Applying Science Fiction to Course Design - A case of computer science

Entry-level technical and scientific courses are provided for both tech and non-tech students in universities. Currently, the teaching materials used in these courses are mainly academic papers and real business cases. Learning with only formal materials that are full of terminologies is lacking pleasure and challenging for entry-level students. Previous studies also show that teaching technology and science with science fiction (SF) could have many benefits, including can successfully engage students (Vrasidas et al., 2015), let students remember knowledge a longer time (Negrete & Lartigue, 2010), and brings up discussions about ethics (Burton, Goldsmith & Mattei, 2015). However, a study focuses on teaching computer science with SF materials is lacking. This study focuses on applying SF to teaching computer science. A case study is conducted. An SF video: Hated in the Nation is selected as additional teaching material for the course Introduction to Artificial Intelligence. Students who enrolled in the course voluntarily join the research. A questionnaire and an open question are used for data gathering. Both the students’ answers to the questionnaire and to the open questions are analysed to answer the research questions: 1) What are the attitudes of students to using SF in teaching AI? 2) How does watching the SF stories Hated in the Nation support students in learning AI at entry level? The results of the case study demonstrate that the benefits of including Hated in the Nation as an additional learning material can be summarized as three points: 1). making the learning process more interesting, 2) inspiring students from many perspectives, and 3) enhancing students’ critical thinking. The main challenges of teaching with Hated in the Nation are: 1) learning with Hated in the Nation has a relatively low learning-time ratio, 2) Hated in the Nation contains exaggerating AI technology, 3) and explanation about AI technology is limited in Hated in the Nation. Overall, the results of the study encourage educators using SFs to introduce technology concepts and science theories at entry level, and also using SFs to teach ethics related to technology and science development. Which needs to be clarified is that SFs should be used as additional materials to increase the diversity of teaching activities and increase learners’ interests in learning. SFs are not a replacement of formal and traditional teaching materials

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

Teaching psychology to computing students

The aim of this paper is twofold. The first aim is to discuss some observations gained from teaching Psychology to Computing students, highlighting both the wide range of areas where Psychology is relevant to Computing education and the topics that are relevant at different stages of students’ education. The second aim is to consider findings from research investigating the characteristics of Computing and Psychology students. It is proposed that this information could be considered in the design and use of Psychology materials for Computing students. The format for the paper is as follows. Section one will illustrate the many links between the disciplines of Psychology & Computing; highlighting these links helps to answer the question that many Computing students ask, what can Psychology offer to Computing? Section two will then review some of the ways that I have been involved in teaching Psychology to Computing students, from A/AS level to undergraduate and postgraduate level. Section three will compare the profiles of Computing and Psychology students (e.g. on age, gender and motivation to study), to highlight how an understanding of these factors can be used to adapt Psychology teaching materials for Computing students. The conclusions which cover some practical suggestions are presented in section four

Teaching Security Defense Through Web-Based Hacking at the Undergraduate Level

The attack surface for hackers and attackers is growing every day. Future cybersecurity professionals must have the knowledge and the skills to defend against these cyber attacks. Learning defensive techniques and tools can help defend against today’s attacks but what about tomorrow\u27s? As the types of attacks change so must the cybersecurity professional. The only way for the cybersecurity professional to achieve this nimbleness is to understand the structural anatomy of the various attack types. Understanding the threat environment is the key to future success. Security defense through offensive techniques should and can be taught at the undergraduate level. Using the OWASP Mutillidae project [5], students can have a self-contained, sandbox environment for dissecting and discussing cyber attacks

Building an Argument for the Use of Science Fiction in HCI Education

Science fiction literature, comics, cartoons and, in particular, audio-visual materials, such as science fiction movies and shows, can be a valuable addition in Human-computer interaction (HCI) Education. In this paper, we present an overview of research relative to future directions in HCI Education, distinct crossings of science fiction in HCI and Computer Science teaching and the Framework for 21st Century Learning. Next, we provide examples where science fiction can add to the future of HCI Education. In particular, we argue herein first that science fiction, as tangible and intangible cultural artifact, can serve as a trigger for creativity and innovation and thus, support us in exploring the design space. Second, science fiction, as a means to analyze yet-to-come HCI technologies, can assist us in developing an open-minded and reflective dialogue about technological futures, thus creating a singular base for critical thinking and problem solving. Provided that one is cognizant of its potential and limitations, we reason that science fiction can be a meaningful extension of selected aspects of HCI curricula and research.Comment: 6 pages, 1 table, IHSI 2019 accepted submissio

Ethics and Design in the Brazilian Context

Often driven by practical and immediate requirements, more and more people are incorporating technology into a variety of aspects of their lives, often without reflecting on the consequences of using them. On the other hand, studies on interactive system development that lead to behavioral change have been gaining ground on the agenda of large HCI conferences. This movement brings to the forefront the fundamental issues of ethics in design and technology use. A designer’s intentions, when directing certain actions or behaviors, are not always explicit or desired by the stakeholders affected by the use of the technology. Systems that induce an undesired purchase, or even those that use conditioning strategies to cause a behavioral change are examples of such intentions. The challenge proposed is therefore about the relationship between design and personal freedom in a way that these technology users do not become victims, either passively or submissively, of the effects of its use. This advance allows for the redefinition of the relationship between man and technology, and the application of new forms of designing and developing interactive systems that take into account the ethical aspects of this relationship

Preparing millennials as digital citizens and socially and environmentally responsible business professionals in a socially irresponsible climate

As of 2015, a millennial born in the 1990's became the largest population in the workplace and are still growing. Studies indicate that a millennial is tech savvy but lag in the exercise of digital responsibility. In addition, they are passive towards environmental sustainability and fail to grasp the importance of social responsibility. This paper provides a review of such findings relating to business communications educators in their classrooms. The literature should enable the development of a millennial as an excellent global citizen through business communications curricula that emphasizes digital citizenship, environmental sustainability and social responsibility. The impetus for this work is to provide guidance in the development of courses and teaching strategies customized to the development of each millennial as a digital, environmental and socially responsible global citizen

Graduate Catalog, 2004-2005

https://scholar.valpo.edu/gradcatalogs/1031/thumbnail.jp

Graduate Catalog, 2005-2006

https://scholar.valpo.edu/gradcatalogs/1032/thumbnail.jp