Search the California Content Standards

Standard:
Determine potential solutions to solve simple hardware and software problems using common troubleshooting strategies.

Descriptive Statement:
Although computing systems vary, common troubleshooting strategies can be used across many different systems. Students use troubleshooting strategies to identify problems that could include a device not responding, lacking power, lacking a network connection, an app crashing, not playing sounds, or password entry not working. Students use and develop various solutions to address these problems. Solutions may include rebooting the device, checking for power, checking network availability, opening and closing an app, making sure speakers are turned on or headphones are plugged in, and making sure that the caps lock key is not on. For example, students could prepare for and participate in a collaborative discussion in which they identify and list computing system problems and then describe common successful fixes. (CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy SL.3.1, SL.4.1, SL.5.1) Alternatively, students could write informative/explanatory texts, create a poster, or use another medium of communication to examine common troubleshooting strategies and convey these ideas and information clearly. (CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy W.3.2, W.4.2, W.5.2)

Standard:
Describe reasons creators might limit the use of their work.

Descriptive Statement:
Ethical complications arise from the opportunities provided by computing. With the ease of sending and receiving copies of media on the Internet, in formats such as video, photos, and music, students consider the opportunities for unauthorized use, such as online piracy and disregard of copyrights. The license of a downloaded image or audio file may restrict modification, require attribution, or prohibit use entirely. For example, students could take part in a collaborative discussion regarding reasons why musicians who sell their songs in digital format choose to license their work so that they can earn money for their creative efforts. If others share the songs without paying for them, the musicians do not benefit financially and may struggle to produce music in the future. (CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy SL.3.1, SL.4.1, SL.5.1) Alternatively, students could review the rights and reproduction guidelines for digital artifacts on a publicly accessible media source. They could then state an opinion with reasons they believe these guidelines are in place. (CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy W.3.1, W.4.1, W.5.1)

Standard:
Model how information is broken down into smaller pieces, transmitted as packets through multiple devices over networks and the Internet, and reassembled at the destination.

Descriptive Statement:
Information is sent and received over physical or wireless paths. It is broken down into smaller pieces called packets, which are sent independently and reassembled at the destination. Students demonstrate their understanding of this flow of information by, for instance, drawing a model of the way packets are transmitted, programming an animation to show how packets are transmitted, or demonstrating this through an unplugged activity in which they physically act this out. For example, students could design a structure using building blocks or other materials with the intention of re-engineering it in another location, just as early Americans did after the intercontinental railroad was constructed in the 1850s (HSS.4.4.1, 4.4.2). Students could deconstruct the designed structure, place materials into specific containers (or plastic bags/brown paper bags/etc.), and develop instructions on how to recreate the structure once each container arrives at its intended destination. (CA NGSS: 3-5-ETS1) For example, students could cut up a map of the United States by state lines. Students could then place the states in envelopes and transmit the "packets" through a physical network, represented by multiple students spreading out in arms reach of at least two others. At the destination, the student who receives the packets resassembles the individual states back into a map of the United States. (HSS 5.9) Alternatively, students could perform a similar activity with a diatonic scale, cutting the scale into individual notes. Each note, in order, should be placed into a numbered envelope based on its location on the scale. These envelopes can be transmitted across the network of students and reassembled at the destination. (VAPA Music 4.1.2)

Standard:
Design and iteratively develop programs that combine control structures and use compound conditions.

Descriptive Statement:
Control structures can be combined in many ways. Nested loops are loops placed within loops, and nested conditionals allow the result of one conditional to lead to another. Compound conditions combine two or more conditions in a logical relationship (e.g., using AND, OR, and NOT). Students appropriately use control structures to perform repetitive and selection tasks. For example, when programming an interactive story, students could use a compound conditional within a loop to unlock a door only if a character has a key AND is touching the door. (CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy W.6.3, W.7.3, W.8.3) Alternatively, students could use compound conditionals when writing a program to test whether two points lie along the line defined by a particular linear function. (CA CCSS for Mathematics 8.EE.7) Additionally, students could use nested loops to program a character to do the "chicken dance" by opening and closing the beak, flapping the wings, shaking the hips, and clapping four times each; this dance "chorus" is then repeated several times in its entirety.

Standard:
Decompose problems and subproblems into parts to facilitate the design, implementation, and review of programs.

Descriptive Statement:
Decomposition facilitates program development by allowing students to focus on one piece at a time (e.g., getting input from the user, processing the data, and displaying the result to the user). Decomposition also enables different students to work on different parts at the same time. Students break down (decompose) problems into subproblems, which can be further broken down to smaller parts. Students could create an arcade game, with a title screen, a game screen, and a win/lose screen with an option to play the game again. To do this, students need to identify subproblems that accompany each screen (e.g., selecting an avatar goes in the title screen, events for controlling character action and scoring goes in the game screen, and displaying final and high score and asking whether to play again goes in the win/lose screen). Alternatively, students could decompose the problem of calculating and displaying class grades. Subproblems might include: accept input for students grades on various assignments, check for invalid grade entries, calculate per assignment averages, calculate per student averages, and display histograms of student scores for each assignment. (CA CCSS for Mathematics 6.RP.3c, 6.SP.4, 6.SP.5)

Standard:
Create procedures with parameters to organize code and make it easier to reuse.

Descriptive Statement:
Procedures support modularity in developing programs. Parameters can provide greater flexibility, reusability, and efficient use of resources. Students create procedures and/or functions that are used multiple times within a program to repeat groups of instructions. They generalize the procedures and/or functions by defining parameters that generate different outputs for a wide range of inputs. For example, students could create a procedure to draw a circle which involves many instructions, but all of them can be invoked with one instruction, such as “drawCircle.” By adding a radius parameter, students can easily draw circles of different sizes. (CA CCSS for Mathematics 7.G.4) Alternatively, calculating the area of a regular polygon requires multiple steps. Students could write a function that accepts the number and length of the sides as parameters and then calculates the area of the polygon. This function can then be re-used inside any program to calculate the area of a regular polygon. (CA CCSS for Mathematics 6.G.1)

Standard:
Design a project that combines hardware and software components to collect and exchange data.

Descriptive Statement:
Collecting and exchanging data involves input, output, storage, and processing. When possible, students select the components for their project designs by considering tradeoffs between factors such as functionality, cost, size, speed, accessibility, and aesthetics. Students do not need to implement their project design in order to meet this standard. For example, students could design a mobile tour app that displays information relevant to specific locations when the device is nearby or when the user selects a virtual stop on the tour. They select appropriate components, such as GPS or cellular-based geolocation tools, textual input, and speech recognition, to use in their project design. Alternatively, students could design a project that uses a sensor to collect the salinity, moisture, and temperature of soil. They may select a sensor that connects wirelessly through a Bluetooth connection because it supports greater mobility, or they could instead select a physical USB connection that does not require a separate power source. (CA NGSS: MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2)

Standard:
Systematically apply troubleshooting strategies to identify and resolve hardware and software problems in computing systems.

Descriptive Statement:
When problems occur within computing systems, it is important to take a structured, step-by-step approach to effectively solve the problem and ensure that potential solutions are not overlooked. Examples of troubleshooting strategies include following a troubleshooting flow diagram, making changes to software to see if hardware will work, checking connections and settings, and swapping in working components. Since a computing device may interact with interconnected devices within a system, problems may not be due to the specific computing device itself but to devices connected to it. For example, students could work through a checklist of solutions for connectivity problems in a lab of computers connected wirelessly or through physical cables. They could also search for technical information online and engage in technical reading to create troubleshooting documents that they then apply. (CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy RST.6-8.10) Alternatively, students could explore and utilize operating system tools to reset a computer's default language to English. Additionally, students could swap out an externally-controlled sensor giving fluctuating readings with a new sensor to check whether there is a hardware problem.

Standard:
Compare tradeoffs associated with licenses for computational artifacts to balance the protection of the creators' rights and the ability for others to use and modify the artifacts.

Descriptive Statement:
Using and building on the works of others allows people to create meaningful works and fosters innovation. Copyright is an important law that helps protect the rights of creators so they receive credit and get paid for their work. Creative Commons is a kind of copyright that makes it easier for people to copy, share, and build on creative work, as long as they give credit for it. There are different kinds of Creative Commons licenses that allow people to do things such as change, remix, or make money from their work. As creators, students can pick and choose how they want their work to be used, and then create a Creative Commons license that they include in their work. For example, students could create interactive animations to educate others on bullying or protecting the environment. They then select an appropriate license to reflect how they want their program to be used by others (e.g., allow others to use their work and alter it, as long as they do not make a profit from it). Students use established methods to both protect their artifacts and attribute use of protected artifacts.

Standard:
Compare tradeoffs between allowing information to be public and keeping information private and secure.

Descriptive Statement:
While it is valuable to establish, maintain, and strengthen connections between people online, security attacks often start with intentionally or unintentionally providing personal information online. Students identify situations where the value of keeping information public outweighs privacy concerns, and vice versa. They also recognize practices such as phishing and social engineering and explain best practices to defend against them. For example, students could discuss the benefits of artists and designers displaying their work online to reach a broader audience. Students could also compare the tradeoffs of making a shared file accessible to anyone versus restricting it to specific accounts. (CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy SL.6.1, SL.7.1, SL.8.1) Alternatively, students could discuss the benefits and dangers of the increased accessibility of information available on the internet, and then compare this to the advantages and disadvantages of the introduction of the printing press in society. (HSS.7.8.4)