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The Current Crisis in Computing: What are the Real Issues?

The Current Crisis in Computing: What are the Real Issues?. Mark Guzdial School of Interactive Computing Georgia Tech Story: 1 st Order Economics, 2 nd Order Curriculum. Addressing the 2 nd Order BS in Computational Media: Anything but CS Robotics CS1: Provide a Context

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The Current Crisis in Computing: What are the Real Issues?

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  1. The Current Crisis in Computing:What are the Real Issues? • Mark GuzdialSchool of Interactive ComputingGeorgia Tech • Story: • 1st Order Economics,2nd Order Curriculum. • Addressing the 2nd Order • BS in Computational Media: Anything but CS • Robotics CS1: Provide a Context • Threads™: Giving a new focus

  2. Hypothesis: Economy (1st order) and Curriculum (2nd order) • Our computing curriculum has never been attractive. • It is designed for the sole purpose of producing software engineers (Students read: “Dilbert!”) • For years, software engineering was a pathway to wealth (not just jobs) • People will go through a lot for wealth. • Dot-com bust plus off-shoring =>CS is no longer about wealth. • Recent uptick: “Google buys YouTube for $2B”(Thank you, Owen Astrachan!) • Now…why go through CS?

  3. Solution: Support a variety of outcomes • Prove to students that there are more outcomes in Computer Science. • Programming is part of the story, Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water. • “Computer Science” has a lot of baggage now=> It takes a serious effort to make the case.

  4. New Degree: BS in Computational Media • Joint with School of Literature, Communications, and Culture • Requirements: • All the same General Education as CS, including Calculus, Discrete Math, Statistics. • ½ of required courses in Computer Science. • Same courses as our CS majors. • ½ in Liberal Arts • Performance art, film studies, media theory, etc. • Results • 58 majors in first year, 24% female. • Nearly 200 majors today, still about ¼ female. • Fall 2006 class 70% larger than Fall 2005,Predicting 100% increase in Fall 2007!

  5. A Context for CS1 for CS majors: Robotics • Microsoft Research has funded the Institute for Personal Robotics in Education • Tucker Balch, DirectingMonica Sweat, Developing GT’s CS1 • Joint between Bryn Mawr and Georgia Tech • http://www.roboteducation.org • Goal is to develop a CS1 and CS2 with robotics as the context. • HW2: Recursively follow a light • CS2: Add a camera

  6. Threads™ • Carrying Context to the Degree Level • A new conceptualization for an undergraduate degree. • We defined 8 “Threads” which together define Computing: • Computing and Media, People, Platforms, Computational Modeling, Information Internetworking, Intelligence, Embodiment, and Foundations • The courses within each are “core” CS (some), advanced/new CS, and some non-CS (e.g., Psychology in People Thread)

  7. Threads™ as a Degree • Our BS in Computer Science is defined as any two Threads. • 28 possible paths to a degree now. • Advantages: • Clearly says what CS is. It isn’t just programming. • Clear differentiator for students. • It’s not just India’s or China’s CS • Explains why students take any particular course • Paper Saturday morning

  8. Bill Gates in TIME 12 Feb 2007 • Q: Education is a big focus for you. So, is there better learning through technology? • A: It's important to be humble when we talk about education, because TV was going to change education and videotape was going to change it and computer-aided instruction was going to change it. But until the Internet exploded 10 years ago, technology really hadn't made a dent in education at all. Learning is mostly about creating a context for motivation. It's about why should you learn things. Technology plays a role, but it's not a panacea.

  9. Generalizing the Solution • These are Georgia Tech’s solutions.They are instantiations of a general solution. • Contextualize and specialize • We can’t compete globally in terms of commodity skills. • And our students find those jobs boring, anyway. • We have to show: • Alternative options • Ways to specialize • Context to motivate and demonstrate broader outcomes.

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