Computer Sciences Commons^™

Digital Support For Abductive Learning In Introductory Computing Courses, Atanas Radenski

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Students who grew up browsing the Web are skilled in what is usually referred to as abduction, a reasoning process that starts with a set of specific observations and then generates the best possible explanation of those observations. In order to exploit the abduction skills of contemporary students, we have developed digital CS1/2 study packs that promote and support active learning through abduction, i.e., abductive learning. The study packs integrate a variety of digital resources: online self-guided labs, e-texts, tutorial links, sample programs, quizzes, and slides. These online packs stimulate students to learn abductively by browsing, searching, and performing self-guided …

Engineering Mathematics Education At Wright State University: Uncorking The First Year Bottleneck, Nathan W. Klingbeil, Kuldip S. Rattan, Michael L. Raymer, David B. Reynolds, Richard Mercer

Kno.e.sis Publications

No abstract provided.

Web Based Entry Level Mathematics Test, Okbun Baek

Theses Digitization Project

The primary purpose of the project is to develop a web site where students can practice entry level mathematics questions.

University Of Rhode Island Neasc Self-Study 2007. Standard Seven: Library And Other Information Resources

Collection Development Reports and Documents

Self-Study report by the University of Rhode Island, prepared in fall 2006 for the 2006/07 accreditation visit of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Included here is Standard Seven: Library and Other Information Resources.

This standard was prepared by Standard Seven Committee Chair Karen M. Ramsay, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Technical Services in the University Libraries. Also on the Standard Seven Committee were: Lisa DiPippo, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science & Statistics; Karol Leuzarder, Senior Tech Programmer, TOPS; Mary MacDonald, Associate Professor, University Libraries; David Eifler, Graduate Student; Jim Loy, Professor, Anthropology; …

An Augustinian Perspective On The Philosophy Of Mathematics, James Bradley

ACMS Journal 2007

From a Christian perspective, both modern and post-modern approaches to the philosophy of mathematics have significant shortcomings. This paper explores an alternative. It summarizes Augustine of Hippo’s views on the four classical themes of the philosophy of mathematics-the ontology of mathematical objects, their epistemology, the nature of truth in mathematics, and how we account for the effectiveness of mathematics in describing the natural world. It then traces what has happened to Augustine’s perspective in the roughly 1600 years since it was written concluding with a discussion of some spiritual and intellectual problems with the currently dominant secular perspective.

Design And Implementation Of Interactive Tutorials For Data Structures, Lewis Barnett Iii

Department of Math & Statistics Faculty Publications

The Tutorial Generation Toolkit (TGT) is a set of Java classes that supports authoring interactive tutorial applications. This paper describes extensions to the capabilities of the TGT to support styles of interaction identified as effective in recent research. Several new tutorials aimed at the data structures course built using the enhanced toolkit are also described.

Retaining Information Technology Employees In Higher Education, Mary Holmes

Dissertations

The retention of qualified Information Technology (IT) employees is at an all time low within higher education institutions. IT personnel are essential for higher education institutions to effectively integrate technology into their educational programs. These IT employees contribute to their institution's teaching/learning mission, while simultaneously supporting complex and highly visible administrative operations. Yet, all previous research regarding IT employee retention issues had only been conducted within corporate settings.

To examine factors related to IT employees' retention within public higher education, an internet-based study was sent to IT employees in all four-year public universities throughout Michigan. The survey included questions within …

Serious Gordon Using Serious Games To Teach Food Safety In The Kitchen, Brian Mac Namee, Pauline Rooney, Patrick Lindstrom, Andrew Ritchie, Frances Boylan, Greg Burke

Papers, presentations and other resources

This paper will describe the development of Serious Gordon, an interactive digital game developed to tech the basics of kitchen food safety to workers in industries dealing with food. The motivations driving the development of the game will be described as will the development process itself. An initial evaluation of the game, from both a technical and pedagogical point of view, will be presented as will conclusions on the viability of using a commercial game engine for the purpose of developing educational games.

Use Of A Classroom Response System To Enhance Classroom Interactivity, Keng Siau, H. Sheng, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Classroom interactivity is a critical component of teaching and learning. This paper reports on the use of a classroom response system to enhance classroom interactivity in a systems analysis and design course. The success of the project was assessed using both quantitative and qualitative data. A pretest/posttest design was used to examine the effects of a classroom respons system on interactivity. The results show that a classroom response system can significantly improve classroom interactivity. Qualitative data was also collected to identify the strengths and weaknesses of using a classroom response system to enhance classroom interaction. Based on the quantitative and …

Using Mobile Technology In Education: Perspectives Of Students And Instructors, H. Sheng, F. Nah, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Mobile technology has the tremendous potential in supporting and improving education and its delivery. As a new phenomenon that is gaining popularity, the values of mobile technology in education need to be better researched and understood. In this research, we used the Value-Focused Thinking approach to interview students and instructors to identify the values of education that are enabled by mobile technology. These values are represented in the form of a means-ends objective network that not only captures the values of education facilitated by mobile technology but also depicts the relationships between these values. The values of education enabled by …

Python First: A Lab-Based Digital Introduction To Computer Science, Atanas Radenski

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The emphasis on Java and other commercial languages in CS1 has established the perception of computer science as a dry and technically difficult discipline among undecided students who are still seeking careers. This may not be a big problem during an enrolment boom, but in times of decreased enrolment such negative perception may have a devastating effect on computer science programs and therefore should not be ignored. We have made our CS1 course offerings more attractive to students (1) by introducing an easy to learn yet effective scripting language - Python, (2) by making all course resources available in a …

Clarifying The Role Of Self-Efficacy And Metacognition As Indicators Of Learning: Construct Development And Test, Trevor T. Moores, Jerry Cha-Jan Chang, Deborah K. Smith

Management, Entrepreneurship and Technology Faculty Research

We propose extending our understanding of self-efficacy by comparing self-efficacy with a related construct called metacognition. Metacognition involves the monitoring and control of one's thought processes and is often related, as is self-efficacy, to performance on a task. We develop an instrument that attempts to measure both self-efficacy and metacognition with respect to one's performance on a test covering declarative and procedural knowledge (knowing that, and knowing how) of DFDs and ERDs. With data collected from a sample of 124 students, we use partial least squares (PLS) to show that self-efficacy and metacognition are distinct yet related constructs. While self-efficacy …

Computer Network Security And Arl Libraries, Deeann Allison, Scott Childers

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

This article reviews current recommendations for computer security practices for staff computing, summarizes current practices in United States Association of Research Libraries and proposes further areas to explore.

Interactive Multimedia E-Learning System, Wen-Yi Shih

Theses Digitization Project

This project is an interactive, multimedia, on-line learning system. It provides a friendly and simple interface to let kids easily learn their ABC's. Teachers and administrators can modify and view files and database information from a normal web browser to customize the student's learning experience. The web browser is written in Java Server Page (JSP), Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) and Macromedia Flash.

Technology Professional Development: Long-Term Effects On Teacher Self-Efficacy, George R. Watson

Educational Foundations and Technology

The West Virginia K-12 RuralNet Project was an NSF funded program to train inservice teachers on integrating the Internet into science and mathematics curriculum. The program involved training inservice teachers through an intensive summer workshop and supplemental online courses. This study examines the effects of the project on the long-term self-efficacy of inservice teachers and their use of the Internet in the classroom. The specific research questions addressed are: Do professional development programs affect the long-term self-efficacy of inservice teachers? Did the addition of online courses and follow-up to the program affect self-efficacy levels? Finally, do certain external factors, specifically …

Electronic Mathematics, Aidan O'Donoghue

Theses

Recent times have seen an explosion in the use of interactive technologies in the delivery of learning content to students in all educational sectors in Ireland. This expansion has led to the creation of modem day phenomenons such as global and ‘teacherless’ classrooms.

The research study I have undertaken is to determine if students perform to the same standard when learning through an interactive educational software application as opposed to a more traditional setting of learning ’through’ a teacher in a classroom. The application being developed for this study enables students to learn the ordinary level leaving certificate mathematics course …

Journey To The Center Of The Core: Computers And The Internet In The Core Curriculum, Jorge Pérez, Meg C. Murray

Faculty Articles

Computers, digitalization and the Internet have transformed modern society. Commerce, education, communication and socialization will never be the same. Surprisingly, many universities do not require a computing course in the core curriculum. Critical information technology (IT) competencies are often taken for granted, to the detriment of students who lack computing and Internet skills. This paper describes an initiative undertaken by a computer science and information systems department to assess and remediate IT skills needed by all university students, regardless of major. The project is evolving along several dimensions: identification of discipline-independent IT competencies, assessment of IT skills among current and …

Implementation Of Labcreator And The Integration Of Cyberlab, Kang Zhao

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

With the development of the World Wide Web, online courses are becoming more and more popular in modern science education. CyberLab aims to solve an important issue in distance science education -- laboratory experiments in online courses. It is a toolkit that handles creation, exportation, and execution of virtual experiments (within web browsers). It consists of LabCreator and LabExecutor. With LabCreator, instructors can create virtual experiments and export them into intermediate files. Students can download those files from online course websites and execute them in LabExecutor on their own computers.

The paper reports on the completion of two important tasks …

Industrial Technology Education Teachers Perceptions Of National Standards For Technological Literacy In The State Of Arizona, Allan R. Mcrae

Theses and Dissertations

Today, it is becoming increasingly clear that there is a growing interest, concern, and need for technological literacy. To this end, the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) through the Technology for All Americans Project, has developed and promulgated the Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology. This effort is part of the ongoing initiative to develop technology standards on a national level, and to focus on what every student in grades K-12 should know and be able to do in order to achieve technological literacy (ITEA, 2000). The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived …

Studying The Performance Of A Firewall In Network Courses, José M. Garrido

Faculty Articles

This paper presents a simple simulation model of a firewall to derive several performance metrics and briefly argues on the importance and value of modeling and simulation in courses that study various aspects of perimeter defense in network security.

The simulation model mentioned previously is part of an effort by faculty of our department to develop a multi-disciplinary repository of computational models that includes object-oriented discrete-event simulation models. One of the goals of this repository is to build resources that help educate students of computer science, software engineering, and information technology, in modeling and information security.

This and other network …

Work In Progress: The Wsu Model For Engineering Mathematics Education, Nathan W. Klingbeil, Richard Mercer, Kuldip S. Rattan, Michael L. Raymer, David B. Reynolds

Kno.e.sis Publications

This paper summarizes progress to date on the WSU model for engineering mathematics education, an NSF funded curriculum reform initiative at Wright State University. The WSU model seeks to increase student retention, motivation and success in engineering through application-driven, just-in-time engineering math instruction. The WSU approach involves the development of a novel freshman-level engineering mathematics course EGR 101, as well as a large-scale restructuring of the engineering curriculum. By removing traditional math prerequisites and moving core engineering courses earlier in the program, the WSU model shifts the traditional emphasis on math prerequisite requirements to an emphasis on engineering motivation for …

Personality And Programming, Amy B. Woszczynski, Tracy C. Guthrie, Sherri Shade

Faculty Articles

Information systems students continue to struggle to successfully complete computer programming classes. Learning how to program is difficult, and failure and attrition rates in college level programming classes remain at an unacceptably high rate. Since many IS students take a programming course as part of their program of study, IS educators should better understand why IS students tend to achieve low success rates in programming courses and what can be done to improve success rates. Little research to date has addressed potential reasons for student failure in programming principles courses. Many educators simply assume that high failure rates are acceptable …

Prepare Your Mind For Learning, Deborah K. Smith, Trevor T. Moores, Jerry Cha-Jan Chang

Management, Entrepreneurship and Technology Faculty Research

The learning process must evolve and expand throughout one's IT career. Most would agree that's often easier said than done. Here are some ways professionals can overcome mental blocks that may prevent learning.

Ua1b2/1/5 Oral History, Paula Trafton, Charles Anderson

WKU Administration Documents

Interview conducted by Paula Trafton with Charles Anderson, retired Vice President for Information Technology.

Object Information Repository In A Christian Theory Of Technology, Longy O. Anyanwu

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2005

It has not been easy to formulate a stable Christian theory of technology. Nonetheless, some ideas and Christian theories of technology have been fielded by a handful of distinguished Christian scientists and technology experts. Although some of these ideas and theories are substantively at variance, others have sizeable common base. Important, though, is the seeming agreement on the visualization of technology as an object with embedded values and information. With object information repository as the primary focus, this study, therefore, attempts to provoke the consideration of a possible synthesis and agreement on the foundational essence of Christian theory of technology …

The Five Orders Of Ignorance: Knowledge, Ignorance, And The Nature Of Software, Phillip Armour

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2005

Software is not a product, it is a medium in which we store knowledge. As simple as this idea seems, the consequences of it are quite significant. If software is not a product, then software development is not a product of production activity, despite the common practice of managing it as such. Most organizations believe that job of software developers is to build a system that we then ship to a customer. It is not. The system we build and ship to the customer is actually the by-product of the real activity which is learning. Software development is the activity …

Mathematics As Poesis: A Preliminary Project Report, Sam Stueckle, Jeremy Case, Ken Constantine, Troy Riggs

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2005

This paper talks about the various viewpoints of mathematics, beginning with classical perspectives and ending with the idea of poesis, or the theology of math as the art of making.

Integrating Catholic And Marianist Historical Perspectives In A Mathematics Coruse For Elementary Education Majors, Mary Wagner-Krankel

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2005

St. Mary's University in San Antonio recently reaffirmed their distinctive nature as a Catholic university promoting the Marianist tradition. This new affirmation is in response to the smaller number of Marianists serving in teaching and administrative positions on campus. Faculty have been encouraged to explore new ways to integrate Catholic and Marianist values and historical perspectives in their teaching and research. I will discuss some major Catholic mathematicians and some classroom activities that I developed for the course MT3304- Mathematics for the Elementary Teacher.

Does The Success Of Mathematics Defeat Naturalism?, Russell W. Howell

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2005

This paper discusses the arguments for and against Intelligent Design from the perspectives of mathematics.

The Artificial Gravity Pitch, Andrew Simoson

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2005

Toss a ball into the air; we analyze and contrast the resultant trajectories when standing both on the Little Prince’s Asteroid B-612 of 1943 and in Arthur C. Clark’s rotating space ship Discovery of 2001.