James P. Burke
@jamespburke.com
DL/CS teacher, former SW Dev and MathEd Postdoc. I believe in playful STEM learning. ❤️ family, cooking, sourdough, sci-fi, horror, and making things. Intellect & Romance > brute force & cynicism. Masks save lives.
Pinned
James P. Burke
@jamespburke.com
· Dec 2
Weird But Fun Fingertip Neopixel Micro:bit Gloves - Wearable Tech Tutorial
Weird But Fun Fingertip Neopixel Micro:bit Gloves - Wearable Tech Tutorial: I'm a computer science teacher at a high school where students collaborated to put on a show of how fashion could be infused...
www.instructables.com
A while back I made this Instructable to capture some of what I'd learned about using Neopixels with Micro:bits. Some stuff here was hard for me to find/figure out my first time around.
www.instructables.com/Weird-But-Fu...
www.instructables.com/Weird-But-Fu...
"This game started as a test to answer my student’s question about what to do in multiplayer games when all players share the same screen. [...] MakeCode allows four players to be on different devices, but they still see the same screen."
jamespburke.com/blog/post-mo...
jamespburke.com/blog/post-mo...
:monkey: Escort Mission Game :guardsman:
I teach a game creation class at the high school, and one of the platforms we use is Microsoft MakeCode Arcade. I’ve written about it before. Students have really enjoyed this platform, especially thi...
jamespburke.com
June 10, 2025 at 4:29 AM
"This game started as a test to answer my student’s question about what to do in multiplayer games when all players share the same screen. [...] MakeCode allows four players to be on different devices, but they still see the same screen."
jamespburke.com/blog/post-mo...
jamespburke.com/blog/post-mo...
Reposted by James P. Burke
This thread analyzes NSF’s budget request. Heartbreaking and appalling.
🚨🚨 Friday night news drop from National Science Foundation!! 🧪
NSF just released its detailed budget request for next year: nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/00-NSF...
We knew it was going to be bad...and it lives up. Guts direct NSF support for a **quarter million people**
🧵 on some highlights...
NSF just released its detailed budget request for next year: nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/00-NSF...
We knew it was going to be bad...and it lives up. Guts direct NSF support for a **quarter million people**
🧵 on some highlights...
May 30, 2025 at 11:41 PM
This thread analyzes NSF’s budget request. Heartbreaking and appalling.
A funny story from my past and some observations about generative AI.
jamespburke.com/blog/post-on...
jamespburke.com/blog/post-on...
One Thing About Me and Indigestible Fat
A couple of years back there was a trend in short videos. People were rapping over an instrumental version of a Nicki Minaj song1. The first lyric of these raps would be “one thing about me” and folks...
jamespburke.com
May 28, 2025 at 8:44 PM
A funny story from my past and some observations about generative AI.
jamespburke.com/blog/post-on...
jamespburke.com/blog/post-on...
Pancakes of the Past and Future jamespburke.com/blog/post-pa...
Pancakes of the Past and Future
Click for larger, complete images. Way back when my girls were little I wrote this recipe down for simple pancakes. I think I got the original recipe out of an Andy Griffith Show-themed cookbook...
jamespburke.com
May 25, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Pancakes of the Past and Future jamespburke.com/blog/post-pa...
Why Computer Science Matters Now jamespburke.com/blog/post-wh...
As the school year winds down, I reflect on why I believe this work matters more than ever. It’s vital for our students to become problem-solvers, creators, and innovators — not in the future but right in our classrooms every day.
As the school year winds down, I reflect on why I believe this work matters more than ever. It’s vital for our students to become problem-solvers, creators, and innovators — not in the future but right in our classrooms every day.
Why Computer Science Matters Now
Teaching the Future: Why Computer Science Matters Now In my classrooms, in my school, in my town, and beyond, challenges have been pressing in from every direction. Yet amid the difficulties, there h...
jamespburke.com
May 10, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Why Computer Science Matters Now jamespburke.com/blog/post-wh...
As the school year winds down, I reflect on why I believe this work matters more than ever. It’s vital for our students to become problem-solvers, creators, and innovators — not in the future but right in our classrooms every day.
As the school year winds down, I reflect on why I believe this work matters more than ever. It’s vital for our students to become problem-solvers, creators, and innovators — not in the future but right in our classrooms every day.
Movie you’ve watched more than six times using gifs.
(“Hard mode” no Star Wars, Star Trek, or LOTR)
(“Hard mode” no Star Wars, Star Trek, or LOTR)
April 26, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Movie you’ve watched more than six times using gifs.
(“Hard mode” no Star Wars, Star Trek, or LOTR)
(“Hard mode” no Star Wars, Star Trek, or LOTR)
Reposted by James P. Burke
The Dallas ICE office is involved in a mass removal effort targeting nearly 200 people — many without removal orders — scheduled to be deported to El Salvador today.
This is not just cruel – it is lawless. I refuse to stay quiet while families are being torn apart, and lives are being put at risk.
This is not just cruel – it is lawless. I refuse to stay quiet while families are being torn apart, and lives are being put at risk.
April 18, 2025 at 10:14 PM
The Dallas ICE office is involved in a mass removal effort targeting nearly 200 people — many without removal orders — scheduled to be deported to El Salvador today.
This is not just cruel – it is lawless. I refuse to stay quiet while families are being torn apart, and lives are being put at risk.
This is not just cruel – it is lawless. I refuse to stay quiet while families are being torn apart, and lives are being put at risk.
Reposting this because I know there are Micro:bit wizards out there who have had to deal with this. The hot glue thing is messy. What do you do with your microbits and students? #microbit #edusky
One weakness of Micro:bits I keep encountering is in the power packs. Just the weight of the batteries in normal use can pull the wires out of either end, interrupting my students' work. I am using hot glue to try to solve the problem. Do you have a good solution?
April 18, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Reposted by James P. Burke
I won’t share RFK Jr.’s lies about autism.
It’s disgusting and dangerous.
If he had a shred of decency, he would apologize and resign.
Autistic people contribute every day to our nation’s greatness.
To every kid with autism, I’m in this fight all the way for you.
It’s disgusting and dangerous.
If he had a shred of decency, he would apologize and resign.
Autistic people contribute every day to our nation’s greatness.
To every kid with autism, I’m in this fight all the way for you.
April 17, 2025 at 3:52 PM
I won’t share RFK Jr.’s lies about autism.
It’s disgusting and dangerous.
If he had a shred of decency, he would apologize and resign.
Autistic people contribute every day to our nation’s greatness.
To every kid with autism, I’m in this fight all the way for you.
It’s disgusting and dangerous.
If he had a shred of decency, he would apologize and resign.
Autistic people contribute every day to our nation’s greatness.
To every kid with autism, I’m in this fight all the way for you.
One weakness of Micro:bits I keep encountering is in the power packs. Just the weight of the batteries in normal use can pull the wires out of either end, interrupting my students' work. I am using hot glue to try to solve the problem. Do you have a good solution?
April 17, 2025 at 9:26 AM
One weakness of Micro:bits I keep encountering is in the power packs. Just the weight of the batteries in normal use can pull the wires out of either end, interrupting my students' work. I am using hot glue to try to solve the problem. Do you have a good solution?
This article is long on listing "how we got here" but it did eventually get to a point considering practices that build a sense of community and shared purpose. What are your good links for classroom culture-building?
theeducatorsroom.com/whos-in-char...
theeducatorsroom.com/whos-in-char...
Who’s in charge here? The erosion of authority in schools - The Educators Room
The erosion of = authority in society has profoundly impacted classroom dynamics, leaving teachers struggling to manage student behavior.
theeducatorsroom.com
April 15, 2025 at 2:45 AM
This article is long on listing "how we got here" but it did eventually get to a point considering practices that build a sense of community and shared purpose. What are your good links for classroom culture-building?
theeducatorsroom.com/whos-in-char...
theeducatorsroom.com/whos-in-char...
I found this piece very insightful about teacher preparation for computer science education. Especially the part about a focus on understanding *why* the fundamental concepts are important. I believe it's important pedagogical content knowledge.
“We’ve all experienced professional development that has fallen short.” Learn about the common pitfalls teachers experience with computer science PD, and the principles needed to fix it: buff.ly/gLuSaFQ
April 9, 2025 at 4:43 AM
I found this piece very insightful about teacher preparation for computer science education. Especially the part about a focus on understanding *why* the fundamental concepts are important. I believe it's important pedagogical content knowledge.
I found out today that Alison Krauss & Union Station have a new album, and it features a song about the city where I was born: Fall River, MA. Who could imagine a song like this could be relevant again as Florida considers a return to child labor?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nUx...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nUx...
Alison Krauss & Union Station - Granite Mills (Official Lyric Video)
YouTube video by Alison Krauss
www.youtube.com
April 9, 2025 at 3:36 AM
I found out today that Alison Krauss & Union Station have a new album, and it features a song about the city where I was born: Fall River, MA. Who could imagine a song like this could be relevant again as Florida considers a return to child labor?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nUx...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nUx...
Please consider supporting STEAM education by donating to the Kaput Center during UMassD Gives tomorrow. Our STEM4Girls day serves hundreds of middle school girls every year, sparking their innate curiosity and creativity.
corsairchallenge.umassd.edu/campaigns/ka...
corsairchallenge.umassd.edu/campaigns/ka...
Kaput Center for Research & Innovation in STEM Education - UMassD Gives
The Kaput Center is an interdisciplinary research space dedicated to addressing fundamental problems in STEM education through various activities and initiatives. These include conferences, interdisci...
corsairchallenge.umassd.edu
April 2, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Please consider supporting STEAM education by donating to the Kaput Center during UMassD Gives tomorrow. Our STEM4Girls day serves hundreds of middle school girls every year, sparking their innate curiosity and creativity.
corsairchallenge.umassd.edu/campaigns/ka...
corsairchallenge.umassd.edu/campaigns/ka...
Call for curriculum. I'm planning an engineering class for next year and I LOVE this activity. If you know of any with similar values and value for students, please let me know about them. tryengineering.org/tryengineeri...
Not an Egg Drop Challenge
Not an Egg Drop Challenge is an interdisciplinary project between Physics and Environmental Sustainability (ES). This activity allowed students to combine their knowledge of water footprint, carbon em...
tryengineering.org
April 2, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Call for curriculum. I'm planning an engineering class for next year and I LOVE this activity. If you know of any with similar values and value for students, please let me know about them. tryengineering.org/tryengineeri...
I baked this weekend without a recipe, instead using the recipe in my head and aiming for a specific hydration target, and it worked out nicely. So I wrote out what I did. jamespburke.com/blog/sourdou...
#breadsky
#breadsky
March 31, 2025 at 10:02 AM
I baked this weekend without a recipe, instead using the recipe in my head and aiming for a specific hydration target, and it worked out nicely. So I wrote out what I did. jamespburke.com/blog/sourdou...
#breadsky
#breadsky
Micro:bit peeps, is there a vendor you use for equipment for building with Micro:bits (like servos and such)? One that is used to taking P.O.s from a school district? #microbits #csforall
March 22, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Micro:bit peeps, is there a vendor you use for equipment for building with Micro:bits (like servos and such)? One that is used to taking P.O.s from a school district? #microbits #csforall
"AI gives you answers, but the knowledge you gain is shallow. With StackOverflow, you had to read multiple expert discussions to get the full picture. It was slower, but you came out understanding not just what worked, but why it worked."
nmn.gl/blog/ai-and-...
nmn.gl/blog/ai-and-...
New Junior Developers Can’t Actually Code
Something’s been bugging me about how new devs and I need to talk about it. We’re at this weird inflection point in software development. Every junior dev I talk to has Copilot or Claude or GPT runnin...
nmn.gl
February 19, 2025 at 3:40 PM
"AI gives you answers, but the knowledge you gain is shallow. With StackOverflow, you had to read multiple expert discussions to get the full picture. It was slower, but you came out understanding not just what worked, but why it worked."
nmn.gl/blog/ai-and-...
nmn.gl/blog/ai-and-...
Measles:
"Complications include blindness, brain swelling/damage, pneumonia or other breathing problems, severe diarrhea leading to dehydration, and infections. 30% of children infected with measles develop a complication.
There is no specific treatment for it."
open.substack.com/pub/emilysmi...
"Complications include blindness, brain swelling/damage, pneumonia or other breathing problems, severe diarrhea leading to dehydration, and infections. 30% of children infected with measles develop a complication.
There is no specific treatment for it."
open.substack.com/pub/emilysmi...
Neighbor Tuesday: Measles in my hometown, flu everywhere, and RFK Jr.
And what you can do to protect yourself, including vaccination clinic locations in Lea County, New Mexico and West Texas.
open.substack.com
February 18, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Measles:
"Complications include blindness, brain swelling/damage, pneumonia or other breathing problems, severe diarrhea leading to dehydration, and infections. 30% of children infected with measles develop a complication.
There is no specific treatment for it."
open.substack.com/pub/emilysmi...
"Complications include blindness, brain swelling/damage, pneumonia or other breathing problems, severe diarrhea leading to dehydration, and infections. 30% of children infected with measles develop a complication.
There is no specific treatment for it."
open.substack.com/pub/emilysmi...
Living where it rarely snows is a vibe. Living where the snow is impressive is another vibe. A third vibe: living where you're glad it's rain, not snow, you don't know what you'll be scraping off your car/driveway in the morning, and you hope your roof doesn't collapse or gutters back up.
It’s “I’m glad this isn’t snow”ing outside. // @kellybates.bsky.social
February 17, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Living where it rarely snows is a vibe. Living where the snow is impressive is another vibe. A third vibe: living where you're glad it's rain, not snow, you don't know what you'll be scraping off your car/driveway in the morning, and you hope your roof doesn't collapse or gutters back up.
Snow in the forecast. New England fish chowder on the menu.
February 15, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Snow in the forecast. New England fish chowder on the menu.
Reposted by James P. Burke
If you haven't watched this yet, please watch it. www.nytimes.com/video/opinio...
Video: Opinion | Don’t Believe Him
Look closely at the first two weeks of Donald Trump’s second term and you’ll see something very different than what he wants you to see.
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2025 at 11:16 PM
If you haven't watched this yet, please watch it. www.nytimes.com/video/opinio...
Reposted by James P. Burke
RFK says fluoride is toxic, but in 2011 Calgary took fluoride out of drinking water, and the number of children receiving IV antibiotics for dental infections at Alberta Children’s Hospital increased by 700% from 2011 to 2018. Calgary is now bringing back fluoride.
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
This city took fluoride out of the water. Now it’s putting it back in
Calgary, which has endured ten years of worsening dental health and is reversing its decision, is a cautionary tale for Robert F Kennedy Jr
www.thetimes.com
January 30, 2025 at 4:15 PM
RFK says fluoride is toxic, but in 2011 Calgary took fluoride out of drinking water, and the number of children receiving IV antibiotics for dental infections at Alberta Children’s Hospital increased by 700% from 2011 to 2018. Calgary is now bringing back fluoride.
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...