Can you believe that a Computer Science Student Day was held on April 21st in San Francisco? Overlooked by a bustling San Francisco skyline are scores of schools and institutions that joined together to celebrate Computer Science Education. A wonderful program indeed, the students came up with an original idea of having a “Do My Programming” assignment. There were fifty-five participants from eleven schools who came up with the original idea for this event.

So what is done My Programming? The intent of the assignment was to bring together computer science teachers and computer science students from throughout the country to celebrate one of the most important elements of computer literate culture; that is, how to program. The goal was to give students a chance to share their ideas and to implement them into a computer program. Each of the participants was asked to write a short paper about a problem they have encountered in their own programming endeavors.

The Do My Programming assignment was well received. Numerous students wrote e-books on various computer science topics, some for free and others with a minimal monetary contribution. Some of the students were able to sell their e-books at local book shops or to other students who wanted to further their knowledge about the field. All of the students were very happy that they could contribute something of value to this worldwide cause.

But, I noticed something. There was very little participation from the local school district, which makes me wonder, did they not think it would be a great idea? Maybe it is because they are not experienced with computer science activities, or maybe they just do not know of such a day. Perhaps there are other factors involved. Whatever the case may be, I congratulate the organizers, the students and the teachers.

I was also very impressed with how excited the students were. I have been to so many computer science fairs during my fifteen year career as a teaching professional that I have never seen so excited students in attendance. I even saw some of the older students. You can hardly help but be entertained by the energy and enthusiasm.

The students were extremely organized for such a short event. Many stayed late writing programs, created custom programs and even practiced programming skills. The result was very impressive. They were able to demonstrate not only technical ability but also creativity and originality. It was quite impressive to see the amount of detail and research that went into the program.

The day concluded with a banquet where the students were given a chance to show off their newly created programs. Some of the programs were on an open circuit basis to other schools and colleges. Others were even featured in the local press.

The student of honor, as always, delivered an awesome speech and ended with a bang. I can’t tell you how influential this person is on all of the students. The amount of motivation they instill in their peers is incredible. The students were site web inspired and their confidence boosted, which is why I get involved every year when the Computer Science Student Day comes around.

The inspiration and success stories demonstrated the power of teaching computer science. Students took away information that challenged and inspired them. There was a real buzz around the event. People were buzzing about the successes of the students and what they were achieving.

As the weeks went by and the buzz built, the organizers decided to expand the Computer Science Student Day into a weekend. Now it’s a nationwide phenomenon. Students travel from one college or university to another participating in this once a month event. The event has expanded beyond the classroom. Today, students come from all walks of life and all levels of education participate.

My co-organizer and friend, Jennifer Gentzler, give students a wonderful lesson in motivating and inspiring others. She has encouraged her fellow organizers to keep the momentum and enthusiasm going. This year, she has added the Computer Science Student Day to the festivities on the weekend of May 18th. She has graciously allowed us to expand upon the original plans to make this an even bigger and more exciting event than it ever was before.