bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hardware component of an upper level computer science curriculum
Authors: Chua Y. S. , Winton C. N.
Published: July 2004

This report elaborates on the hard-ware requirement recommended in North Florida. Brief course contents, minimal laboratory facilities, key experiments and laboratory management are described.
Teaching formal methods for program development and verification (Panel Session)
Authors: Gerhart Susan L. , Hehner Eric C. , Mills Harlan D. , Turner A. Joe
Published: July 2004

A. Joe Turner

The role of formal methods for program development and verification in computer science curricula will be discussed. The panel members will address the questions

1) What should be taught?

2) When should it be taught?

3) What are the objectives in teaching this material?

4) What are the problems in teaching this material at this level?

The panel members and an outline of their positions is given below.

Susan L. Gerhart

Certain things are understood to be needed for applying verification technology to actual software. The basic knowledge needed to apply verification methods using current technology to large-scale problems will be discussed, based on actual experience in using the technology in such areas as database systems, operating systems, and communications systems.

Eric C. Hehner

The Dijkstra/Gries approach to program development is an important and useful component of the computer science curriculum. Good programmers use this approach informally, and instruction in the formal methods can provide the understanding that will improve average programmers. Although the subject matter is currently taught at the senior/graduate level at Toronto, it should be taught earlier, for example during the second year. Teaching the material earlier does require a different approach, however, and good student preparation in logic would be essential for success.

Harlan D. Mills

Formal methods and a large structured set of principles for program design and verification should be taught early in the computer science curriculum. Instruction in programming can be improved by teaching a large set of small principles, and teaching by apprenticeship. Students learn easier and faster when they are freshmen than later after they have become hackers.
Teaching human-computer interaction in introductory courses
Authors: Entin Eileen B.
Published: July 2004

In this paper I have attempted to point out some ways in which an instructor can sensitize students to the human-computer interface aspect of programming. By discussing this topic at the introductory level, students are made aware early on both of how important this aspect of programming is and, at the same time, how difficult and time-consuming it is to produce quality interface.

Most of the suggestions for lecture or discussion presented here can be covered fairly briefly, without taking too much time away from the discussion of the syntax and semantics of the programming language or languages being covered in the course. Just how much time is devoted to the topic of interface is, of course, at the discretion of the instructor. The suggestions for project assignments also require small additions or modifications to the traditional programming assignments. Furthermore, these ideas can be incorporated into more advanced courses. As the students' programming abilities increase and they are able to produce more and more complex code, the dimensions for evaluation of user interface can be broadened.

None of the foregoing is meant to imply that it would not be desirable to have students take a course specifically devoted to issues in human-computer interface. It would certainly be appropriate for students to pursue this topic in depth, and a special course such as the one outlined by Shneiderman [6], would be excellent. The important goal at the introductory level is to make students aware that user interface is an important aspect of good programming. If they gain this awareness at the outset, it will pervade their thinking so that one does not have to correct their orientation later in the curriculum, or later still, after they begin their professional career.
A project oriented course on software engineering
Authors: Henry Sallie
Published: July 2004

This paper makes an attempt to outline Software Engineering course with particular attention on the administration of the project.

Section II describes the type of students taking the course, and a general description of the topics covered in the course. In section III the project itself is discussed with attention focused on the need for a project, what is expected of the students and the administration of the project. Section IV describes how parts of the course have been automated to relieve some of the problems of administration. Finally, the last section of the paper summarizes the impact of this course on the students and their employers.
Some insights and experiences in teaching team project courses
Authors: Woodfield Scott N. , Collofello James S. , Collofello Patricia M.
Published: July 2004

A large amount of software development is performed by teams of individuals. To prepare students for these team efforts, many universities are beginning to offer computer science courses in which a software development team project is undertaken. The performance of these teams may be affected by many complex factors. This paper will describe some of our experiences from teaching several different types of project team courses. Factors which affect project team effectiveness will also be discussed.
The teaching of software engineering
Authors: Shooman Martin L.
Published: July 2004

It has become abundantly clear to all that during the last two decades of the twentieth century and long into the twenty first, software will be both the heart and the binding force of all our large technological developments. Two decades ago large software systems began to be born. Within the last decade, leaders in industry, government, and the universities have realized that software can represent up to 90% of the cost of large computer projects. During this time period, the term Software Engineering has emerged, which can be defined as:

Software Engineering:
The collection of analysis, design, test, documentation, and management techniques needed to produce timely software within budgeted cost.

One of the major challenges facing computer science departments is how to teach software engineering to the large number of B.S. and M.S. students who are now studying Computer Science.
Reflections on teaching computer ethics
Authors: Aiken Robert M.
Published: July 2004

(This paper has been accepted for publication in the Proceedings, but the photo-ready form was not delivered in time. Copies of the paper should be available upon request at the presentation.)
Computer science curriculum recommendations for small colleges(Panel Session)
Authors: Cassel Lillian , Austing Richard , Beidler John
Published: July 2004

Panelists will report on the work of the ACM Education Board's ad hoc committee to revise and update the Small College curriculum recommendations published by ACM in 1973. The revised report's completion is expected by the end of 1983.

A preliminary report will be given which addresses topics including suggested curriculum content, resources needed, implementation problems, and other matters of concern to small colleges attempting to develop and/or maintain a viable computer science program. Audience response will be welcome to provide input to the committee.
Retraining
Authors: Mitchell William
Published: July 2004

This paper reports on the experiences acquired in initiating a summer retraining program to prepare college faculty to teach undergraduate computing. The distinction between formal and informal retraining, the benefits of formal retraining, and the justification for credentializing such programs with a masters degree are also discussed.
The problem of producing teachers with computing expertise within the school system
Authors: Brooking Annie G.
Published: July 2004

(This paper has been accepted for publication in the Proceedings, but the photo-ready form was not delivered in time. Copies of the paper should be available upon request at the presentation.)
Teaching microcoding principles
Authors: Moore Freeman L.
Published: July 2004

Students are typically exposed to programming in various languages as part of their experience in computer science. Assembly language and hardware concepts are considered standard knowledge in addition to other related topics. Teaching firmware, the integration of hardware and software, is the subject of this paper. The need for teaching firmware is presented, followed by a description of a project assigned to students. Lastly, a discussion of the portability of the concepts learned is presented.
Teaching microprocessor architectures
Authors: Cuha Ratan K.
Published: July 2004

For our undergraduate computer science architecture majors, we are making a major revision of our existing course sequence (three courses) on microprocessors. For effective utilization of microprocessors, a total system design and development methodology approach is used. In this paper, we discuss the development of the first course of the sequence. The first course emphasizes on various microprocessor architectures. Since our non-architecture major undergraduate students may take this first course as an elective, this course is designed as a self contained foundation course with proper mixes of hardware and software.
A model high school computer lab(Special Session)
Authors: Hoffman Irwin J.
Published: July 2004

The George Washington High School has received many awards for its ecumenical approach to affording students a computer experience. The computer curriculum and laboratory treat the whole spectrum of student abilities and subject areas, including not only mathematics and business but also other areas such as English, art and music, as well as the educationally underprivileged. The curriculum includes 16 formal classes, and the laboratory currently contains 36 computers.

The development and organization of the computer laboratory and curriculum will be presented. A brief demonstration of software to teach English to students speaking Spanish, Laosian, Hmong, and Vietnamese.
Schemata for teaching structured assembly language programming
Authors: Silver James L. , Leeper Robert R.
Published: July 2004

The paper advocates the use of structured programming techniques in designing and developing assembly language programs. It presents schemata for implementing the major constructs of structured programs in IBM 370 Assembly language. These include the extensive use of equates for defining labels and the use of indentation to illustrate logical dependencies in pseudocode comments.
Program documentation at wichita state university
Authors: Foley David M.
Published: July 2004

The main purpose of this paper is to discuss about program documentation and solutions on the problems in documentation.
Using Jackson diagrams to classify and define data structures
Authors: Sanders Dean
Published: July 2004

A modified set of Jackson diagrams together with a classification scheme is proposed as a means for unifying the study of data structures. The diagrams have proven to be very useful for presenting complex concepts and relationships.
Adventures in PASCAL—the academy approach
Authors: Jost A. C. , Bolz R. , Topping G.
Published: July 2004

A new curriculum was designed for the computer science major at the Air Force Academy with the initial majors course being Elements of Programming Languages (CS359). The course consists of four major blocks: detailed concepts of PASCAL; examination of elements of programming languages; examination of FORTRAN77 and COBOL; and student comparative reports on other contemporary languages.

The initial block about PASCAL in this course is unique in concept and approach; and is the focus of this paper. The underlying basis for the approach taken is that PASCAL is an extremely small language; therefore, very easy to master. Once a student has mastered a programming language it is easy to compare other languages against the 'mastered' language. Also, it is much easier for the student to learn new programming languages once one is mastered. The approach we used in this course is what makes it fairly unique.
A predictor for success in an introductory programming class based upon abstract reasoning development
Authors: Barker Ricky J. , Unger E. A.
Published: July 2004

The purpose of this study was to create and validate a tool which could be administered to students enrolled in or considering enrollment in an introductory programming course to predict success in the course or alternatively to segregate enrolled students into fast and slow paced sections. Previous work which met the criteria of a self contained predictive tool included the work of Barry Kurtz [5] of the University of California, Irvine using abstract reasoning development as the predictive measure. The test Kurtz developed had been tested only on a small sample (23 students) in a controlled environment (one instructor - the researcher) and the test required up to 80 minutes to complete.

This study modified the Kurtz test to require 40 minutes and administered it to 353 students learning two different languages from a variety of instructors. This predictor successfully predicted the advanced students from average to below average students. When used in conjunction with other known factors, e. g., GPA, the authors feel it is a viable tool for advising and placement purposes.
A pedagogical processor model
Authors: Gillett Will D. , Muehrcke Eric B.
Published: July 2004

This paper presents a pedagogical processor model, intended for teaching fundamental concepts about von Neumann machines. A general discussion of the desirable pedagogical properties is given, and a specific one address machine is defined. The machine has a simple architecture, supports four addressing modes, and uses a small number of hierarchically organized, fixed-field instructions. Debugging capabilities are included in the definition and can be accessed by executable instruction.
An experiment with design formalism in introductory courses
Authors: Ford Gary A.
Published: July 2004

(This paper has been accepted for publication in the Proceedings, but the photo-ready from was not delivered in time. Copies of the paper should be available upon request at the presentation.)
COBOL tables
Authors: Fowler George C. , Glorfeld Louis W.
Published: July 2004

In presentation of multidimensional arrays, a common convention for presentation is the
row major
format. Unfortunately, the presentation of COBOL tables follows no conventional format. A survey of presentations in current texts demonstrates this lack of uniform presentation. The lack of uniformity adds complexity to classroom presentation and also is magnified due to little carry over of concepts learned when dealing with arrays. A presentation of arrays and tables is discussed along with a proposed standard for presentation of tables in COBOL.
Advanced placement program in computer science(Panel Session)
Authors: Rine David C. , Jefferson Wadkins J. R. , Garland Steven J.
Published: July 2004

The Advanced Placement Program in Computer Science will be discussed by members of the development group. The presentation will be geared to both high school and college level educators.

Steven J. Garland, Chairman

The content of the Advanced Placement course and the information that was used to put the course together will be presented. Alternative outlines will be discussed as well as long-range plans for the future.

David C. Rine, Chief Reader

Suggestions on facilities needed to support the Advanced Placement in Computer Science course, and preparations for teachers of the course, will be presented. Standards, teacher training, and the Advanced Placement Examination will be discussed.

J.R. Jefferson Wadkins

The role played by the College Board and Educational Testing Service in the development of Advanced Placement courses and examinations, as well as ways in which the College Board and Educational Testing Service assist high schools and colleges with courses and examinations, will be presented. Available materials and information from the College Board and Educational Testing Service will be discussed.
Installation of a commercial database management system in a university environment
Authors: Honkanen Pentti A.
Published: July 2004

This paper addresses the problem of using a commercial database management system (DBMS) in an academic environment for educational purposes. Prior to the decision to use a commercial DBMS, an instructional database IDBS [4] was used. The pros and cons of this decision are discussed. In addition, the problems of obtaining a commercial DBMS on an academic budget for instructional purposes, and of creating a reasonably realistic database are discussed. Finally, an evaluation of the initial quarter's use is presented.

The environment for this discussion is the Georgia State University College of Business Administration Information Systems Department graduate database course. This course is offered three times a year with approximately 20 students per offering.

DBMS are extensively being used in business areas [2,9,14,15]. As more DBMS are being installed, the sophistication and complexity of these systems is increasing [9,12,13]. This fact makes it imperative for the graduates in the Information Systems field to have a solid understanding of a DBMS and how it is used in a business environment. Without actual experience using a DBMS one cannot fully understand systems of such complexity. This understanding cannot be obtained from text reading and lecture. This situation is analogous to learning a programming language without actually ever using a computer.
Teaching database concepts with seed
Authors: King Ronald S.
Published: July 2004

This paper describes a course in database design taught at Baylor, including a course catalog overview, course outline, related SEED assignments, team oriented term projects, and finally, student reactions to the course.
Weighting biodata to predict success of undergraduate business administration students in introductory data processing
Authors: Blumenfeld Warren S.
Published: July 2004

(This paper has been accepted for publication in the Proceedings, but the photo-ready form was not delivered in time. Copies of the paper should be available upon request at the presentation.)
A computer science syllabus for gifted pre-college students
Authors: Korf Richard E.
Published: July 2004

A computer science syllabus was designed for and taught to a group of gifted and talented high school students. A core course included segments on programming in LISP, software systems, digital hardware, theoretical computer science, and artificial intelligence. In addition, some students elected an independent programming project course. It was found that gifted pre-college students can be taught computer science, as opposed to merely computer programming.
“Free” computer too expensive
Authors: Lemos Ronald S.
Published: July 2004

(This paper has been accepted for publication in the Proceedings, but the photo-ready form was not delivered in time. Copies of the paper should be available upon request at the presentation.)
Programming environments for pre-college instruction (Special Session)
Authors: Baird William E. , Rughes Charles E. , Moshell J. Michael
Published: July 2004

This session features two presentations and demonstrations of computer software/hardware systems for teaching problem solving techniques and programming concepts. Several computers will be available for hands-on demonstration at the conclusion of the session.
A tool for program grading
Authors: Hamm R. Wayne , Henderson Kenneth D. , Repsher Marilyn L. , Timmer Kathleen M.
Published: July 2004

The main purpose of this paper is to discuss about the Jacksonville University Scale, a tool for program grading and it's advantages.
The suitability of the VAX for a course in assembly language
Authors: Sebesta Robert W.
Published: July 2004

This paper describes the assembly language course we teach, using a Digital Equipment Corporation VAX-11/780 minicomputer, in which structured programming is stressed. It also discusses the relative merits and disadvantages of choosing the VAX as the computer to be used in such a course.

The first section of the paper provides a quick survey of the VAX architecture. The second describes our course in assembly language, including our method of structuring assembly language programs. The final section details some of the positive and negative aspects we discovered in using the VAX in our course.
A new environment for teaching introductory computer science
Authors: Ayen William E. , Grier Sam
Published: July 2004

In 1973, a great amount of frustration was being vented about student inability to formulate and solve problems on a computer; at that time, a suggestion was made to separate problem solving from programming—to make problem solving language independent [1].

This approach was acknowledged in 1978 as one of four common methods of teaching college-level introductory computer science [2]. Finally, in 1981 and 1982, this method, or a variant of it, was widely proclaimed [3] [4] [5].

We adopted this approach of instruction in our introductory course in 1977 and the results have been less than spectacular.

We don't make this point to discredit the approach; its existence has made manifest the necessity of teaching problem solving in an introductory course. Rather, we believe that the added teaching of a separate problem solving methodology is not by itself sufficient.
Introducing subprograms as the first control structure in an introductory course
Authors: Mazlack Lawrence J.
Published: July 2004

The usefulness of introducing subprograms (PROCEDUREs and FUNCTIONs) as the first program control structure in an introductory programming course is discussed. The motivation for an instructor to do this is to place an earlier and greater emphasis on top-down design and structured programming. Specific pedalogical examples are provided.
The use of microcomputers in an applied computer science program
Authors: White Curt M.
Published: July 2004

The use of microcomputers in an undergraduate computer science program may be handled in several ways. One approach is to first teach the use of a microcomputer followed by the design of a microcomputer system, and then to send the students out to recommend and install a complete microcomputer system for some organization in the community. In this way, not only do the students learn how to program a microcomputer, but they also learn the internals of the microcomputer, the design of a microcomputer system, the assembly language on a microcomputer, and a final, total application of all their knowledge to a real life situation. We feel this greatly improves upon the common combination of lectures and programming assignments with realistic microcomputer system design and implementation.
ABISS—an inexpensive computer-based sound spectrograph
Authors: Park M. J. , Teoh W. , Klemme W. , Gates H.
Published: July 2004

A practical tool for assisting deaf children to learn to speak is discussed. The first portion of this project which has been completed is presented in detail. On-going further development leading to the final system is also discussed.
Bucking the tide
Authors: Chew Robert L.
Published: July 2004

How do colleges and universities deal with the increasing student demand for more computer information systems education, while qualified faculty (in short supply anyway) continue to leave for industry's greener pastures? The paper presents the author's personal perspective on recently adjusting to a faculty role after more than twenty years in industrial and research environments. Many issues are dealt with, including: economics, institutional support, qualifications, lifestyle, work-load, and keeping up with technology. Alternative solutions to the manpower problem of computing education are presented and examples are given of some university-industry technology transfer programs. Specific examples of local academic support from the Boston Chapter of the Society for Information Management will also be noted.
Integration of methodology and tools
Authors: Beccue Barbara , Chrisman Carol
Published: July 2004

An approach to teaching systems development is presented which integrates the teaching of the tools used in structured analysis with a systems development methodology. The students are taught about each tool at the place in the development methodology where it is first needed. Students apply the methodology in a semester long team project where they obtain experience applying the tools. This emphasizes the application of the tools and the students' learning of the mechanics of each tool.
A paged - operating - system project
Authors: Schiper André , Dalang Gérard , Eggli Jorge , Mattini Imad , Simon Roland
Published: July 2004

This paper describes a student project which is a major part of a senior level Operating Systems course at the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne.

The project consists in conceiving and implementing an entire Operating System, where user jobs benefit from a simulated paged virtual memory on a DEC-LSI/11 based microprocessor. Students program in Portal, a modular high level language similar to Modula.

The positive reactions we have obtained from our students center on satisfaction in having participated in defining specifications and having implemented an entire system themselves.
Computing in liberal arts colleges
Authors: Beidler John
Published: July 2004

The panelists will describe their experiences and share their thoughts on the special problems involved in teaching computing in the environment of the liberal arts college. Time will be available for attendees to add their own comments.
Using the cloze procedure to assess program reading comprehension
Authors: Entin Eileen B.
Published: July 2004

This paper discusses the feasibility of using cloze procedure to assess program reading comprehension. Two Pascal programs were prepared as cloze tests and administered to introductory computer science students. Scores on the cloze tests were found to be positively related to other measures of program reading comprehension. A number of procedural and methodological issues are raised, but, overall, the results indicate that the cloze procedure can be used to assess program reading comprehension and, perhaps, program complexity as well.
The effect of a preliminary programming and problem solving course on performance in a traditional programming course for computer science majors
Authors: Campbell Patricia F.
Published: July 2004

A preliminary PASCAL course which emphasized problem solving was designed for incoming computer science majors who were identified as being at risk. In addition, students in the required PASCAL course could transfer back to the preliminary course prior to the administration of the first examination. Students in the preliminary course were paired with comparable freshman majors from the preceeding academic year. Paired t-tests revealed significantly higher grades in the required course for those students who had previously completed the preliminary course. The preliminary course also served as a filter; approximately 43% of the students did not subsequently attempt the required course. Sex differences in persistence were also noted.
Progress report
Authors: Brown Marc H. , Sedgewick Robert
Published: July 2004

An instructional computing laboratory, consisting of about 60 high-performance, graphics-based personal workstations connected by a high-bandwidth, resource-sharing local area network, has recently become operational at Brown University. This hardware, coupled with an innovative courseware/software environment, is being used in the classroom in an attempt to radically improve the state of the art of computer science pedagogy. This paper describes the current state of the project. The hardware and courseware/software environments are described and their use illustrated with detailed descriptions, including sample screen images. Some comments are included on our initial reactions to our experience to date with the environment and on our future plans.
Software maintenance
Authors: Hocking Dan , Celko Joe
Published: July 2004

There is considerable effort to reduce the software budget devoted to the maintenance of applications systems. This effort will have the effect of improving productivity of development and maintenance programmers. This means that for a given system over a given time period, the amount spent on software maintenance can be reduced significantly. The reduction might even reach the eighty per cent sometimes shown in the literature. We support and applaud the efforts to improve software maintenance procedures. Despite this type of reduction, it is not certain that organizations will spend less on maintenance relative to development. It is likely that the opposite will occur as more systems are being supported. This paper shows how that can happen through the derivation of some simple cost equations.
Planning for in-house software engineering education
Authors: Ulema Mehmet , Larsen Jack
Published: July 2004

In summary, a rapidly changing technology, a tremendous growth of software based systems, a need to retrain current technical staff, the issue of programmer productivity, the lack of established educational programs in software engineering at local colleges, and the integration of theory with practical requirements are among the major factors which force us to implement an in-house educational program in software engineering.

It was learned from personal interviews and several surveys that there is a general consensus among Hazeltine management that there is a need to establish a uniform approach to the software development process, and that education and training are essential parts in any effort to improve our software capabilities. This article describes a long term plan to meet the education and training needs.

Analysis of the personal interviews, surveys of managers and engineers, and a literature search have made possible the identification of company needs and requirements and target populations. A three-part program is proposed, a system approach to meet the diverse needs of executives, managers, and engineers.

The Executive Program, which will cover topics such as the nature of software related project management and development and its critical or “risky” aspects, consists of an intensive one day seminar for corporate executives annually.

The Management Program, which will help managers to understand and apply procedures and techniques necessary to the cost effective development of high quality embedded software products, will consist of up to six seminar/workshops each year.

The Engineering Program, which will deal mainly with teaching engineers how to make effective use of the modern tools and techniques employed in the software development process, will consist of a combination of workshops, in-house courses and recommended graduate courses at local universities, taking advantage of the existing tuition reimbursment program.
A workbench for project oriented software engineering courses
Authors: Waguespack Leslie J. , Hass David F.
Published: July 2004

We present the Computer Science Scholar's Workbench, a tool kit written in Pascal suitable for research and teaching. It has advantages over contemporary workbenches, UNIX and INTERLISP: a host to support the tool kit costs less than $3,000, the tools are free-available in source from publications, and the tools are written in Pascal which is widely used in academic environments. We discuss a) course requirements and problems unique to project oriented software engineering classes, b) the tools we've chosen for the workbench, and c) how they may be used to ameliorate or solve many of the problems. We report our experience using the workbench and evaluate it in terms of cost, performance, portability, extensibility, and effectiveness.
Information systems for management in the eighties
Authors: Sumner Mary R.
Published: July 2004

A course in Management Information Systems must prepare future users and information systems professionals for their roles in analyzing application requirements and designing information systems to serve business and individual needs. The objectives, organization, content, and methods used to teach this course to both MIS and non-MIS majors within the School of Business at Southern Illinois University are described in detail. The systems development project, which involves students in learning tools and techniques for structured systems analysis and design, as well as in applying these methods to an actual design project, is one of the most important activities of the course. Students have an opportunity to work together in their respective roles as users and systems analysts and to use project management and control techniques to assure effective results.
Course content for computer science at the secondary school level
Authors: Rogers Jean B.
Published: July 2004

A review of a preliminary report by the Task Group on Secondary School Computer Science, working under the ACM Elementary and Secondary Schools Subcommittee.
Abstract types, ADA packages, and the teaching of data structures
Authors: Feldman Michael B.
Published: July 2004

This paper describes a course in Data Structures offered to upper-division undergraduates and beginning graduate students. In addition to the usual data-structures topics, Computer Science 159 places a strong emphasis on software engineering principles, especially the implementation of abstract data types using Ada packages.

Two programming project series are presented; documentation requirements are described in some detail. Attention is paid to the problem of translating high-level design concepts, as embodied in Ada, into the more limited data structures and modularization features of earlier languages.
A framework for medical information science
Authors: Blum Bruce
Published: July 2004

A one day workshop on the topic “A Framework for Medical Information Science” was held in October. Three issues were considered: what is Medical Information Science, what are the key research issues, and what are the educational needs. Because of the brevity of the workshop and scope of the topic, no summary conclusions were developed. Individual papers and position statements will be published. This paper reviews the workshop and some of the principal issues discussed.
Accommodating disparities in secondary school backgrounds in the university environment
Authors: Fritz Jane M.
Published: July 2004

Exposure to computers in high school has become a widespread phenomenon, with several schools actually offering an integrated computer curriculum throughout grades K-12. Because of the urgency of needs and the quickness with which these programs are implemented, as well as the lack of a well-tried standard to follow, the students coming out of these programs have every manner of experience. The resulting differences in the background of entering university students has created a need for an enriched introductory course. However, assessing the preparedness of students for such a course presents its own difficulties. This paper describes a placement test being used at the University of New Brunswick to evaluate the knowledge of incoming students to determine those who have been adequately prepared for an enriched course. The placement test, including an initial analysis of the placement test as a predictor, is discussed.
ACM curriculum committee report computing programs in small colleges
Authors: Beidler John , Austing Richard H. , Cassel Lillian N.
Published: July 2004

The Curriculum Committee of the Education Board of ACM has established as an ongoing committee a Small College Group. This committee will make a presentation of its report at this symposium and will provide an opportunity for attendees to comment. Various aspects of computing programs will be considered, including obtaining qualified faculty, providing appropriate equipment and the selection of a suitable and manageable set of courses.
Some pedagogic considerations in teaching elementary programming using structured FORTRAN
Authors: Friedman Frank L. , Koffman Elliot B.
Published: July 2004

This paper contains a description of several aspects of a course in introductory computer programming that is taught using a few basic control structure extensions to FORTRAN. The FORTRAN syntactic forms and flow diagram patterns of these structures are defined, and some of the advantages of these forms are listed. The problem solving methods developed in the course are outlined, and the structures are shown to be consistent with these methods. Some pedagogic considerations which provide an effective environment for the presentation of these control structures are described.
An introductory COBOL course with structured programming
Authors: Khailany Asad
Published: July 2004

ORIS 316 was designed as a core course to teach COBOL programming language and Business Information Systems to students majoring in Business Computer Information Systems. Students from other areas such as Mathematics, Computer Science, Sociology, Economics, Political Science, Marketing, Accounting, Management, etc., take this course to enhance their employment opportunities. Most of the students who take this course have some knowledge of some computer programming language, especially in FORTRAN. In the last four years, I have taught this course eight times. In the beginning, perhaps like many other instructors have done, I took the normal path to teach this course. This path was more or less influenced or determined by some textbooks or manual references. These text and manual references have different approaches; however, to teach the COBOL language, all of them agree on one point, namely, to present the PERFORM statement, the tool of structured programming in COBOL, in the late sections of their texts. And of those sources which I'm familiar with, none had the structured programming approach.

Because of the popularity of structured programming especially in the business data processing environment, and since many of our students start their professional work as a programmer or as a systems analyst, it was determined that the structured programming technique and modular programming concept should be introduced as early as possible in the semester. This has been done in the last three offerings of the course and the results have been impressive. Students' evaluations of the same instructor and the same course were considerably higher than before and their response to the new approach has been encouraging.
The IIT MST in computer science program
Authors: Meinke John G. , Bauer Charles R.
Published: July 2004

The MST program at Illinois Institute of Technology evolved as a result of Computer Science emerging as a separate discipline at the secondary school level. The State of Illinois and the Chicago Board of Education have both been investigating certification for Computer Science teachers, but at present only two states, Wisconsin and Minnesota, have certification programs for teachers of Computer Science. In the not too far distant future there will be certification programs in many states and the IIT MST program in Computer Science is designed to meet those requirements.

It is important to realize before discussing the program itself that the MST program is not designed to teach people how to teach. Before entering the program, a teacher must have at least three years of superior teaching experience as well as recommendations from his principal attesting to his quality as a teacher. Of the 32 semester hours required for the MST degree, a maximum of 12 semester hours are in Computer Pedagogy, with the norm being nine. In addition, students in the program study on a part-time basis to encourage use of the principles studied at IIT in their own classrooms.
A course description for teacher education in computer science
Authors: Poirot J. L.
Published: July 2004

This paper describes the content of a course entitled “Computers in Education” offered within the teacher certification program at Southwest Texas State University. This course, designed specifically for teacher education has several objectives including the following:

(1) to cover material which would be most likely included in a secondary school curriculum,

(2) to give adequate motivation for covering this material in the secondary school,

(3) to list objectives to be reached in the secondary school classroom for each topic,

(4) to present teaching techniques for topics in the secondary school,

(5) to present computer related topics designed to aid the teacher in instruction,

(6) to present computer related topics designed to aid the teacher in school administrative work.
A ldquo;non-programming” introduction to programming concepts
Authors: Ecklund E. F.
Published: July 2004

This paper discusses introducing students to programming concepts before they study a high-level language. Algorithm specification using flowcharts, and implementation of certain algorithms on a demonstration computer programmed in decimal machine code provide a functional basis which extends by way of analogy to sound programming concepts for both high-level languages and assembler languages.
Documentation standards for beginning students
Authors: Brewer Richard K.
Published: July 2004

The importance of writing programs that are readable has finally gained preeminence in the struggle with such competing and contradictory goals as “cuteness” and “optimization” of code. As a result, a much greater stress on documentation standards is found in computer science education these days. Industry and government standards for documentation are being more widely adhered to and certain points of agreement have emerged. Some excellent books have been written that cover the subject (Van Tassel, 1974; Ledgard, 1975; Kernighan & Plauger, 1974); however it is safe to say that both the exhaustive treatment of the subject in such publications and the extremely high standards proposed probably preclude wholesale adoption by instructors of beginning level programming courses. What is proposed here is a set of common sense, scaled down documentation standards for the student in a first programming course in, say, FORTRAN, PL/I, ALGOL, or Basic.

The following represents an amalgam of documentation requirements achieved as a result of teaching introductory programming to college students for nine years. The actual sources have been the literature, colleagues, and last but not least, experience. They are not intended to represent an “only” or “best” approach; the author has recently encountered other efforts in this direction that must surely be as reasonable and effective. It does represent one educator's approach; it is sufficiently scaled down so that one might reasonably expect to use it as a standard for beginning students; and it may be most useful as a contributor of components to be integrated into a more effective set of standards.

The basics of documentation and readable programming include comments, meaningful variable names, labelled output, flowcharts, and clear program flow. The major components of and basic rules for each of these categories will be presented in the context of the needs and limitations of the beginning student.
Does a computer have sexual preferences?
Authors: Mazlack Lawrence J.
Published: July 2004

At the University of Guelph there has been a single significant introductory computer science course. Approximately 50% of the University's full time undergraduate students have taken this course during their academic career. Sectioning and enrollment has generally been done without regard to academic program or semester in school.

An examination of the past two years' results was performed utilizing the records of 1,350 students. Negligible correlations were found between a student's sex, academic program or semester in school when posed against the students' grades (both final and by grade component). All three results are contrary to the normal implicit assumptions regarding competitiveness between sexes, academic programs and student experience in a computer science course.
Leading a Child to a Computer Culture
Authors: Solomon Cynthia J.
Published: July 2004

“LOGO” is sometimes used as the name of a programming language. It is also used as the name of ... what shall I call it ? ... an environment, a culture, way of thinking about computers and about learning and about putting the two together. I shall try to convey to you how I bring a child into this environment. The environment is made of ideas, of things and of people. The things include various types of turtles: computer controlled mechanical beasts which use touch sensors or eye-sight to crawl around the floor and display turtles, which live on TV-like screens where they draw in phosphor white or inmulti-color.
An experimental program in computer usage for secondary students
Authors: Platt Joan , Curran Jeanne
Published: July 2004

This paper presents an experimental program designed to introduce high school students to the use and interpretation of computer data. The program has evolved from a model research center in the Department of Sociology at California State College, Dominguez Hills. The Center is operated and administered by undergraduates and graduates as a part of their curricular experience in research methods.
Teaching teachers about computers
Authors: Marsh Barbara
Published: July 2004

I believe computers will continue to expand their areas of application, and so am forced to the conclusion that school curricula will have to deal with them. And if computer curricula are to be introduced into the schools, teacher training institutions must prepare teachers to teach about computers.

The context I choose is education itself. "Education" is of course rather a broad term; computer uses in education are many and varied. Some of these applications are similar enough to those in other areas that some very general principles of computer use will automatically be raised. Others are quite unique, and raise specific questions which teachers will have to deal with in their own professional lives, so that the study of computers can be seen to be very relevant to being a teacher. By teaching about computers in this context instead of more abstractly or generally, and by drawing attention constantly to the educational implications of computer uses, I hope that the teachers who are my students will in turn pass on to their own students the habit of attending to the social implications of what is done by computers.
Planned attitude change while teaching computer literacy
Authors: Lucas William R.
Published: July 2004

All instruction, no matter how technical, has goals beyond its basic cognitive context. Attitudes and other traits are often as important as technical knowledge. The student needs a positive attitude to deal effectively with complex computer applications and should have a balanced view of the opportunities and dangers presented by the use of computers. The basic conjecture of this report is that within the environment of a computer literacy classroom student attitudes can be analyzed and systematically changed. The procedure described involves an attitude measuring instrument which was used to design specific instructional activities with well defined goals.