The way that computer science has changed in the last ten years has been breathtaking. It used to be that every solution had to be created from scratch. Students involved in developing education technology tools for long-term projects will have the chance to gain a broader technical awareness that also has an eye on the future. As Lewis notes, the past ten years have seen remarkable changes in the field of computer science. There are more resources, more quickly available.
Computers run faster and faster and have more memory.
The kinds of systems that can be created and put on people's desks today were unimaginable ten years ago. Today's challenges lie in harnessing these resources in productive ways. Even though the computing environment is far easier to operate than it used to be, there will always be the challenge of how to make things easier to understand. Lewis's recent work with young children doing programming is another example of how Lewis combines his research interests with his dedication to improving teaching and learning. Elementary school children are being taught how to create simple computer models that can help them learn science, such as what happens when someone has a cut.