Christopher A. Egert

Through the looking glass: reflections on using undergraduate teaching assistants in CS1

Over the last several years, there have been reports of many institutions using undergraduate students as teaching assistants (UTAs) in the classroom for CS1 as well as other courses in the curriculum. The literature has shown successes over a wide range of class sizes and UTA responsibilities. At University at Buffalo, we have been using undergraduates as teaching assistants in our CS1 course since Spring 2002, and have been impressed with the results. Throughout the deployment of the UTA program, the instructors of CS1 have observed that when UTAs are utilized in the classroom, both the students and the UTAs themselves benefit from their interactions. The UTAs have also become actively involved in providing feedback about the course design and have been suggesting improvements to assignments and in-class examples. They have also been involved in the process to hire new UTAs to replace those that are graduating. We have observed that such interactions have improved the UTAs sense of investment and ownership in the CS1 course.

MUPPETS: multi-user programming pedagogy for enhancing traditional study: an environment for both upper and lower division students

This paper discusses the pedagogy and use of MUPPETS (Multi-User Programming Pedagogy for Enhancing Traditional Study) for both introductory and advanced students. MUPPETS is a desktop collaborative virtual environment (CVE) that allows students to learn introductory programming skills through the creation of objects and avatars. The goals of the MUPPETS system are twofold. First, the MUPPETS system provides a complex, interactive, collaborative playground in which introductory students can learn the fundamental principles of objects-first programming, which places emphasis upon encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism over traditional constructs such as selection and repetition. Objects created by introductory students can be shared with peers and upper division students. Second, the MUPPETS system provides a mechanism through which upper division students can contribute to the success of introductory students. Upper division students are responsible for the development of MUPPETS extensions as well as complex artifacts intended for use within introductory courses

Games in the Classroom: Using Games as a Motivator for Studying Computing: Part 1

Its no secret that undergraduate computer science enrollment, which has suffered through one of its periodic downturns, seems to have bottomed out but is now on an upswing. This cyclic behavior has been occurring for many years now, producing many exciting ideas concerning how to revamp introductory computer science courses to make them more exciting and relevant, and to show beginning students that computer science entails more than just programming. Georgia Tech, one of the active participants in this revamp, has developed the concept of threads (a means to connect chunks of related knowledge across different courses) and is devising techniques to enrich beginning courses using minirobots and multimedia. The present article, the second of two parts, written by Andrew Phelps and his group at the Rochester Institute of Technology, describes a parallel effort to use gaming as a way to improve learning and to demonstrate to students that computer science is indeed exciting and cool.

Hello, M.U.P.P.E.T.S.: using a 3D collaborative virtual environment to motivate fundamental object-oriented learning

With the advent of the objects-first approach for introductory programming, instructors are challenged to think differently regarding the projects and exercises they create for their classrooms. The objects-first approach reduces the emphasis on syntax and encourages the student to focus upon the proper construction and use of classes. This change in emphasis means that students must understand the relationships between classes within a code solution and how such relationships affect the overall design of a system. Unfortunately, such critical thinking exercises can prove challenging to the introductory student, especially if presented in an manner. In this paper, the authors examine how fundamental principles such as inheritance, composition, and association can be conveyed to introductory programming students within a collaborative virtual environment. The examples chosen follow established guidelines for objects-first examples while leveraging features of an engaging, three-dimensional interactive environment.

Media Impact: Games in the Classroom: Using Games as a Motivator for the Study of Computing: Part 2

This article, the first in a two-part series that explores using games as a gateway to studying computing in the classroom, explores the need for a motivator in todays educational environment and places games in the context of constructivist learning approaches. In addition, it provides an overview of several recent approaches and looks at issues associated with student perception, exploring how existing paradigms relate to these perceptions.

Bridging the gap: balancing faculty expectations and student realities in computer gaming courses

As game design and game development emerges as an academic discipline, it is important for programs to balance the technical and creative aspects of the curriculum. Students must be exposed to both the technical and content creation experiences that define the field, and also be exposed to critical areas such as games and media history, games analysis, literature, media study, and psychology. Furthermore, students must understand the ramifications of cultural and societal factors as they intersect games and entertainment technology. In this paper, the authors examine how a technically focused game program can provide students with a broader exposure to the world of game development. In particular, the authors will discuss where their treatment succeeded and failed, and how the curriculum has evolved over several offerings.

An open-source CVE for programming education: a case study

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Evaluating Martha Madison: Developing analytical tools for gauging the breadth of learning facilitated by STEM games

Martha Madisons Marvelous Machines is a learning game created by Second Avenue Software to help middle school girls gain scientific intuitions and develop understanding of the properties and uses of simple machines. In 2011, during the pilot phase of the games development, the game was played by a group of middle school girls and their game play was studied. This paper describes the results of the analysis of the data collected during the pilot, which included evidence of engagement in the game, as well as some increased affinity toward STEM practices. Also encouraging in the analysis was the discovery that the participants were noted to have high levels of communication and collaboration during the game play.

Social Media Theory and Practice: Lessons learned for a pioneering course

Social media are more than just a buzzword or an interesting phenomenon to our teenagers, they are a way of life. Research shows that active participation on sites like Facebook, communicating via texting and chat programs, and creating blogs are everyday occurrences for a generation of students. Yet these same students do not consider the impact of these tools on their lives for good or ill. Furthermore, they have not seriously considered the design, development and application of these tools; either as support systems throughout their professional careers or as a field in which they could find employment. This paper describes a course created to examine design and use of social media while evaluating the use of CMS and social media tools as part of the course itself.

Multimedia at Work: Games in the Classroom at the Rochester Institute of Technology: A Case Study

This article explores curricular approaches designed to motivate students in computing through the use of games as an application domain. The authors examine three approaches: a games-centric introductory programming sequence, the incorporation of game-based projects into core courses, and the creation of virtual environments that mimic multiplayer online games.