Compute This! Michigan Science Olympiad Anthony Kendall Cheryl Kendall

Compute This! Motivation Computers are pervasive in today’s business, engineering, and science worlds Computers are pervasive in today’s business, engineering, and science worlds Most of next generation of discoveries will be too complex for humans alone Most of next generation of discoveries will be too complex for humans alone Must understand the capabilities and limitations of computers Must understand the capabilities and limitations of computers Compute This: Problem Solving using computers Compute This: Problem Solving using computers

Competition Goals Evaluate students on basic technical computer skills Evaluate students on basic technical computer skills Using the Internet to find information Using the Internet to find information Evaluating if that information answers specific questions Evaluating if that information answers specific questions Data manipulation and presentation Data manipulation and presentation Evaluated by how well they use tools to solve problems Evaluated by how well they use tools to solve problems

Use of World Wide Web Recognize and Critically evaluate source of information Recognize and Critically evaluate source of information Proper citation of URLs Proper citation of URLs Effective Searching - use of keywords Effective Searching - use of keywords Event will be limited to NOAA.gov domain Event will be limited to NOAA.gov domain This is a BIG website This is a BIG website Can find many similar types of data, but not all answers are correct Can find many similar types of data, but not all answers are correct

Data Manipulation Manual Import of Data to a spreadsheet application Manual Import of Data to a spreadsheet application Enter values into cells, or copy and paste Enter values into cells, or copy and paste Proper arrangement of data for presentation and calculation Proper arrangement of data for presentation and calculation Using formulas Using formulas Converting units (basic arithmetic) Converting units (basic arithmetic) Cell operations: summation, averaging Cell operations: summation, averaging

Data Presentation Understand Basic Graph Types Understand Basic Graph Types Bar, Line, Pie Bar, Line, Pie Scatter Plot (C Division only) Scatter Plot (C Division only) Use Appropriate Graph for Data Use Appropriate Graph for Data Fully Label the Graph Fully Label the Graph Title, Axes, Legend Title, Axes, Legend Use appropriate colors Use appropriate colors Easy to read and interpret Easy to read and interpret

Short Answer Document Formatting Should be Neat Formatting Should be Neat Careful of HTML frames from websites Careful of HTML frames from websites Uniform Font Uniform Font Both Size and Style Both Size and Style Clear indication of question numbers and responses Clear indication of question numbers and responses

Resources Compute This! Web Space Compute This! Web Space Links to several previous exams from 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2009 Links to several previous exams from 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2009 Workshop presentation Workshop presentation Event Rules Event Rules Answers to submitted questions from coaches will be posted Answers to submitted questions from coaches will be posted address for questions: address for questions:

How To Practice Download Practice Exams from our site: Download Practice Exams from our site: Download Practice Exercises from National Science Olympiad Website Download Practice Exercises from National Science Olympiad Website Be familiar with spreadsheet and document applications Be familiar with spreadsheet and document applications the test will be much harder if these programs are not familiar to the student! the test will be much harder if these programs are not familiar to the student!

Spreadsheet and Document Programs Event rules specify a web-based solution Event rules specify a web-based solution We will likely be using Google Docs We will likely be using Google Docs Not a final decision yet Not a final decision yet We will finalize the application set and post this to the website soon We will finalize the application set and post this to the website soon

How To Help Students Emphasize: Emphasize: Problem Solving Problem Solving How do I go about answering this question? How do I go about answering this question? Test-taking Test-taking The exam will be longer than most teams can complete The exam will be longer than most teams can complete Using internet search tools Using internet search tools Formatting/Presentation Formatting/Presentation Familiarity with spreadsheet and document programs Familiarity with spreadsheet and document programs

Thank You! ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? Website: Website: