Computer Science

The goal of the "Quick Twenty" project is to create a quick and fun introduction to STEM songs in each field (biology, math, etc.), making it easy for instructors and administrators to understand how songs can be used for education, and leading to wider adoption of STEM songs for teaching. We think that a "quick twenty list" in each field (not intended to be an objective and authoritative ranking; more like "twenty diverse examples of good songs") will accomplish this.

Songs are developed to help students understand and retain introductory concepts in computing, as well as to complement more standard activities such as group work, programming labs, and lectures. These songs are reinterpretations of existing, popular ones, hopefully already familiar. Students are encouraged to contribute to the lyrics, and more recently the music itself.

In this session Merryl will describe how she evaded the KGB during the Cold War with a secret musical code and how that code, and indeed music are key to core principles of cybersecurity.  Merryl is working with CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency) to examine the preparation of cybersecurity professionals specifically how the arts matter in the field.

EarSketch is an online learning platform to teach Computer Science through music composition. It is a website which contains a full curriculum to introduce computer science, with Python and JavaScript, a code editor, a sound library, and sharing tools. When students code, they place sounds from the library in a Digital Audio Workstation, and they can add rhythms and effects. The samples were composed by Jay Z's sound engineer Young Guru and sound designer Richard Devine. This allows students to compose music in popular genres such as Hip Hop or dubstep.

In this session, we introduce Deltaphone, a browser-based blocks programming language for generating musical scores. Just as learners used Logo's turtle geometry to explore mathematical space in a relative way, learners use Deltaphone's interval-based motion to explore musical space. The emphasis on intervals means that certain computational and musical ideas can be investigated quite naturally in code. For example, musical structures can be more easily abstracted into functions and reused in a variety of musical contexts, and custom chords and progressions can be built.