Students will complete two exploratory activities that introduce the concept of a problem and an algorithm. In the first students answer a series of questions about birthdates and names of their classmates. They then discuss the similarities and differences between the problems. In the second activity students are given six different algorithms and must analyze them to determine which they think are the same or different. At the end of the lesson they are introduced to the formal definitions of a problem and an algorithm
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

In this lesson students follow a demonstration of Linear Search before writing their own search algorithms. Following this, students are introduced to Binary Search after which they compare graphs of the search algorithms to determine which is most efficient.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

Students investigate two different types of raffles that highlight the way seemingly small problems can quickly grow large. The first raffle asks students to hunt for pairs of tickets that add to a target value. The second raffle asks students to hunt for any group of tickets that adds to a target value. After trying out each raffle live students will try to figure out the patterns for how many total combinations need to be checked in each. At the end they discuss the difference between reasonable and unreasonable algorithms based on their experiences.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

Students explore the limits of what algorithms are able to compute. First they use a widget that exposes students to the Traveling Salesman Problem. After recognizing this problem can only be solved using an unreasonable time algorithm the develop their own good enough solutions that run more efficiently. Later in the lesson students watch a video about undecidable problems for which no algorithm can ever be developed to solve them.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

In this lesson students explore the benefits and limitations of parallel and distributed computing. First they discuss the way human problem solving changes when additional people lend a hand. Then they run a series of demonstrations that show how simple tasks like sorting cards get faster when more people help, but there is a limitation to the efficiency gains. Later in the lesson students watch a video about distributed computing that highlights the ways distributed computing can help tackle new kinds of problems. To conclude the lesson students record new vocabulary in their journals and discuss any open questions.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

This lesson is a guided tour of multifactor authentication and software updates that students can use to protect their data. Following these discussions, students are introduced to a stimulus question where they will apply their knowledge gained throughout the unit to answer questions about an innovations data, benefits and harms, effects, and security or privacy concerns.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

Students meet with their groups to develop a shared artifact or presentation that presents their collective vision for the Future School.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

Students will get feedback on their group innovation proposal from one other group. They will then have the remainder of the class to finalize their group presentation and individual proposals which will be presented and submitted in the following class
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

Students will get feedback on their group innovation proposal from one other group. They will then have the remainder of the class to finalize their group presentation and individual proposals which will be presented and submitted in the following class
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

The class begins a simulation which will continue on at different points throughout the unit. In this simulation, students take on the roles of different stakeholders in school communities converging at a convention where they eventually will deliver a proposal on the best computing innovation for the Future School. In this lesson, students explore what a computing innovation is, do a brainstorm activity, reflect on their character role, and finally learn how to research an innovation.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

Today is focused on researching three different computing innovations and discussing these innovations with team members.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

Students learn that the apps, websites, and other computing innovations they use every day require a lot of data to run, much of which they might consider to be private or personal. In the warm up students discuss which of a list of possible information types they consider private. Then students read the data policies from a website or service they use or know about. This investigation focuses on the kinds of data that are being collected, the way it's being used, and any potential privacy concerns that arise. A brief second activity reveals that even data that may not seem private, like a birthdate or zipcode, can be combined to uniquely identify them. To conclude the lesson students prepare for a discussion in the following class about the pros and cons of sharing all this data by journaling about their current thoughts on whether the harms of giving up this privacy are outweighed by the benefits of the technology they power.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

Students develop their own opinions on the privacy tradeoffs inherent in many modern computing innovations. At the beginning of the lesson students watch a video on facial recognition technology that presents the tradeoffs between convenience and privacy and asks them to determine whether they think the tradeoff is worth it. Students respond to two videos that look at different tradeoffs between privacy, security, and convenience. Students then evaluate the website or app they investigated in the previous lesson to determine if they think the benefits of the service outweigh the privacy risks. At the end of the class students discuss whether they generally think convenience outweighs privacy concerns.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

Students make further projects on their projects while also considering the unintended consequences their proposed innovations may have. First students watch a short video about the ways technology may have unintended consequences. Students then meet with their teams to review the different proposals for computing innovations that each team member is considering. Teams review the different ideas in character and help one another consider potential benefits and harms of each plan. Collectively they narrow down their proposals to a set that seem collectively most beneficial and present a coherent vision for the Future School. With whatever time is remaining students are able to work on one-pagers for the one innovation they chose.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

Students investigate three different common security risks (phishing, keylogging, malware) in a jigsaw activity. In groups, students create Public Service Announcement slides warning of the dangers of their assigned security risk. Then students are grouped with students who investigated other security risks and are instructed to share their slide and give a voice over. The activity ends with the class coming together to discuss the security risks as a whole.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

The lesson begins with a review of security risks by watching a video on Cybersecurity & Crime. Following this, the class does an investigation into the Equifax breach, and what went wrong. The class ends with a Kahoot quiz to review security risks.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

This lesson is primarily a work day for students to complete their innovation 1-pagers. Students should work close to their teammates in case they want to discuss ways to make their proposals more aligned around a cohesive vision for the Future School. Otherwise students should have the entire class period to work independently.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

In this lesson students explore two different encryption widgets: The Caesar Cipher Widget and the Random Substitution Cipher. Afterwards, students watch a video that reviews these types of encryption and introduces a new concept: public key encryption.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

Students are introduced to lossy compression via the Lossy Text Compression widget. They apply this concept and their prior knowledge of sampling to create their own lossy compressions of image files using the Lossy Image Widget. Students then discuss several practical scenarios where they need to decide whether to use a lossy or lossless compression algorithm. The lesson ends with a discussion of the situations where lossless compression is important and the situations where lossy compression is important.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.

Students are asked to reflect on who owns their creative works from this class, such as their pixel images, before reading an article describing how ownership can become complicated as analog works become digital artifacts. After reading the article, students watch several videos explaining copyright and introducing them to the Creative Commons. Students then re-read the article answering three questions about the benefits, harms, and impacts of current copyright policy. Students use their new understanding of copyright to form an opinion about current copyright policies and create a small poster justifying their opinion with a quote from the article.
This lesson is aligned to CSTA standards.