CS Circles: An In-Browser Python Course for Beginners

Computer Science Circles is a free programming website for beginners that is designed to be fun, easy to use, and accessible to the broadest possible audience. We teach Python since it is simple yet powerful, and the course content is well-structured but written in plain language. The website has over one hundred exercises in thirty lesson pages, plus special features to help teachers support their students. It is available in both English and French. We discuss the philosophy behind the course and its design, we describe how it was implemented, and we give statistics on its use.Comment: To appear in SIGCSE 201

The Impact of Visual Impairments on Mobility Performance in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Background and Purpose: Falls are a major concern for elderly adults and can have a significant impact on overall health and well-being. Declines in vision with aging may be related to the development of fear of falling (FOF) and impaired mobility. It is possible that impaired vision due to common eye diseases can increase the FOF avoidance behavior and affect mobility function in this population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation among visual impairment, mobility performance, and FOF avoidance behavior in older adults. Methods: Inclusion criteria for eligible participants were: 50 years of age and older, able to walk 50 m without assistance, and able to understand simple instructions related to the assessments. A total of 455 participants from local community adult activity centers (males=152, females=303; age=73.1±7.7 years, range=51-97 years) participated. Physical mobility was assessed using an instrumented Timed Up-and-Go test. Visual acuity (VA) was tested using a standard Snellen chart. Avoidance behavior was assessed using the Fear of Falling Avoidance Behavior Questionnaire (FFABQ). Participants’ general health and presence of eye diseases (age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma) was assessed using a survey of medical history. A two-way ANOVA was used to investigate effect of VA and avoidance behavior on TUG performance. An additional two-way ANOVA test was used to investigate the effect of self-reported eye disease and avoidance behavior on TUG performance. Results and Discussion: There was a statistically significant difference between avoiders and non avoiders’ TUG score (avoiders=12.45±5.85 sec, non-avoiders 8.29±3.48, p\u3c0.001). The VA has no significant effect on TUG time (no impairment= 8.69 ± 3.49 sec, mild impairment= 9.42 ± 5.05 sec, moderate impairment= 8.11 ± 2.08 sec, severe impairment= 9.45 ± 2.68 sec, p=0.791). There is no significant VA group by avoider group interaction (p=0.66). There was also a statistically significant difference in TUG scores between participants with and without eye disease (eye disease=9.37±5.08, no eye disease=8.29±2.80, p=0.004). There is no significant eye disease by avoider group interaction (p=0.144). iv Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that the presence of one or more self-reported eye diseases and higher FOF avoidance behavior were both associated with decreased mobility. Contrary to the initial hypothesis of the present study, there was no relation between VA and mobility, nor VA and FOF avoidance behavior. It is important for clinicians to inquire about the presence of eye diseases and administer the FFABQ to older adults in order to identify risk factors related to decline in physical mobility. Presently, the continued use of the Snellen chart to assess for VA as a part of fall risk assessment may be inadequate. Future studies should focus on developing a more comprehensive clinical assessment of vision that expands beyond visual acuity for the geriatric population

Barriers to Care: Hmong Experiences With the Sacramento Health Care System

Examines language barriers and computer system errors experienced by Hmong refugees when navigating the healthcare system, primarily through Medi-Cal. Provides recommendations for improving access to care, plan enrollment, and consumer education

Grammar practice : theory and practice

Fil: Luque Colombres, María Candelaria. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Lenguas; Argentina.Fil: Meehan, Patricia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Lenguas; Argentina.Fil: Oliva, María Belén. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Lenguas; Argentina.Fil: Rius, Natalia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Lenguas; Argentina.Fil: de Maussion, Ana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Lenguas; Argentina.Fil: Neyra, Vanina Pamela. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Lenguas; Argentina.Our main objective when writing this handbook has been to design some kind of material that would provide the first-year university student at Facultad de Lenguas with the basic foundations of English grammar. Although this handout could be used as a self-study grammar guide, the student should bear in mind it is meant to be used as a complement of class work. Therefore, the material included in the present publication has not been organized according to the level of difficulty, but rather in accordance with the syllabus of the subject. Each chapter brings along graded exercises which have been carefully designed to improve and consolidate the grammar topics included in the syllabus of the subject. Finally, we would like to point out that to round off each unit, we have decided to include texts (often authentic ones) in an attempt to offer the student a new perspective on the subject: one which relates grammatical structure systematically to meaning and use.Fil: Luque Colombres, María Candelaria. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Lenguas; Argentina.Fil: Meehan, Patricia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Lenguas; Argentina.Fil: Oliva, María Belén. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Lenguas; Argentina.Fil: Rius, Natalia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Lenguas; Argentina.Fil: de Maussion, Ana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Lenguas; Argentina.Fil: Neyra, Vanina Pamela. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Lenguas; Argentina

The abstraction transition taxonomy: developing desired learning outcomes through the lens of situated cognition

We report on a post-hoc analysis of introductory programming lecture materials. The purpose of this analysis is to identify what knowledge and skills we are asking students to acquire, as situated in the activity, tools, and culture of what programmers do and how they think. The specific materials analyzed are the 133 Peer Instruction questions used in lecture to support cognitive apprenticeship -- honoring the situated nature of knowledge. We propose an Abstraction Transition Taxonomy for classifying the kinds of knowing and practices we engage students in as we seek to apprentice them into the programming world. We find students are asked to answer questions expressed using three levels of abstraction: English, CS Speak, and Code. Moreover, many questions involve asking students to transition between levels of abstraction within the context of a computational problem. Finally, by applying our taxonomy in classifying a range of introductory programming exams, we find that summative assessments (including our own) tend to emphasize a small range of the skills fostered in students during the formative/apprenticeship phase

Journeys of Transformation: A Training Manual for Engaging Men as Allies in Women's Economic Empowerment

This manual provides group education sessions for engaging men as allies in women's economic empowerment. It emerges from CARE's experience, in Rwanda and elsewhere, that women's economic empowerment works, but that it can be made to work better and to achieve even more movement toward equality when men are deliberately engaged as allies. The activities presented in this manual were developed through a process of action-research involving qualitative and quantitative methods and incorporating the responses, realities, and perspectives of women beneficiaries of economic empowerment (via CARE's Voluntary Savings and Loan Associations, or VSLAs or VSLs) and their male partners. It was developed together with CARE-Rwanda staff, as well as with partners from the Rwandan Men's Resource Centre (Rwamrec)