A paradigm shift! The Internet, the Web, browsers, Java and the future of computer science education
Authors: Boroni Christopher M. , Goosey Frances W. , Grinder Michael T. , Ross Rockford J. 
Published: July 2004

Ready or not, here it comes! A paradigm shift with profound
implications for computer science education is underway. The shift
is away from a relatively static, localized paradigm of teaching
and learning towards an interactive, dynamic, and non-localized
paradigm.

The new paradigm is not totally unfamiliar. Various institutions
have for some time been exploring educational activities based on
interactive software, sometimes coupled with two-way interactive
video for distance learning. These efforts, though, have largely
been based on technologies that were not universally available in
educational settings (e.g., Sun workstations) and sometimes
expensive to acquire, thus limiting their widespread acceptance by
others. Furthermore, even when the technology was fairly common
(e.g., PCs with Windows 95) we have noted from long experience that
the mere burden added onto the backs of busy instructors of
downloading, installing (which never seems to go without some
hitch), and learning one more new system has hindered the
widespread adoption of many otherwise very fine educational
software packages. But all of this has now changed, and rather
abruptly at that. Downloading and installing software is no longer
much of an issue, and even the local computer platform is of little
importance. In short, due to the Web and its related technologies
it is now possible for virtually any institution, large or small,
to embrace the new paradigm with minimal effort and cost. Indeed,
given the momentum of the Web, the paradigm shift may be thrust
upon us before we are ready to engage the clutch!

Numerous technologies are converging to effect this paradigm
shift:

" the Internet, with its global computer interconnections;

" the World Wide Web, providing easy access to information
virtually anywhere;

" browsers, such as Netscape and Internet Explorer, that allow
nearly transparent access to the Web;

" HTML, which makes the development of universal, multimedia
"hypertextbooks" and other documents possible;

" Java and the Java Virtual Machine, which provide an
environment for the development of platform independent,
interactive educational software that can be delivered via the Web
through standard browsers;

" powerful notebook computers that can easily be carried to a
classroom and connected to the Internet (or, if an Internet
connection is not available, a hard disk or CD image of the
relevant information) for use in a lecture;

" small, eminently portable computer projection systems that,
too, can be transported to arbitrary classrooms and connected to a
computer for display of computer output, allowing nearly any
classroom to be adapted to the new paradigm; and

" improved interactive two-way video systems, providing for
distance learning and remote student participation from properly
equipped lecture halls.

Without question, the most influential of these technologies on
the paradigm shift are the Web and the Java virtual machine. The
elimination of platform dependence as a hurdle to producing good
educational software systems that can be widely used without hassle
is indeed a major achievement of profound import. We thus refer to
the new paradigm as the
Web paradigm.

There are many different facets to the paradigm shift that could
be discussed, some possibly controversial. In the confines of this
paper, however, we limit ourselves to the discussion of some of the
implications of the Web paradigm on computing education. We should
clearly state that our aim is not to discuss future computer
science
curricula.
Instead, our focus is on the teaching and
learning
environment
that will result from the Web paradigm
and---by implication---the profound influence it will have on any
new curriculum models. In the Web paradigm, instructors will tend
away from a traditional lecture style towards the role of a
facilitator, and students will become more active in exploratory
learning.

Any discussion of the Web paradigm that did not include some
exciting, dynamic examples would certainly not be very satisfying.
Thus, the accompanying talk will be liberally sprinkled with
projected demonstrations of the major concepts using relatively
inexpensive technology available today (and sure to be more
accessible and affordable tomorrow). So, unfasten your mindbelts
and enjoy the ride!