Survey form and methods for second CASC survey of academic research computing and data center usage

Full analysis paper is in the ACM PEARC'21 Proceedings: ACM ISBN 978-1-4503-8292-2/21/07. https://doi.org/10.1145/3437359.3465589Availability of cloud-based resource delivery modes is transforming many areas of computing. Many academic institutions that support research computing facilities are considering and changing their mix of on-premise and remote facilities (including in particular use of commercial cloud facilities). A working group of the Coalition for Academic Scientific Computation (an educational nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization) has conducted an annual survey of higher education institutions now for two years running, with intentions of continuing. This survey asks a number of questions of academic institutions regarding their investments in research and data-oriented computing facilities, the extent of those facilities, and institutional activities. This technical report includes the full text of the survey instrument itself and describes the methods and survey population.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167731/1/CASC 2021 Survey Methods and Form.pdfDescription of CASC 2021 Survey Methods and Form.pdf : Survey form and methods to accompany the full publication in the ACM PEARC'21 Proceedings, ACM ISBN 978-1-4503-8292-2/21/07. https://doi.org/10.1145/3437359.3465589SEL

Latin American perspectives to internationalize undergraduate information technology education

The computing education community expects modern curricular guidelines for information technology (IT) undergraduate degree programs by 2017. The authors of this work focus on eliciting and analyzing Latin American academic and industry perspectives on IT undergraduate education. The objective is to ensure that the IT curricular framework in the IT2017 report articulates the relationship between academic preparation and the work environment of IT graduates in light of current technological and educational trends in Latin America and elsewhere. Activities focus on soliciting and analyzing survey data collected from institutions and consortia in IT education and IT professional and educational societies in Latin America; these activities also include garnering the expertise of the authors. Findings show that IT degree programs are making progress in bridging the academic-industry gap, but more work remains

Computational Thinking Integration into Middle Grades Science Classrooms: Strategies for Meeting the Challenges

This paper reports findings from the efforts of a university-based research team as they worked with middle school educators within formal school structures to infuse computer science principles and computational thinking practices. Despite the need to integrate these skills within regular classroom practices to allow all students the opportunity to learn these essential 21st Century skills, prior practice has been to offer these learning experiences outside of mainstream curricula where only a subset of students have access. We have sought to leverage elements of the research-practice partnership framework to achieve our project objectives of integrating computer science and computational thinking within middle science classrooms. Utilizing a qualitative approach to inquiry, we present narratives from three case schools, report on themes across work sites, and share recommendations to guide other practitioners and researchers who are looking to engage in technology-related initiatives to impact the lives of middle grades students

Transmission losses cost allocation in restructed electricity market environment

During these recent decades, the restructuring system of electricity market has been taken places around the whole world. Due to the restructuring (deregulation), the electrical power system has been divided into three separates categories according to the function. First stage of power system is the generation companies (GENCOs), followed by transmission companies (TRANSCOs) and distribution companies (DISCOs). The competitive environment will be handling by a non-profit entity, independent system operator (ISO) that functioning as the system securities that have to make sure that the power system continues to operate in a stable and economical manner. However, restructuring system can give effect during the energy transmission. One of the transmission issues is regarding the power losses. To overcome the losses, generators must generate more power. The issue regarding the transmission losses in deregulated system is how to allocate it to the user and charge them in fair ways as in for instance the pool trading model, it is hard to trace the power contribution and losses of each user in transmission line. In addition, the users didn’t want to pay the losses, it means that the ISO have to responsible for the losses and it will be unfair to put the responsible to ISO alone. Therefore, in this project, the allocation of transmission losses and loss cost methods which are the pro-rata and proportional sharing method will be investigated. Comparison between those methods will be done in order to identify which types of method that reflect an efficient and fair way to distribute the cost of the transmission losses to the user. These chosen methods will be tested on IEEE bus system

The accessibility of administrative processes: Assessing the impacts on students in higher education

Administrative processes that need to be completed to maintain a basic standard of living, to study, or to attain employment, are perceived to create burdens for disabled people. The navigation of information, forms, communications, and assessments to achieve a particular goal raises diverse accessibility issues. In this paper we explore the different types of impacts these processes have on disabled university students. We begin by surveying literature that highlights the systemic characteristics of administrative burdens and barriers for disabled people. We then describe how a participatory research exercise with students led to the development of a survey on these issues. This was completed by 104 respondents with a diverse range of declared disabilities. This provides evidence for a range of impacts, and understanding of the perceived level of challenge of commonly experienced processes. The most common negative impact reported was on stress levels. Other commonly reported impacts include exacerbation of existing conditions, time lost from study, and instances where support was not available in a timely fashion. Processes to apply for disability-related support were more commonly challenging than other types of processes. We use this research to suggest directions for improving accessibility and empowerment in this space

Free and open source software in computing education

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) exemplifies the merit and successes of open content, understood broadly as creative work that explicitly allows sharing and further changes by anyone, whether an individual or organization. Although the benefits of improving computing education with open source practices are largely acknowledged, transforming teaching to create effective learning environments has many challenges. The panelists will bring different perspectives on teaching strategies and curricular content they have used in their classrooms. These perspectives will exemplify key issues with FOSS-based education and FOSS-based IT systems. The developer and user communities established around FOSS-based IT systems are of particular interest to the IT discipline because of its focus on user centeredness and advocacy for advancing professional practices in authentic environments

Starting from scratch: experimenting with computer science in Flemish secondary education

In the Flemish secondary education curriculum, as in many countries and regions, computer science currently only gets an extremely limited coverage. Recently, in Flanders (and elsewhere), it has been proposed to change this, and try-outs are undertaken, both in and outside of schools. In this paper, we discuss some of those efforts, and in particular take a closer look at the preliminary results of one experiment involving different approaches to programming in grade 8. These experiments indicate that many students from secondary schools would welcome a more extensive treatment of computer science. Planning and implementing such a treatment, however, raises a number of issues, from which in this paper, we formulate a handful as calls for action for the computer science education research community

Brave New World: Can We Engineer a Better Start for Freshers?

Abstract - The crucial importance of first experiences in shaping future success has been widely acknowledged. Creating the best foundations in large cohorts of students from diverse backgrounds presents special problems of its own. But a secure foundation can enhance student achievement and improve retention – and the students may even have fun too. Research has suggested that building learning communities can enhance student engagement and achievement. This paper examines how introducing non-technical activities can establish sound foundations for a university career by a) addressing objectives in the wider curriculum and b) promoting non-technical skills and experience of group working. A set of changes introduced to five degree cohorts in our academic school were designed to complement enhancements to our technical curriculum introduced during many years of debate and consideration. The changes have impacted upon generic and technical educational experiences. The paper presents an evaluation of the programme of changes through two iterations from the perspective of both faculty and student

A Competency-based Approach toward Curricular Guidelines for Information Technology Education

The Association for Computing Machinery and the IEEE Computer Society have launched a new report titled, Curriculum Guidelines for Baccalaureate Degree Programs in Information Technology (IT2017). This paper discusses significant aspects of the IT2017 report and focuses on competency-driven learning rather than delivery of knowledge in information technology (IT) programs. It also highlights an IT curricular framework that meets the growing demands of a changing technological world in the next decade. Specifically, the paper outlines ways by which baccalaureate IT programs might implement the IT curricular framework and prepare students with knowledge, skills, and dispositions to equip graduates with competencies that matter in the workplace. The paper suggests that a focus on competencies allows academic departments to forge collaborations with employers and engage students in professional practice experiences. It also shows how professionals and educators might use the report in reviewing, updating, and creating baccalaureate IT degree programs worldwide