Association for Computing Machinery

ACM Chennai Chapter Newsletter
Chapter Activities

Chennai Chapter members met in IIT, Chennai on 31 January. A new committee took charge to run the chapter activities. Stay tuned for more updates in the next few months !

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Event Updates

COMAD 2017
Dates: March 8-10
Venue: IIT Madras Campus, Chennai

CODS 2017
Dates: March 9-11
Venue: IIT Madras Campus, Chennai
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Tech News
‘Figure It Out’ Isn’t Enough: Striking a New Balance Between Understanding, Problem-Solving, and Design in Introductory CS Classes

http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm/211965-figure-it-out-isnt-enough-striking-a-new-balance-between-understanding-problem-solving-and-design-in-introductory-cs-classes/fulltext

“A computing educator has to balance teaching efficiently and motivating the student. Efficient teaching means teaching abstractly, emphasizing practice, and preferring direct instruction over having students “figure it out.”….”
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** ACM’s Open-Conference Principle and Political Reality
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http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm/212863-acms-open-conference-principle-and-political-reality/fulltext

“ACM’s Open-Conference Statement starts with a lofty principle (https://www.acm.org/conferences) : “The open exchange of ideas and the freedom of thought and expression are central to the aims and goals …”
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5 Radically Different Approaches to Technology in Schools

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lynn-perkins/5-radically-different-app_b_14681544.html

“Not long ago, I was checking email when a Google doc notification popped up. It was from my son Will, …”
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** How Mobile Health Apps and Wearables Could Actually Make People Sicker
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http://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/how-mobile-health-apps-and-wearables-could-actually-make-people-sicker
“A recent journal article about wearable tech for infants pulls no punches: “There is no evidence that consumer infant physiologic monitors are life-saving, and there is potential for harm if parents choose to use them,” it states. …”
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** Millimeter-Scale Computers: Now With Deep Learning Neural Networks on Board
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http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/robotics/artificial-intelligence/millimeterscale-computers-now-with-deep-learning-neural-networks-on-board

“Computer scientist David Blaauw (http://web.eecs.umich.edu/faculty/blaauw/research.html) pulls a small plastic box from his bag. He carefully uses his fingernail to pick up the tiny black speck inside and place it on the hotel café table. …”
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The Coming AI Wars
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-canton/the-coming-ai-wars_b_14667242.html?section=us_technology

** “If you accept that business is always evolving, learning and changing then you won’t be surprised by this forecast. Think ultimate velocity. Think the next wave of digital disruption. …”
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** Ecommerce Technology Trends That Will Take Center Stage This Year
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-lazar/ecommerce-technology-tren_b_14665416.html?section=us_technology
“With 2016 over and done with, the gears are turning. Q1 of 2017 is well underway, and with it does come the next ecommerce technology trends. Last year turned out some rather impressive numbers for ecommerce …”
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** Optimizing code
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http://news.mit.edu/2017/optimizing-code-compiler-parallel-programs-0130
“Modifying the “middle end” of a popular compiler yields more-efficient parallel programs. …”
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** Researchers add a splash of human intuition to planning algorithms
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http://news.mit.edu/2017/human-intuition-planning-algorithms-0207
“Every other year, the International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling hosts a competition in which computer systems designed by conference participants try to find the best solution …”
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** The promise of augmented reality
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http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21716013-replacing-real-world-virtual-one-neat-trick-combining-two
“SCIENCE fiction both predicts the future and influences the scientists and technologists who work to bring that future about. Mobile phones, to take a famous example, are essentially real-life versions of …”

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