Embedded Systems Courses at RIT

A three-course sequence of cross-disciplinary real-time and embedded systems courses has been introduced at RIT ¢. We are teaching these courses in a studio-lab environment teaming computer engineering and software engineering students. The courses introduce students to programming both microcontrollers and more sophisticated targets, use of a commercial real-time operating system and development environment, modeling and performance engineering of these systems, and their interactions with physical systems

Performance-Based Compensation: Design and Implementation at Six Teacher Incentive Fund Sites

Examines preliminary outcomes for student achievement, stakeholder support, recruitment and retention, and changes in school cultures; success factors; challenges; and the role of states and districts in implementation and financial sustainability

Civil society roles in transition: towards sustainable food?

Civil society organisations (CSOs) are often conspicuously absent in policy discussions and strategic planning about food security and the environmental sustainability of food systems. However, findings from a recent study of UK-based CSOs indicate that these groups make a variety of important contributions towards innovation in both policy and practice. This briefing paper draws attention to the disconnection between the narrowly constrained treatment of CSOs within policy circles, and the broad range of different ways that they actually engage with and influence policy and market conditions. Its purpose is to provoke new ways of thinking about civil society and provide CSOs with a new logic (and evidence) to underpin their efforts to leverage resources. Key messages are as follows: - UK-based CSOs have historically made significant contributions to the innovation trajectories of our food and agriculture systems - In contrast to markets, which tend towards homogeneity and are fuelled by competition, characteristics of civil society that crucially underpin these contributions are diversity and collaboration - Policy ignorance of civil society – its purposes, how it operates and its contributions to the development of agro-food systems – must be addressed, e.g. by incentivising and creating spaces for exchange of ideas and practices between CSOs, policy-makers and academics - Established ways of engaging CSOs in the governance of agro-food systems must be re-thought and more appropriate modes and levels of intervention in and support for civil society must be sough

The Road We’ve Traveled: 12 Years of Undergraduate Software Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology

In 1996, the Rochester Institute of Technology launched the first undergraduate software engineering program in North America. This paper briefly reviews the development of the program, and describes the program’s evolution up to the present. We illuminate both the constant aspects of the program – what we believe we got right – as well as the changes made in light of pedagogical, technological and disciplinary advances. We conclude by considering the current and future challenges for undergraduate software engineering education both at RIT and elsewhere

If You’re Not Modeling, You’re Just Programming: Modeling Throughout an Undergraduate Software Engineering Program

Modeling is a hallmark of the practice of engineering. Through centuries, engineers have used models ranging from informal “back of the envelope” scribbles to formal, verifiable mathematical models. Whether circuit models in electrical engineering, heat-transfer models in mechanical engineering, or queuing theory models in industrial engineering, modeling makes it possible to perform rigorous analysis that is the cornerstone of modern engineering. By considering software development as fundamentally an engineering endeavor, RIT’s software engineering program strives to instill a culture of engineering practice by exposing our students to both formal and informal modeling of software systems throughout the entire curriculum. This paper describes how we have placed modeling in most aspects of our curriculum. The paper also details the specific pedagogy that we use in several courses to teach our students how to create, analyze and implement models of software systems

Designing programming courses for ET students

Rochester Institute of Technology offers a three-course technical programming sequence for Engineering Technology students. All three courses are required for Computer Engineering Technology students. The first two courses are required for Telecommunications ET students. Electrical and Civil ET students are required to take only the first course of the sequence. This paper reviews and discusses the events and experiences associated with the development and initial conduct of this sequence of C++ programming courses. It details how the courses were designed to assist ET students to better succeed in higher level courses taken later in their program sequence. Foundation elements of these courses include C++ procedural and object oriented grammar and syntax, programming structures and data structures. The paper illustrates how secondary elements of a technical programming course can be selected so as to additionally promote and encourage student learning of techniques for applied technical problem solving, technical writing, software engineering, project management, team dynamics and ethics

Quality and TQM at Higher Education Institutions in the UK: Lessons from the University of East London and the Aston University

The objective of this article is to investigate the level of implication of Quality in the University of East London and TQM in the Aston University. The elements of Quality and Accountability are the major driving forces in academic institutions in the UK, and in this respect, the total quality management (TQM) movement has exploded, capturing the attention of educators at all levels. Certainly, higher education embraces the concept of TQM as a set of tools for planning continuous improvement. In wider context, TQM have all sought to achieve fundamental change in organizations. The focuses of these two cases are implication of Quality and TQM programme in the University of East London and Aston University respectively.