A review into the factors affecting declines in undergraduate Computer Science enrolments and approaches for solving this problem

There has been a noticeable drop in enrolments in Computer Science (CS) courses and interest in CS careers in recent years while demand for CS skills is increasing dramatically. Not only are such skills useful for CS jobs but for all forms of business and to some extent personal lives as Information Technology (IT) is becoming ubiquitous and essential for most aspects of modern life. Therefore it is essential to address this lack of interest and skills to not only fill the demand for CS employees but to provide students with the CS skills they need for modern life especially for improving their employability and skills for further study. This report looks at possible reasons for the lack of interest in CS and different approaches used to enhance CS education and improve the appeal of CS

Trends in the Development of Basic Computer Education at Universities

Basic computer education in universities is experiencing huge problems. On the one hand, the amount of knowledge that a university graduate must have is increasing very quickly. On the other hand, the contingent of students varies greatly in terms of the level of training and motivation, and the level of this differentiation is constantly growing. As a result, the complexity of training and the percentage of dropouts increase. Scientists and educators are looking for a solution to these problems in the following areas: revising the knowledge necessary for obtaining at the university in the direction of the reality of their receipt in the allotted time; the use of new information technologies to simplify the learning process and improve its quality; development of the latest teaching methods that take into account the realities. This paper presents a strategic document in the field of computer education at universities - Computing Circulum 2020, as well as an overview of the areas of development of basic computer education, such as learning using artificial intelligence, virtual laboratories, microprocessor kits and robotics, WEB - systems for distance and blended learning, mobile application development, visual programming, gamification, computer architecture & organization, programming languages, learning technologies. In addition, the author gives his experience and vision of teaching basic computer education at universities

Implications of an integrated curriculum in a polytechnic or competence based environment

This is a comparative case study of an innovative approach to teaching computer programming to novices. The focus of this study is to evaluate the integrated curriculum which blends face-to-face interaction with computing practice and online learning to first-year polytechnic students in an engineering informatics diploma course. To examine the efficacy of the blended learning approach, the integrated curriculum is compared to its predecessor which has applied the traditional structured curriculum. This thesis gains relevance from its study of different dimensions of the curriculum comprising the curriculum aims and objectives, the teaching-learning activities and the different forms of assessment. The research design is mainly qualitative employing analytic induction methods to arrive at its inferences and findings. Content analysis and observation have been performed to evaluate the curriculum of each of the cases. A quantitative analysis is performed on students' performance in the computer programming module to add validity to the qualitative findings. Data were collected for students taking the Principles of Computing module in the first semester of the first year in 2005 and 2006 respectively; a total of 232 students came from the 2005 cohort and 247 students came from the 2006 cohort. The dependent variables are the module score and its sub-components, the project score and the individual test score. The independent variable significant to this study is the student's entry level GCE 'O' levels aggregate; gender is not a significant variable unlike in other studies involving mathematics or science. The findings highlight the differences that exist between a traditional structured learning environment to the blended learning environment and how students perform under the different learning environments. A major contribution of this study is the constructive alignment framework incorporating the integrated curriculum characteristics to support the blended learning approach. By reviewing the curriculum, the teaching methods, the assessment procedures and the learning environment with regard to the integrated curriculum characteristics, this study has made significant discoveries on the strengths and limitations of the blended learning approach. The results of this study show how the roles of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment are inter-related and have to be integrated into the curriculum to foster better learning for students. Finally, the findings reveal the importance of the influence of the tutor in the blended learning delivery and the students' preference for tutor interaction. Through these findings, the study is able to recommend future improvements to the Principles of Computing module

Integrating Technology With Student-Centered Learning

Reviews research on technology's role in personalizing learning, its integration into curriculum-based and school- or district-wide initiatives, and the potential of emerging digital technologies to expand student-centered learning. Outlines implications

Dynamic curricular concepts for research orientated programs in optics and photonics

Teaching and learning concepts that are adapted to the constantly evolving requirements due to rapid technological progress are essential for teaching in media photonics technology. After the development of a concept for research-oriented education in optics and photonics, the next step will be a conceptual restructuring and redesign of the entire curriculum for education in media photonics technology. By including typical research activities as essential components of the learning process, a broad platform for practical projects and applied research can be created, offering a variety of new development opportunities

Remote Mixed Reality Collaborative Laboratory Activities: Learning Activities within the InterReality Portal

Technology is changing our way to experience education from one-dimensional (physical) to multi-dimensional (physical and virtual) education using a diversity of resources such as web-based platforms (eLearning), videoconferences, eBooks and innovative technologies (e.g. mixed reality, virtual worlds, immersive technology, etc.). This represents bigger opportunities for universities and educational institutions to collaborate with partners from around the world and to be part of today's knowledge economy. This also enables greater opportunities to experience distance learning, modifying our experience of both space and time, changing specific spatial locations to ubiquitous locations and time as asynchronous/synchronous according to our necessities. The use of virtual and remote laboratory activities is an example of the application of some of these concepts. In this work-in-progress paper we propose a different approach to the integration of the physical and virtual world by creating remote mixed reality collaborative laboratory activities within an Inter Reality Portal learning environment, thereby extending our previous progress towards these goals. The learning goal of our mixed reality lab activity is to produce Internet-of-Things-based computer projects using combinations of Cross-Reality (xReality) and Virtual objects based on co-creative and collaborative interaction between geographically dispersed students. © 2012 IEEE

Defining the Competencies, Programming Languages, and Assessments for an Introductory Computer Science Course

The purpose of this study was to define the competencies, programming languages, and assessments for an introductory computer science course at a small private liberal arts university. Three research questions were addressed that involved identifying the competencies, programming languages, and assessments that academic and industry experts in California’s Central Valley felt most important and appropriate for an introduction to computer science course. The Delphi methodology was used to collect data from the two groups of experts with various backgrounds related to computing. The goal was to find consensus among the individual groups to best define aspects that would best comprise an introductory CS0 course for majors and non-majors. The output would be valuable information to be considered by curriculum designers who are developing a new program in software engineering at the institution. The process outlined would also be useful to curriculum designers in other fields and geographic regions who attempt to address their local education needs. Four rounds of surveys were conducted. The groups of experts were combined in the first round to rate the items in the straw models determined from the literature and add additional components when necessary. The academic and industry groupings were separated for the remainder of the study so that a curriculum designer could determine not only the items deemed most important, but also their relative importance among the two distinct groups. The experts selected items in each of the three categories in the second round to reduce the possibilities for subsequent rounds. The groups were then asked to rank the items in each of the three categories for the third round. A fourth round was held as consensus was not reached by either of the groups for any of the categories as determined by Kendall’s W. The academic experts reached consensus on a list of ranked competencies in the final round and showed a high degree of agreement on lists of ranked programming languages and assessments. Kendall’s W, values, however, were just short of the required 0.7 threshold for consensus on these final two items. The industry experts did not reach consensus and showed low agreement on their recommendations for competencies, programming languages, and assessments

Teaching Programming to the Post-Millennial Generation: Pedagogic Considerations for an IS Course

Teaching introductory programming to IS students is challenging. The educational, technological, demographic, and cultural landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. The post-millennial generation has different needs and expectations in an era of open resources. Learning to program is perceived as difficult, teaching approaches are diverse, and there is little research on what works best. In this paper, we share our experiences in developing, testing, and implementing a new design for teaching introductory IS programming at the undergraduate level. We describe pedagogic considerations and present teaching tips for a blended course that combines best practices with experimentation. Our approach recognizes the changing nature of the student body, the needs of an IS major in the current environment, and the worldwide shift in education from instructor-centered to student-centered learning

Digital learning object for audiovisual production

Funding Information: ACKNOWLEDGMENT A.V. M. Author thanks to the professors and technicians of Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB) who assisted with permissions, classrooms, studios, laboratories, and equipment for the research. Thanks also for the support of the Faculty of Science and Technology (FCT) of the New University of Lisbon (NOVA).This article deals with a case study in which a digital learning object (DLO) was developed to assist in the pedagogical practice in higher education (audiovisual area). The main results obtained were the excellent conceptual evaluation received by the DLO tool; as well as great concepts received in evaluations that refer to relevance, differentiation, credibility, and intention to use (among other metrics). In addition, a blind analysis also showed that there was no qualitative difference between the practical work developed with or without the aid of the tool (due to a potential gain of time that could be perceived and enjoyed for the execution of the activities performed, due to an automation process offered by the tool). The final conclusions pointed to a positive indication of the use of DLOs in teaching practice in higher education, as the digital tool was very well received by students during classes and helped to review and reinforce the learning content taught. Thus, the study reinforces the research developed in the area of education on the effectiveness of the use of technologies in supporting pedagogical activities, besides adding another experiment related to mixed digital learning. However, it stresses that collaborative research can lead to a further analysis of the pedagogical contributions of DLOs.publishersversionpublishe

The life and times of a learning technology system: the impact of change and evolution

With the inception of the web now being more than 20 years ago, many web-based learning technology systems (LTS) have had a long life and have undergone many changes, both affecting content and infrastructure technologies. A change factor model can capture the various factors causing LTS to change. Methods for change-aware design of LTS have been suggested. The purpose of this investigation is, firstly, to add empirical results to aspects of these models and methods in order to show the relevance of such a change factor model by specifically looking at an LTS that has been developed, maintained and extended over a period of 20 years. Secondly, these results shall be used to develop a conceptual model capturing and assessing the impact of change. A key observation is an unexpectedly high impact of environmental constraints on the LTS, but also new opportunities emerging over time have had dramatic changes as their consequence