A group of CSEE students from the Maple lab is developing Playing to Program (PtP) as an intelligent tutoring system to teach programming concepts. PtP uses the open source RUR-PLE visual programming environment for Python and automatically selects and loads problems from a catalogue which the student then attempts to solve. The student's work is analyzed for correctness and the results used to update a model of her understanding of programming concepts and ability to solve complex problems. That model is then used to select the next problem to present, resulting in an adaptive learning process.

The PtP project involves both undergraduate and graduate students and is led by Professor Marie desJardins. You can get more information on PtP and download the prototype code at the PtP Google code site. CSEE undergraduate students Amy Ciavolino, Eliana Feasley, and Robert Deloatch will present the work this Friday morning at the CSEE Research Review based on a recent paper accepted at the Second Symposium on Educational Advances in Artificial Intelligence. Graduate student David Walser also recently completed a MS thesis on Problem Selection of Program Tracing Tasks in an Intelligent Tutoring System and Visual Programming Environment which will be available later in May.

Here’s a quick list of where to grab something to eat for free (or cheap) while you’re studying for finals:

• Coffee, Cookies, and Music on Monday, May 2^nd, at 6pm in the Sports Zone. There will be coffee from different off-campus vendors as well as pastries and other baked goods. The music department will be accepting donations that go into the UMBC Foundation.
• Breakfast and Bingo is Tuesday, May 3^rd, at 9pm in the Sports Zone. Free breakfast entrees and if you can stick around, there are some great prizes you can win. It’s all free of course.
• Jest 4 Fun on Wednesday, May 4^th, from 11:30 to 1:30 on the Quad. Lots of food will be available to participants as well as games and giveaways.
• Star Wars Day on Wednesday, May the 4^th (be with you), during free hour on Mainstreet will be featuring Star Wars cookie decorating.
• Challah for Hunger will be selling multiple flavored Challahs on Mainstreet for $3 from 11am-1pm on May 5^th.
• Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in Flat Tuesdays at 7pm with some hors d’oeuvres.
• Finally, May 12^th is RSA’s Midnight Dessert starting at 11pm in True Grit’s. Bring your residential ID and enjoy two hours of sweet, sweet sweets.

Follow UMBCEats on Twitter to stay up-to-date on where you can snag something to eat on campus without spending a meal.

President Obama just addressed the nation, confirming reports that say that Osama bin Laden is dead.

Yes, you read that right.

Osama bin Laden, the face of terrorism, the mastermind behind 9/11 was killed by American special forces in a covert operation in Pakistan.

Coincidentally, 8 years ago, President Bush flew in to declare, “Mission Accomplished.”

The banner might seem more appropriate now.  However the “war on terrorism” is not likely to be over anytime soon.

We will keep you posted with more updates in the hours ahead.

2 Corinthians 13:5-14 (NIV 2011)

⁵ Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? ⁶ And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. ⁷ Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. ⁸ For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹ We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored. ¹⁰ This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.

¹¹ Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

¹² Greet one another with a holy kiss. ¹³ All God’s people here send their greetings.

¹⁴ May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Reflection:

We know what it means to take tests. Throughout school we took them, and we may be familiar with the routine of answering some questions to receive a grade. But God’s tests are different. He tests not with questions on a piece of paper but with life experience. The tests bring out what is in our hearts and what we live for - do we love God? Do we trust Him?

Paul challenged the Corinthians to examine themselves. Yet verses 11-14 reveal that Paul had great hope for them in passing the test because of the reality of Christ in them. We are invited to examine ourselves as well. We can be encouraged because we have the same hope that Paul had for the Corinthians - the reality of Christ in us, in our church. As we go through each test, may we believe even more that He truly is with us and we love and trust Him.

Response:

God allows and brings tests into our lives so we may know what is in our hearts. Let us spend some time in reflection and prayer, thinking about the tests we have gone through recently or are going through now. Ask the Lord to reveal what He is showing us through the tests. As He opens our eyes, may we turn away from worldly ways of responding and may we respond with gratitude and ask Him to help us to trust Him even more.