Unit Explorations of Computing Innovations
Revision Date: Jun 23, 2020 (Version 3.0)In the Explore Performance Task (EPT), students choose and explore a computing innovation. The EPT requires students to select and investigate a computational innovation that:
● Has or has had the potential to have significant beneficial and harmful effects on our society, economy, or culture.
● Consumes, produces, and/or transforms data.
● Raises at least one data storage concern, data privacy concern, or data security concern.
Students are expected to complete the EPT with minimal assistance from anyone. Students will have 8 hours of class time to complete, and submit:
● Computational Artifact
● Written Responses
Written Responses
Suggested Schedule October 2017
This schedule provides a schedule for 10 50-minute sessions, in order to meet the 8-hour in-class minimum required by the College Board.
Sessions 1 and 2 Using Development Processes and Tools
Sessions 3 -5 Analyzing Impact of Computing
Research:
Find an additional fact about the purpose or function of the CI
Find at least one effect of the CI
Find a group that benefits from an effect.
Find a group that is harmed by the effect.
Sessions 6 - 8 Analyzing Data and Information
Research:
Find the concepts the CI manages and the data it uses to manage it
Find how the data is consumed, transformed or produced
Find a data security, data privacy or data storage concern of the data the CI uses
Find a group that is harmed by the effect.
Finding and Evaluating Information - References and Submitting Documents
Sessions 9 and 10
Session 1: Identify performance task requirements and choose a computing innovation
Session 2: Review EPT Rubric and Research - Day 1
Session 3: Draft Written Responses part 2A, 2C, and 2E
Session 4: Research - Day 2
Session 5: Artifact Design
Session 6: Artifact Development
Session 7: Artifact Development
Session 8: Written Responses to parts 2B, 2D, and 2E
Session 9: Complete Artifact and Written Responses and Create PDF versions
Session 10: Submit Artifact and Written Responses
Students will be able to identify beneficial and harmful effects of a computing innovation.
Students will be able to explain how the innovation uses, produces, and/or transforms data.
Students will be able to explain a privacy, security, or data storage concern related to the innovation.
Student computer usage for this lesson is: required
AP Computer Science Principles Explore Performance Task -- Explore_Performance_Task_Nov2015.pdf in lesson resources folder
AP Computer Science Principles Performance Task Rubric -- Explore_Performance_Task_Rubric_Nov2015.pdf in lesson resources folder
Teachers should have instructed students in each of the following before this lesson.
Teachers and classmates may help students to understand the Explore Performance Task, help students manage the process, and help them to submit the required projects. Once the work on the project begins, however, students must work individually without assistance.
Teachers should influence student selection of a computing innovation (see Exploring Computing Technologies in the Explore_Performance_Task_Nov2015 in lesson folder). However, teachers may not require selection of particular topics for students.
Direct students to find a computing innovation and its:
Guide student understanding of the products that they must produce, including:
Teachers should:
Teachers may:
Teachers may not:
Session 1 develops student understanding of the EPT requirements and guides selection of a computing innovation to explore. If this was done in the practice task, then questions addressed in this session may be assigned as homework, with students using the first day to do preliminary research.
Session 2 develops student understanding of the rubric, so they know the level of expectations that readers will have when scoring them. If this was done during the practice EPT, then the questions assigned in the section may be assigned as homework and the full day used for student research.
Tell students:
Today you will begin the Explore Performance Task. It is an exploration of a computing innovation of your choice according to the guidelines established by the College Board. The goal of this task is to deepen your understanding of computer science principles.
Exercise 1:Provide students with a copy of the Explore Performance Task (Explore_Performance_Task_Nov2015 in lesson folder) description from the College Board. Students should read the Overview section on page 1 and answer the three questions below, sharing their answers with elbow partners. (2 min)
After students share with elbow partners, address any questions students have to this point. (3 min)
Students should read the General Requirements section beginning on page 1 and answer the seven questions below sharing their results with elbow partners. (10 min)
After students share with elbow partners, address any questions that students have to this point. (5 min)
Students should read just the first two paragraphs of the Submission Requirements section on page 2 and answer the four questions below sharing their results with elbow partners. (3 min)
After students share with elbow partners, address any questions students have to this point. (2 min)
Assign students to 5 groups and assign a section a - e to each group. Have each group answer these two questions for each section (10 min)
After completing the four exercises, students are to choose a computing innovation to explore and share their choice with you. (15 min)
Before the next lesson, students must select and submit to you the name of the computing innovation.
Tell students:
Today will be your first research day. Before starting your research, we will examine the rubric that readers will use when scoring your computational artifact and written response.
Provide students with a copy of the Explore Performance Task Rubric (Explore_Performance_Task_Rubric_Nov2015.pdf in the lesson folder). Jigsaw the rubric. Assign students into five groups and assign one row of the rubric to each group. Students are to prepare a 60-second response to these three questions about their row of the rubric. (2 min)
Each student group shares their insights based on these three questions. (5 min) Students put any questions that they have about the rubric on a post it note and put the question on the board.
Students must work individually from this point until the projects are ready to be submitted.
Students research their computing innovation, especially addressing the first two components of written response 2A and written response 2C, while collecting references to be included as a part of written response 2E.
At the end of class, students complete a daily progress report. Teachers will collect the progress report in order to monitor progress but may not provide any feedback to students on content.
Tell students:
Today, students are to plan and draft responses to the first two parts of written response 2A and written response 2C, and begin creating reference section 2E. Students should include citations for information in parts 2A and 2C.
Respond to each of the student's questions posted on the board. You may clarify student understanding of project requirements and expectations.
After drafting these responses, students continue researching the computing innovation.
At the end of class, students complete a daily progress report. Teachers will collect the progress report in order to monitor progress but may not provide any feedback to students on content.
Tell students:
Students are to continue research into their computing innovation focusing on written response 2D while collecting references to be included as part of written response 2E.
At the end of class, students complete a daily progress report. Teachers will collect the progress report in order to monitor progress but may not provide any feedback to students on content.
Tell students:
Today, you will begin the second portion of the EPT by planning your Computational Artifact.
Students reread the Explore Task Submission Requirement item 1 and answer the following 2 questions. ( 2 min )
Plan to accomplish the goals you specified in your answers to question 1 and 2.
At the end of class, students complete a daily progress report. Teachers will collect the progress report in order to monitor progress but may not provide any feedback to students on content.
Tell students:
This is the first of two days scheduled for students to create their computational artifacts. Start today by planning what you need to get done each of the two days and how much will be done on this first day.
After planning the two days of artifact development, students complete today's portion.
At the end of class, students complete a daily progress report. Teachers will collect the progress report in order to monitor progress but may not provide any feedback to students on content.
Tell students:
This is the second of two days scheduled for students to create their computational artifacts. After this session the next two sessions are intended for students to complete both written responses and the computational artifact.
At the end of class, students complete a daily progress report. Teachers will collect the progress report in order to monitor progress but may not provide any feedback to students on content.
Tell students:
This is the first of two days scheduled for students to complete the EPT. This session is scheduled to focus on the written response. As time permits students may work on their computational artifact.
Students complete their written response.
At the end of class, students complete a daily progress report. Teachers will collect the progress report in order to monitor progress but may not provide any feedback to students on content.
Tell students:
This session is for students to complete constructing the two required documents of the EPT and save them in an appropriate format.
Reread and revise each Written Response including an inspection of references, associated citations and total word limits. Save the written response in PDF format.
If students are submitting their computational artifact as a PDF, it may not exceed 3 pages. The College Board also accepts multimedia files containing the computational artifact. Acceptable formats are mp3, mp4, wmv, avi, mov, wav or aif. If students elect to create multimedia files, the files may not be longer than 1 minute nor larger than 30MB in size.
At the end of class, students complete a daily progress report. Teachers will collect the progress report in order to monitor progress but may not provide any feedback to students on content.
Tell students:
There are three goals for this session.
Students upload both files. (15 min)
Computational Artifact Presentations
Post Task Reflection
What did you learn about the computing innovation you explored?
What advice would you give to students in next year's class?
Daily planning and progress reports
Students may not recieve feedback on the content of the EPT until after it has been submitted. Once they are submitted to the College Board EPT can be assesed using the EPT rubric.