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Despite a widely-acknowledged shortage of software developers, and reports of a gap between industry needs and software education, the possible gap between students' needs and software development education has not been explored in detail. In their university education, students want to take courses and carry out projects that clearly relate to their lives and their goals. This paper reports on a...
Gamification — the use of game design elements in non-game contexts — has seen rapid adoption in various areas in recent years. Its application in education is particularly promising, due to its potential to shape user behavior in desirable directions through increasing user motivation and engagement. This work-in-progress paper presents a course gamification platform aimed at supporting instructors...
Using the Scratch environment as a tool to teach programming skills or develop computational thinking is increasingly common in all levels of education, well-documented case studies from primary school to university can be found. However, there are reports that indicate that students learning to program in this environment show certain habits that are contrary to the basic programming recommendations...
Retention has traditionally been an issue in many introductory computing courses and major degree programs. In Fall 2013 we saw an anomaly with particularly high persistence and success rates among students in our majors-only explorations course. A close examination revealed a similarly higher than usual success and persistence rate by our majors in the first programing course they were taking simultaneously...
Although there are many systems designed to engage people in programming, few explicitly teach the subject, expecting learners to acquire the necessary skills on their own as they create programs from scratch. We present a principled approach to teach programming using a debugging game called Gidget, which was created using a unique set of seven design principles. A total of 44 teens played it via...
Ethical understanding and binding of members play an important role in the establishment of a fair and happy society. Whereas the ethical responsibility is more important for all technical professionals it becomes crucial for computer graduates. Because other technical professional interact more with the human and their activities are more visible to the society. Whereas computer graduates mostly...
Computer science terminology is generally based on words that have a related original meaning in English and rooted in western tradition. Hence, students from other cultures and students that are not native English speakers, will not be helped by language and culture in understanding computer science concepts. In this work, the authors review the interrelationship between language, cultural background,...
We detail some lessons learned while designing and testing a decision-theoretic advising support tool for undergraduates at a large state university. Between 2009 and 2011 we conducted two surveys of over 500 students in multiple majors and colleges. These surveys asked students detailed questions about their preferences concerning course selection, advising, and career paths. We present data from...
An initiative in Brazil teaches computing to young people alongside their parents in family workshops through game programming using Scratch--with benefits that reach beyond the classroom and into the community.
The motivations of IT professionals who spend time trying to improve gender diversity in computing include both those oriented toward helping society and others that are more individual and personal. This is one of five articles providing personal perspectives on gender diversity in computing. The Web extra at http://youtu.be/Khh0DlVW9kk is a video interview in which Robert B. Schnabel, dean of the...
Over a four-year period, Harvey Mudd College dramatically increased the number of female computer science majors by implementing three innovative changes that other institutions can easily replicate. This is one of five articles providing industry perspectives on gender diversity in computing.
An often-neglected classroom-level view of how equity issues impact both students and the teachers seeking to engage them offers insights into the need to develop a systemic approach to resolving these issues in K-12 computer science education in the US. This is one of five articles providing industry perspectives on gender diversity in computing.
Computing-related jobs are interesting, well-paying, secure, and abundant, so why aren't more women working in this creative field that produces the technology that is central to our daily lives? The Web extra at http://youtu.be/TgNJJzSiBiY is a video interview in which Wendy DuBow, a research scientist at the National Center for Women & Information Technology, discusses the importance...
The use of computers in modern life is almost unavoidable since computers are used in business and private life. Most users today use proprietary software, but with the arrival of the financial crisis forced savings raised the question of whether free Open Source technologies provide a good replacement for proprietary software. This paper presents the results of research about students' attitudes...
While computer science is firmly established in higher education, introducing and maintaining CS as a regular K-12 subject remains a major challenge. From a pedagogical perspective, this requires adapting the curriculum to students at widely varying levels of cognitive development and training teachers to enable both knowledge construction and competency development.
This article reports on the University of Virginia Computer Science Department’s efforts to attract and instruct diverse students in undergraduate computing majors. These efforts are important for meeting workforce needs, creative problem-solving, and equitable access to rewarding occupations. The University of Virginia computer science introductory curriculum accommodates...
Reflections on a 15-year career reveal that following your heart and mind will ensure that you're in the right place with regard to school and career choices. This is one of five articles providing personal perspectives on gender diversity in computing. The Web extra at http://youtu.be/WjRPdyxgl0o is a video interview in which Annie Antón, chair of the School of Interactive Computing...
An unusual career trajectory led to the intersection of computer science and social science—and a new perspective on gender diversity in computing. This is one of five articles providing personal perspectives on gender diversity in computing. The Web extra at http://youtu.be/S8OFA0J7iR4 is a video interview in which Kate Starbird, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Centered...
In this paper, we present our experience, findings, and lessons learned from conducting a one-week Alice summer computing workshop for K-12 teachers. Our workshop focuses on using Alice, a 3D programming environment, to introduce computing concepts to K-12 teachers in all subjects so that these teachers can pass on their knowledge and inspiration to their students. During the workshop, the teachers...
Most high school students in Saudi Arabia are not aware of computer science concepts and think of them as the competency of using computer applications. This misconception originated from the curriculum taught at high schools, which is more application oriented in nature and does not provide a solid background in computer science concepts. In this paper, we describe a three days localized version...
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