Do Robots Dream of Virtual Sheep: Rediscovering the "Karel the Robot" Paradigm for the "Plug&Play Generation"

We introduce ”C-Sheep”, an educational system designed to teach students the fundamentals of computer programming in a novel and exciting way. Recent studies suggest that computer science education is fast approaching a crisis - application numbers for degree courses in the area of computer programming are down, and potential candidates are put off the subject which they do not fully understand. We address this problem with our system by providing the visually rich virtual environment of ”The Meadow”, where the user writes programs to control the behaviour of a sheep using our ”CSheep” programming language. This combination of the ”Karel the Robot” paradigm with modern 3D computer graphics techniques, more commonly found in computer games, aims to help students to realise that computer programming can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience and intends to help educators with the teaching of computer science fundamentals. Our mini-language-like system for computer science education uses a state of the art rendering engine offering features more commonly found in entertainment systems. The scope of the mini-language is designed to fit in with the curriculum for the first term of an introductory computer program ming course (using the C programming language)

Pervasive Parallel And Distributed Computing In A Liberal Arts College Curriculum

We present a model for incorporating parallel and distributed computing (PDC) throughout an undergraduate CS curriculum. Our curriculum is designed to introduce students early to parallel and distributed computing topics and to expose students to these topics repeatedly in the context of a wide variety of CS courses. The key to our approach is the development of a required intermediate-level course that serves as a introduction to computer systems and parallel computing. It serves as a requirement for every CS major and minor and is a prerequisite to upper-level courses that expand on parallel and distributed computing topics in different contexts. With the addition of this new course, we are able to easily make room in upper-level courses to add and expand parallel and distributed computing topics. The goal of our curricular design is to ensure that every graduating CS major has exposure to parallel and distributed computing, with both a breadth and depth of coverage. Our curriculum is particularly designed for the constraints of a small liberal arts college, however, much of its ideas and its design are applicable to any undergraduate CS curriculum

Application of quality function deployment in redesigning website: A case study on TV3

Internet technology has been used by most of the organizations in the world today. One of the primary vehicles of information gathering and dissemination in today’s world is organizational website. This research evaluates the performance of the present TV3 (a popular private television station in Malaysia) website. By means of an on-line survey and a few focus group discussions, it also identifies the website viewer requirements and their corresponding importance level. Subsequently, the technical requirements are identified that can fulfill the viewer requirements. A House of Quality (HOQ) is built to find the relationship between the viewer and technical requirements. The Quality Function Deployment (QFD) exercise provides the prioritized technical requirements, which is expected to guide the TV3 website development and maintenance team in its future website redesigning project. The findings of the research are also expected to provide some insight in other organizations in similar need.Quality Function Deployment; Website development; Erbsite quality evaluation; TV3;Malaysia

Computing Language and Thinking: Analysis, Design, and Assessment of Introductory Computer Science Workshops in the Liberal Arts Experience

This project seeks to assess and improve upon a new required introductory computer science workshop for first year students at Bard College. It addresses the design and implementation of the course itself, along with the improvements needed in order to continue the program. Many students are not offered computer science courses prior to college; this program has been designed to remedy that by requiring all students to learn key concepts in computer science as a part of their orientation. The program consists of a 90 minute lesson taught by professors with expertise in fields outside of computer science, in addition to student led two-hour ”coding studios” in Graphics, Robotics and Digital Literature. Participants took a survey based on the Computing Attitudes Survey before and after the program. These surveys were paired using anonymous identification numbers unique to each participating student. This paired data was then analyzed and used to identify changing attitudes towards computer science concepts and themes. Using these results, a new and improved curriculum is designed to be implemented in following years

Uključivanje 3D modeliranja tijela u kolegij inženjerske grafike

The increasing use of solid modelling has had considerable impact on changes in the design process, which has resulted in a stronger relation between design and engineering graphics. These attempts can be followed shifting from modest changes, by inserting 2D and 3D CAD models into introductory engineering graphics course to the approach of implementing parametric, feature-based and constraint-based modelling, which have led towards the development of 3D model centred engineering curriculum. This paper presents some characteristic approaches chosen from numerous contributions dealing with the introduction of new topics and technology in engineering graphics education, as well as the example of 3D model- centred engineering curriculum. A review of topics that are the most common proposal for an introductory engineering graphics course are extracted, regardless of different approaches that should accomplish the link between 3D modelling, engineering design and applications. A short description of engineering graphics courses and the topics covered at the University of Rijeka, Faculty of Engineering, as a result of revision that has emphasized 3D modelling and its role in the concurrent engineering design process is also presented.Na promjene u procesu konstruiranja znatno je utjecala povećana upo- raba modeliranja tijela, što je rezultiralo snažnijim odnosom između kon- struiranja i inženjerske grafike. Mogu se pratiti nastojanja, od stidljivih promjena uključivanjem 2D i 3D modela u uvodni kolegij inženjerske grafike, do pristupa upotpunjavanja parametarskim modeliranjem na os- novi značajke i ograničenja, što dovodi do razvitka inženjerskog nastavnog programa s 3D modelom u središtu. Ovaj rad predstavlja neke karakteristične pristupe izabrane iz brojnih doprinosa koji obrađuju uvođenje novih tema i tehnologija u obrazovanje inženjerske grafike, kao i primjer inženjerskog nastavnog programa s 3D modelom u središtu. Izdvojen je pregled tema koje su najčešći prijedlog za uvodni kolegij inženjerske grafike, bez obzira na različite pristupe koji trebaju ostvariti vezu između 3D modeliranja, inženjerskog konstruiranja i aplikacija. Također je predstavljen kratki opis kolegija inženjerske grafike i obuhvaćenih tema na Tehničkom fakultetu u Rijeci, kao rezultat dorada koje daju naglasak na 3D modeliranje i njegovu ulogu u procesu istodobnog inženjerskog konstruiranja

Design Guidelines for Agent Based Model Visualization

In the field of agent-based modeling (ABM), visualizations play an important role in identifying, communicating and understanding important behavior of the modeled phenomenon. However, many modelers tend to create ineffective visualizations of Agent Based Models (ABM) due to lack of experience with visual design. This paper provides ABM visualization design guidelines in order to improve visual design with ABM toolkits. These guidelines will assist the modeler in creating clear and understandable ABM visualizations. We begin by introducing a non-hierarchical categorization of ABM visualizations. This categorization serves as a starting point in the creation of an ABM visualization. We go on to present well-known design techniques in the context of ABM visualization. These techniques are based on Gestalt psychology, semiology of graphics, and scientific visualization. They improve the visualization design by facilitating specific tasks, and providing a common language to critique visualizations through the use of visual variables. Subsequently, we discuss the application of these design techniques to simplify, emphasize and explain an ABM visualization. Finally, we illustrate these guidelines using a simple redesign of a NetLogo ABM visualization. These guidelines can be used to inform the development of design tools that assist users in the creation of ABM visualizations.Visualization, Design, Graphics, Guidelines, Communication, Agent-Based Modeling