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Contexts of Computing Education

Deepak Kumar Bryn Mawr College dkumar@cs.brynmawr.edu. Contexts of Computing Education. The Big Picture. “I think there is a world market for about five computers.” —Thomas J. Watson, 1943 (Chairman of the Board of IBM). The Big Picture. “…over 1 billion PCs in use today.”

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Contexts of Computing Education

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  1. Deepak Kumar Bryn Mawr College dkumar@cs.brynmawr.edu Contexts of Computing Education

  2. The Big Picture “I think there is a worldmarket for about five computers.” —Thomas J. Watson, 1943(Chairman of theBoard ofIBM) IPRE/Deepak Kumar

  3. The Big Picture “…over 1 billion PCs in use today.” —The Economist, June 28-July4, 2008. IPRE/Deepak Kumar

  4. The Big Picture • “Today, there are more computers than people on your campus.” • — Deepak Kumar, 2007. IPRE/Deepak Kumar

  5. Educational Context: Interest in CS From: Freshmen Interest in CS and Degree Production Trends, CRA Bulletin, 10/1/2007.

  6. Perspective: CS as a Liberal Art • Goal: To produce women who have a full grasp of modern technology, the role it plays, and its implications in society, regardless of their discipline of study. • Implication: CS has emerged beyond its traditional perception as a subset of Math and Engineering to the very core of a liberal arts education.

  7. Curriculum Design Patterns • Less prescriptive • More student-centered • More interdisciplinary electives • Flat pre-requisite structure

  8. X + CS CS + X • Minor in Computational Methods • Accessible to any student on campus • 4 CS courses (CS1, CS2, Disc. Math, +1)2 computational courses outside CS • Requires buy-in from Dept. X!

  9. Computing Contexts in CS1 & CS2 • Robots • Multimedia • Visualization • Games • Social Networking • Others

  10. Contextual Courses • CS1 with Robots & MultimediaIPRE initiative www.roboteducation.orgSeven course offerings at Bryn Mawr and GeorgiaTech since Spring 2007 • CS1 with VisualizationTwo course offerings (2006, 2008) • Elective on Game Design & Programming Included non-majors (2006, 2008)

  11. Contextual Approaches to CS1 & CS2 • Contexts make learning experience more engaging and exciting • Still learn core CS concepts • View CS as a type of logic and problem solving; requiring patience and thought • Discover that CS is applicable to the real world

  12. Gender Issues • Differences in male and female interests • Inherent obsession for speed & efficiency • Social relevance of computing/software • Introducing gaming into the curriculum has a real danger of discouraging female enrollment • Significant student frustration over software and tools

  13. Contexts of Computing Education # Computers > # People?

  14. Contexts of Computing Education # Computers > # People? # Computers > # People? Declining Interest in CS

  15. Contexts of Computing Education # Computers > # People? # Computers > # People? Declining Interest in CS Flexible CurriculumMinor in Computational Methods

  16. Contexts of Computing Education # Computers > # People? # Computers > # People? Declining Interest in CS Flexible CurriculumMinor in Computational Methods Teaching Contexts RobotsMultimedia Visualization Games Social Newtorking …

  17. Other important factors • CS != Programming • Computing as a medium for creativity • Computing as a social activity • Performances vs Competitions • Nature of examples, assignments, projects • Create accessible, engaging environments for new, diverse population of students

  18. Example CS1 Exercise

  19. Example Elective Courses • Computational Models • Computational Linguistics • Emergence • Game Design & Programming • Search Engines and Information Retrieval • Geographical Information Systems • Recent Advances in CS (topics vary)

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