Connecting Hardware and Software in a Middle School Engineering Outreach Effort-RTP

Recent years have seen tremendous growth in outreach programs aimed at bringing computer programming to children and young adults via in-class and extracurricular coding activities. Programs such as the Hour of Code and Girls who Code have introduced millions of young people to programming around the world. For this study, we explored how combining programming with interactive electronics hardware can create a more engaging and dynamic learning environment for some students than what programming alone can achieve. In this paper, we describe an electrical engineering outreach effort in collaboration with the technology and engineering teacher at a local middle school. Beginning with an introduction to programming via the Hour of Code, we progressed to lessons utilizing the Sparkfun Electronics Digital Sandbox, an Arduino-compatible microcontroller board with numerous built-in sensors and outputs. Under the guidance of both a professor of electrical and computer engineering and their own technology teacher, the students learned about the relationship between electronics hardware and software via a series of hands-on activities that culminated in a final design project. To understand the experiences of the students who participated in these activities and develop insights into the relationship between hardware and software and students’ learning outcomes, we administered a survey and conducted a focus group with the students. The students described an overall positive experience, and also appreciated the ability to connect coding with the interactivity provided by the microcontroller board. The students described deriving significant satisfaction out of relatively simple tasks like programming an LED light to blink or change color. The students also overwhelmingly felt that learning about the interconnections between hardware and software gave them an understanding and better appreciation of the complexity of the electronics and computer software they interact with on a daily basis. The students generally found the programming to be the most challenging part of the activity but also rewarding, but tended to indicate activities utilizing hardware as the most engaging activity they encountered. Overall, the results of this study suggest that combined hardware and software educational activities can engage a wide number of students, help students understand the interconnectedness of these areas, and create a positive learning environment

APPLYPING DESIGN THINKING TO STUDENT OUTREACH PROJECTS: EXPERIENCES FROM AN INFORMATION SYSTEMS SCHOOL

As countries turn in to Smart Nations, Infocom Technology plays a key role in enhancing their competitiveness through high skilled workforces. Reaching to younger generations and attracting them to computing programs such as Information Systems (IS) and Computer Science (CS) is a key challenge faced by universities. Many high-quality students from junior colleges either don\u27t choose IS programs or choose IS programs as their last option during the application process. A school of Information Systems (SIS) from a large metropolitan university decided to implement an innovative outreach program to attract high quality high school aka Junior College (JC) students. JC or high school students are those in 2-year program that transfers them to the 4-year university degree. In this project, we took a design thinking approach which enabled us to analyse the output of each stage of the design thinking process and make informed decisions for implementation. Our empathy stage showed that only 5% of top JC students were aware of Information Systems and we attribute this as the root cause of low numbers and quality of applications into IS schools. With empathy study and analysis, we ideated and implemented an innovative camp to bring awareness of IS to JC students. A team of twenty-nine faculty and staff worked on a project for twelve months and we have seen significant improvements in the number and quality of applications. This paper provides useful insights into using design thinking to re-engineer student outreach programs that can enhance the number and quality of applicants to a university program. We share the methodology, the details of each stage, and the outcomes of each stage

Developing an Inclusive K-12 Outreach Model

This paper outlines the longitudinal development of a K-12 outreachmodel, to promote Computer Science in Ireland. Over a three-yearperiod, it has been piloted to just under 9700 K-12 students fromalmost every county in Ireland. The model consists of a two-hourcamp that introduces students to a range of Computer Sciencetopics: addressing computing perceptions, introduction to codingand exploration of computational thinking. The model incorporateson-site school delivery and is available at no cost to any interestedschool across Ireland. The pilot study so far collected over 3400surveys (pre- and post-outreach delivery).Schools from all over Ireland self-selected to participate, includ-ing male only, female only and mixed schools. The no-cost natureof the model meant schools deemed disadvantaged , to privatefee-paying schools participated. Initial findings are very positive,including the balance of male and female participants, where in the2017-18 academic year it was 56:44 and in 2019-20 (to date), it is35:65 respectively. Once the model is validated and tweaked (basedon survey data), the model will be published (open access) for otherinstitutions to implement the model locally. In addition, the authorsintend to link schools (that the team have worked with over thethree years) with local institutions, thus developing a sustainableecosystem for the program to continue. This paper describes themodel structure and outlines early finding