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Using the Internet of Things to Teach Good Software Engineering Practice to High School Students
This paper describes a course to introduce high school students
to software engineering in practice using the Internet Of
Things (IoT). IoT devices allow students to get quick, visible
results without watering down technical aspects of
programming and networking. The course has three broad
goals: (1) to make software engineering fun and applicable,
with the aim of recruiting traditionally underrepresented
groups into computing; (2) to make young students begin to
approach problems with a design mindset; and (3) to show
students that computer science, generally, and software
engineering, specifically, is about much more than
programming. The course unfolds in three segments. The first
is a whirlwind introduction to a subset of IoT technologies.
Students complete a specific task (or set of tasks) using each
technology. This segment culminates in a âdo-it-yourselfâ
project, in which the students implement a simple IoT
application using their basic knowledge of the technologies.
The courseâs second segment introduces software engineering
practices, again primarily via hands-on practical tutorials. In
the third segment of the course, the students conceive of,
design, and implement a project that uses the technologies
introduced in the first segment, all while being attentive to the
good software engineering practices acquired in the second
segment. In addition to presenting the course curriculum, the
paper also discusses a first offering of the course in a threeweek
summer intensive program in 2017, including
assessments done to evaluate the curriculum.Cockrell School of Engineerin
Challenges and Paradoxes of Teaching Project Management the Agile Way
This paper discusses challenges and paradoxes for teaching project management (PM) in an Agile way outside of a software development context. Based on a critical analysis of two PM course iterations in a professional masters program, the paper identifies several areas with tensions between established processes, norms, values, and expectations in higher education and the Agile PM course design. Ultimately, the paper finds that fulfilling the professional masters programâs mission (to educate workforce-ready graduates for todayâs Agile / hybrid working environments) would require subverting numerous norms, values, and expectations on the course design, the studentsâ, and the lecturersâ sides. Teachers and program directors in higher education can draw on this paperâs findings to identify and manage pitfalls and paradoxes in their own PM course designs, in order to have them convey Agile PMâs principles, values, and techniques effectively while retaining a positive student experience
Global Innovations in Measurement and Evaluation
We researched the latest developments in theory and practice in measurement and evaluation. And we found that new thinking, techniques, and technology are influencing and improving practice. This report highlights 8 developments that we think have the greatest potential to improve evaluation and programme design, and the careful collection and use of data. In it, we seek to inform and inspireâto celebrate what is possible, and encourage wider application of these ideas
Using Scrum to Teach Standards-Based K-12 Computer Science: A Prosepectus for a Masterâs Level Methods Class at Buffalo State
Computer Science has been increasingly prevalent in K-12 education in recent decades. Most Americans believe that Computer Science is as important as other skills taught in school; further, parents are putting pressure on districts to offer Computer Science programs (1.1). To meet this demand, many teacher preparation programs are adding Computer Science Education to their offering of degrees. This thesis investigates Agile and Scrum product development as a potential method of Computer Science instruction, explores the standards relevant to a Computer Science teacher, and offers a prospectus for a new Graduate Level Methods class to prepare Computer Science teachers to utilize the Scrum framework in standards-based instruction at the K-12 level (1.3). To create the prospectus, research from peer-reviewed articles, case-studies, and implementation guides relating to the topics of Scrum and Computer Science standards are reviewed. The implementation, validity and importance of Scrum, and its educational variant eduScrum, are compared based on the roles, rituals, and artifacts utilized in each framework. The results justify eduScrum as a valid method for problem-based, constructivist Computer Science instruction (2.10-2.12). The background, validity, and importance of three sets of Computer Science standards (K-12 Computer Science Framework, NYSED, and ISTE) are explored (3.1-3.3). These standards were selected for their relevancy to Computer Science certification in New York State and the support of industry, professionals, and lawmakers. The results justify the inclusion of all three standards as crucial to curriculum in New York State (3.4). The thesis culminates in the creation of a prospectus for the Student Learning Objectives and structure of a Methods of Computer Science Instruction class at the Graduate level (4.1-4.4). The SLOâs are created utilizing Bloomâs taxonomy (4.1). The prospectus recommends Scrum in the creation of Learning Segments utilizing relevant standards, topics, concepts and research literature. The prospectus models Scrum at all levels and is a valid way to teach constructivist, problem-based learning (4.2). More research is needed on the effectiveness of Scrum with low performing students, the use of eduScrum at the K-12 level and the implementation of the prospectus as a class at SUNY/Buffalo State
Rationale in Development Chat Messages: An Exploratory Study
Chat messages of development teams play an increasingly significant role in
software development, having replaced emails in some cases. Chat messages
contain information about discussed issues, considered alternatives and
argumentation leading to the decisions made during software development. These
elements, defined as rationale, are invaluable during software evolution for
documenting and reusing development knowledge. Rationale is also essential for
coping with changes and for effective maintenance of the software system.
However, exploiting the rationale hidden in the chat messages is challenging
due to the high volume of unstructured messages covering a wide range of
topics. This work presents the results of an exploratory study examining the
frequency of rationale in chat messages, the completeness of the available
rationale and the potential of automatic techniques for rationale extraction.
For this purpose, we apply content analysis and machine learning techniques on
more than 8,700 chat messages from three software development projects. Our
results show that chat messages are a rich source of rationale and that machine
learning is a promising technique for detecting rationale and identifying
different rationale elements.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures. The 14th International Conference on Mining
Software Repositories (MSR'17
Teaching Theories Underlying Agile Systems Development
Presently Agile methods courses taught in universities focus primarily on providing hands-on experience of the process of development but ignore the evolution of, and theories behind, the Agile practices. âWithout theory we are just groping in chaosâ (Deming, 1986). Knowing the âwhyâ in addition to the âhowâ of Agile methods will help develop reflective skills and give students an edge as they transition to the rapidly evolving real world of IS. In this article a set of relevant theories that can be included as a module in an Agile method course is outlined. An exposure to theories underlying Agile methods help students appreciate the relevance of the principles and practices of the Agile approach and develop authentic problem solving skills
Improving the Communication Skills of IS Developers during Requirements Elicitation using Experiential Learning
The improvement of communication skills among Information Systems (IS) developers can be considered as a strategy to mitigate the risk of project failure during IS design. This paper addresses issues on various communication barriers normally encountered during its requirements elicitation (RE) stage. This study aims to adopt experiential learning as a method to improve the communication skills of IS developers during RE techniques such as prototype presentations. As such, an educational multimedia, which teaches communication skill enhancement among professionals during presentations, served as an interventional tool for experiential learning. Using a longitudinal quasi-experiment, the developersâ self-assessments of their communication skills during prototype presentations at pre- and post-intervention were compared and analyzed using the WordStatÂź software. Responses showed significant improvements on the presentation skills especially on keywords-in-context related to the audience, information, interest, prototype, room, summary, and talk. This signifies the influence of such learning method to the developers at post-intervention. Further, the study implies that experiential learning can be empirically supported to effectively motivate IS developers in improving their presentation skills after receiving a learning intervention. Thus, experiential learning can be used by project managers as an effective training strategy to improve the communication skills of their IS developers in preparation to current and future projects on IS design especially during prototype presentations of the RE stage
Enterprise Architecture Specification Case Study
A graduate course in enterprise architecture had a team project component in which a real-world business case, provided by an industry sponsor, formed the basis of the project charter and the architecture statement of work. The paper aims to share the team project experience on developing the architecture specifications based on the business case of an accountable health care organization. Students collaborated as a team in various roles to develop the architecture specifications for a new business initiative of the sponsoring organization, XYZ ACO. The teaching case describes the case study approach and the architecture approach adopted for the architecture process, and is accompanied by Teaching Case Notes which provide a selection of the models developed by members of the project team towards the architecture specifications. The course started with coverage of enterprise architecture theory, best practices and standards, and the team project gave students the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge and âlearn by doingâ. Students were challenged to interpret the business case, the project charter and project requirements, and each team member was allocated an architecture viewpoint and a role to play. The Teaching Case presents a summary of the team project and the lessons learned in performing the project
Investigating the Dynamics of Authentic Learning in a Project-based Engineering Course
Educational researchers and practitioners have long lamented the chasm between education and real-world experiences or issues. A popular way to mitigate this gap is through designing authentic learning experiences, and much previous work has focused on developing models for this design. The paper addresses a gap in such frameworks, namely the occurrence of tensions and negotiations between ways of working that students and teachers find authentic and meaningful. Focusing on the strategies employed by teachers in the design of an authentic learning environment and studentsâ reactions to these, we present a qualitative case study of a project-based engineering course in which student teams created software applications in collaboration with an external stakeholder. We find that tensions between what students and teachers deemed meaningful arose from on the one hand studentsâ readiness to take on self-directed learning and on the other hand differences between disciplinary views and studentsâ habits of mind related to software development. We illustrate how the teachersâ ability to bridge these tensions seemed hinged on their understanding of studentsâ prior learning experiences, and the enminding of these into learning activities. To enhance the value of contemporary models of authentic learning as practical and explanatory frameworks, we argue for adding two theoretical constructs â tensions and negotiations â and we call for more and longitudinal research on thes
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