A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Computer Simulations

Chakita Jackson, Hazelwood West High School

Agenda

Why Computer Simulations?

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Microsoft Excelets

Computer Programming Bootstrap

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Quick Survey

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What is an Excelet?

An Excelet is an interactive Excel spreadsheet or simulation that allows users to engage in critical problem solving.

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Learning Targets:

•To introduce you to the Forms Toolbar and a number of the tools available;

•To create a “just add data” interactive Excel spreadsheet.

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1. Getting the Forms Toolbar

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View Toolbar

s Forms

2. Constructing a simple “Just Add Data” spreadsheet.

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In a blank Excel worksheet, set up two columns, one with M&M colors, and one with a predicted number of each M&M color. Label the columns, number and color.

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Next, click on the chart wizard, selectThe default clustered column.

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•Now let’s add a total to the number column, so we can make the comparison to the official color percentages from:• https://www.exeter.edu/document

s/mandm.pdf

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Click on cell B9

and select autosum.

You will hit the

enter key to get the

total number of

M&Ms in your bag.

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Here is a screenshot of

the official values and

setup for the

calculation using the

percentage from the

M&M website.

The number of each color in theory is

calculated by taking the actual total

number of M&M’s in your bag ($B$9) and

then multiplying by the official percent of

that color (D3) divided by 100 to get a

fraction. The total is from the SUM

calculation.

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• Add a new column.• Place the cursor in

the lower left hand box.

• This is the official comparison of your data to the M&M percentages.

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Now if you click on the check box it will

return “TRUE” when checked and “FALSE” when unchecked in cell F16.

Now go to cell C3 and change the formula by adding the yellow highlighted part

shown below:

=IF($F$16=TRUE,$B$9*D3/100,0)

Drag this formula down the column to C8.

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Use this spreadsheet to test the following hypotheses:

How do different bags of the same size of M&M Milk Chocolate candies

compare?

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Questions?

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BootStrapComputer Programming for Students

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BootStrap• Bootstrap teaches program design

skills, allowing students to transfer skills to other programming languages.

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Why Programming?•Paradigm shift from “getting answers” to “describing functions.”

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Why Programming?A defined curriculum that aligns with the Common Core Standards for Math and ISTE Standards for Technology.

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How?Students use Order of operations, Pythagoream Theorem, function composition and definition to create and design a series of relevant programming problems.

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Who?Created by Emmamuel Schanzer of Cornell University. Supported by: NSF, Apple, Google, Cisco etc.

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Bootstrap Level 1:

Apply mathematical concepts and rigorous programming principles to create a simple video game.

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Bootstrap Level 2

Build on concepts taught in Bootstrap 1

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BootStrap

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This book is an introduction to designing programming.

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The authors make a distinction between designing a program vs. designing functions.

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This book by Peter Bloch is an introduction to computer programming.

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Picturing Programs focus on pictures and animation as students explore recursion, lists, trees, and algorithms using the same language.

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This is a more advanced book, however, the principles are relevant for middle and high school students.

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Software

WeScheme is a cloud-based program. If you have a gmail account, you can use WeScheme.

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Software

If you don’t want to use a gmail account, you can use DrRacket instead.

Thank You!Contact:Chakita JacksonHazelwood West High Schoolcjackson@hazelwoodschools.org.