the rest for me.

that's where I was just looking. right, I'll focus on that... let's see how I do! thanks, Sprite : )

Good luck! And thanks for the tea and the delicious cookie :)

you're very welcome! ; )

*runs to babble*

see you later, Sprite, good luck, looks like a biggie today. : )

thanks for the tip, the UR solved it

cya

congrats, peternl, see you later : )

hi Babs!! : )

how was the Babble convention??? I wish I could have been there!!....

hello all

hi all

hi bubbles

hi bubbles

hi babes

how you doing/

not bad just eating my lunch. You?

yeah not too bad. just been sorting some bits out at home and stuff and thought i will have a catch up on this

think it will take me months to catch up

clares just came over with Sammy and she has left to get charlie and left me with some kids program on the tele....

why?

sing along now, you know you want to!!!

i know ha ha im doing the dancing one

cool

now we are making spider webs lol is very inteligent

twit

whats daytime tele is great fun

huuuuuhyuhuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
uuu

ON NO ... sorry people, I have NO idea what has happened here!!!!!

grrr this sudoku is making me mad

keep going Spazzy, you'll get there!

It's makin me mad too, spazzy. This is twice I've screwed up the bottom row...

ugh - yea

well - i'm going to do something else less aggravating.... i'll get back to this later. see ya guys!

ugh, stuck

Hiya folks :)

back from huge lunch...

can't think straight

*looks around to see if parsec is still here*

Yay, got it! Now to plug at the archives a bit more... :P

afternoon

evening JSS

howdo

starting over :(

hmm tricky tricky

at one point it's singles in rows/columns/squares.

not quite there yet I don't think

n00b

:P

and there she blows

so there was me doing some archives... and 'coaching' you through yesterdays... because today's is not in the archive...

haha, who's the noob now eh?

;)

right, I'm done for now, l9rs

lxr

done. good bye averybody

go

hi all

bye, all

Evening, all :)

hi everyone. only letters the last few days. No more numbers?

Hiya, eyeman. :) What do you mean by "only letters" ?

Hi elara - after logging on, squares have upper case letters instead of numbers from the original puzzle. Top left square reads "E" instead of "5", etc. Not on yours?

Ah ha! You can set that in your profile. Maybe you were in there changing something else and accidentally hit the "Letters" toggle? Click "My Account" up top and you can go back and pick Numbers. :)

Aha! I'll try. Thanks!

Welcome :)

Eureka!! You're a genius.

Only in profiles ;)

I doubt that very much. But let's see if I can get another number. Middle block filled.

hello

how's everyone doing?