LAUNCH and CS Detective

This summer two interesting books appeared, one teaches computer science concepts within a detective story, the other explores how teachers can use design thinking.

Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student

by John Spencer (Author), A J Juliani (Author)
Paperback: 298 pages
Publisher: Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc. (May 18, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0996989544
ISBN-13: 978-0996989541

Educators John Spencer and A.J. Juliani know firsthand the challenges teachers face every day: School can be busy. Materials can be scarce. The creative process can seem confusing. Curriculum requirements can feel limiting. Those challenges too often bully creativity, pushing it to the side as an “enrichment activity” that gets put off or squeezed into the tiniest time block. We can do better. We must do better if we’re going to prepare students for their future.

LAUNCH: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student provides a process that can be incorporated into every class at every grade level … even if you don’t consider yourself a “creative teacher.”

The CS Detective: An Algorithmic Tale of Crime, Conspiracy, and Computation

by Jeremy Kubica
July 2016, 256 pp.
ISBN: 978-1-59327-749-9

Meet Frank Runtime. Disgraced ex-detective. Hard-boiled private eye. Search expert. When a robbery hits police headquarters, it’s up to Frank Runtime and his extensive search skills to catch the culprits. In this detective story, you’ll learn how to use algorithmic tools to solve the case.

Jeremy Kubica is a principal engineer at Google working on machine learning and algorithms. He has a PhD in robotics from Carnegie Mellon University and a BS in computer science from Cornell University. Kubica is the author of the popular Computational Fairy Tales blog. His newest book, CS Detective, uses algorithms and other computer science concepts to solve a mystery.

Learn More

The CS Detective: An Algorithmic Tale of Crime, Conspiracy, and Computation

https://www.nostarch.com/searchtale

Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student

http://www.amazon.com/Launch-Design-Thinking-Creativity-Student/dp/0996989544/
http://thelaunchcycle.com/
https://youtu.be/LhQWrHQwYTk

Jeremy Kubica

http://computationaltales.blogspot.com
http://computationaltales.blogspot.com/p/book.html
https://twitter.com/compfairytales
https://vimeo.com/70188494

A.J. Juliani

http://ajjuliani.com/
https://twitter.com/ajjuliani

John Spencer

http://www.spencerauthor.com/
https://twitter.com/spencerideas
https://www.youtube.com/user/OurSocialVoice
https://youtu.be/mKvSCs2RsHs

Design Thinking Resources

This article explores the topic of design thinking with many links to explore.
https://www.kidscodecs.com/design-thinking-resources/

Author

  • Tim Slavin

    Tim is an award-winning writer and technologist who enjoys teaching tech to non-technical people. He has many years experience with web sites and applications in business, technical, and creative roles. He and his wife have two kids, now teenagers, who are mad about video games.

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