Gordon E. Stokes

Curriculum '78: recommendations for the undergraduate program in computer science— a report of the ACM curriculum committee on computer science

Contained in this report are the recommendations for the undergraduate degree program in Computer Science of the Curriculum Committee on Computer Science (C3S) of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). The core curriculum common to all computer science undergraduate programs is presented in terms of elementary level topics and courses, and intermediate level courses. Elective courses, used to round out an undergraduate program, are then discussed, and the entire program including the computer science component and other material is presented. Issues related to undergraduate computer science education, such as service courses, supporting areas, continuing education, facilities, staff, and articulation are presented.

An information systems-centric curriculum, ISCC '99

The ISCC 99 (Information Systems Centric Curriculum) is unique in that it was specifically to meet the needs of business and industry. The curriculum was cooperatively developed by a group from industry and academe and has been reviewed by a large group of reviewers. The review led to some revisions. The curriculum is now available for dissemination at www.iscc.unomaha.edu. This project was funded by several NSF/DUE grants and has been partially implemented in at least two institutions. The implementations seem to be very successful and can be models for curricular reform in many institutions. The lessons learned in the development of the curriculum can be of help to others. This curriculum is specifically design to prepare graduates to work on very large, complex systems. There is a great deal of emphasis on students understanding of a systems view and that information is at the center of the system.

Enterprise enhanced education: an information technology enabled extension of traditional learning environments

For many years there have been complaints from enterprises such as business, industry and government that academia is unable to produce graduates that can function well in the design and implementation of large and complex information and engineering systems. These complaints have been voiced and confirmed once again in recent reports and conference addresses [5],[3]. As a result of discussions on the results of the Mulder NSF report following the reports completion it was suggested that recent advancements in information, communication and computer technologies could enable a new and innovative approach to improving the graduates from our university information specialists programs. This new learning/teaching paradigm involves both the universities and the concerned enterprises. The paper that follows presents some of the reasoning and organizational structure for the suggested cooperative approach enabled by information technology, and information regarding some test sites of cooperative programs involving universities and industry.

Laboratory Experiences in Computer Science and Engineering

This paper discusses the teaching of computer science and engineering in the laboratory. A case is made for the use of laboratory experiences together with the classification of the types of laboratories both in and out of the university environment. Emphasis is placed on the design component. The current problems in establishing, developing, and maintaining laboratory programs are addressed and the response to these from the IEEE Computer Society and the ACM are presented. Typical costs are given to set up the components of a laboratory program for a full curriculum.

On-campus cooperative education

In the past, on-site cooperative education has been the primary means of providing practical experience for computer science students. On-campus cooperative education is proposed as a viable alternative. This paper describes on-campus cooperative education as practiced at BYU. Advantages and disadvantages for the sponsoring company, university, students, faculty, and company personnel involved are also presented. The last part of the paper describes several guidelines which, if followed, should improve the educational experience.

Design strategies for a computer-based instruction system

In February, 1984, the Computer Science Department at Brigham Young University began working on a project that would automate the delivery of a beginning programming class. This project known as THE ELROND PROJECT, was funded by the university with the expectation that the instructional delivery costs and the need for additional faculty for this course could be reduced. This paper describes the system design and principles that were used and presents strategies for creating computer automated courseware.

A layered networking protocol designed to minimize complexity

The design of a networking protocol for the use in connecting heterogeneous computer systems is presented. The design describes a protocol based on a layered philosophy and provides for a minimum cost connections between the computer system in the network. For each layer of the network the design choices used in the network protocol are presented and a simple file transfer mechanism and message passing facility are presented with their interfaces to the network.

Computer science department service courses

A group of Computer Science courses have been developed at Brigham Young Universit y to serve students in a variety of disciplines. A little _historical background and a description of the courses as they are now offered is documented in this paper with th e hope that it may help others in the development of their service courses. In 1970, a surve y l of some fifty technical laboratories revealed that they were i n need of professional scientists and engineers with a much higher level of programmin g proficiency than they had been getting from the universities. They preferred th e professional scientist with a proficiency in computer techniques over the professiona l computer programmer in the applications areas. Further discussions with several of th e academic departments in this and other universities and with prospective employers confirmed this educational need. A surve y 2 of graduates from several universities conducted for the ACMs Curriculu m Committee on Computer Science revealed that a better preparation was given to student s who had taken their service courses from Computer Science departments than to those wh o had taken their computer courses from their major departments. It also revealed that a majority of the graduates were expected to know something about computing regardless o f their major field of study. With this information in mind, six service courses wer e developed. A description of these courses follows : Introductory Computing for Scientists and Engineers (C .S. 131) Course Objective : To take students in the sciences who are unfamiliar wit h computers and programming languages and teach them skills and concepts that will enabl e them to utilize computers in their university and professional work. Skills to he Developed : Basic assembly language programming concepts and an understanding of the hardware organization of a typical small computer. A general competenc e with FORTRAN IV. Course Objective : To give business students a solid understanding of the natur e of digital computers, algorithms, and their potential uses in the business world. Skills to be Developed : The ability to utilize algorithmic processes, a basi c ability to program in an assembly language and a general competence with COBOL. Course Objective : To increase the students skill in solving problems using th e computer, to introduce them to methods of efficient programming, and to develop th e ability to use the computer in …

Evaluation of scientific computer systems

Dr. Fernbach presented a wide-ranging and informative survey on large computer systems in science. He addressed first the question of what was a large computer, and there were some surprising answers.

Goal-oriented laboratory development in CS/EE

The IEEE Computer Societys Educational Activities Board with the strong support of the ACM is tackling the problem of laboratory development, maintenance and support. The LABORATORY MONOGRAPH SERIES is intended to provide help to those setting up laboratory programs and as an outlet for those who wish to publish in a practical-oriented educational area.