Education Commons^™

Curriculum For An Introductory Computer Science Course: Identifying Recommendations From Academia And Industry, Simon G. Sultana, Philip A. Reed

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to define the course content for a university introductory computer science course based on regional needs. Delphi methodology was used to identify the competencies, programming languages, and assessments that academic and industry experts felt most important. Four rounds of surveys were conducted to rate the items in the straw models, to determine the entries deemed most important, and to understand their relative importance according to each group. The groups were then asked to rank the items in each category and attempt to reach consensus as determined by Kendall's coefficient of concordance. The academic experts …

The Effect Of Device When Using Smartphones And Computers To Answer Multiple-Choice And Open-Response Questions In Distance Education, Thomas Royce Wilson

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Traditionally in higher education, online courses have been designed for computer users. However, the advent of mobile learning (m-learning) and the proliferation of smartphones have created two challenges for online students and instructional designers. First, instruction designed for a larger computer screen often loses its effectiveness when displayed on a smaller smartphone screen. Second, requiring students to write remains a hallmark of higher education, but miniature keyboards might restrict how thoroughly smartphone users respond to open- response test questions. The present study addressed both challenges by featuring m-learning’s greatest strength (multimedia) and by investigating its greatest weakness (text input).

The …