Joyce Currie Little

IS '95: guidelines for undergraduate IS curriculum

This paper provides an overview report of the first joint curriculum development effort for undergraduate programs in information systems. The curriculum recommendations are a collaborative effort of the following organizations: ACM, AIS, DPMA, and ICIS. After a summary of the objectives and rationale for the curriculum, the curriculum model is described. Input and output attributes of graduates are delineated. Resource requirements for effective IS programs are then identified. Lastly, there is a proposal for maintaining currency of the curriculum through electronic media.

Enhancing the social issues components in our computing curriculum: computing for the social good

The acceptance and integration of social issues into computing curricula is still a work in progress twenty years after it was first incorporated into the ACM Computing Curricula. Through an international survey of computing instructors, this paper corroborates prior work showing that most institutions include the societal impact of ICT in their programs. However, topics often concentrate on computer history, codes of ethics and intellectual property, while neglecting broader issues of societal impact. This paper explores how these neglected topics can be better developed through a subtle change of focus to the significant role that ICT plays in addressing the needs of the community. Drawing on the survey and a set of implementation cases, the paper provides guidance by means of examples and resources to empower teaching teams to engage students in the application of ICT to bring about positive social outcomes -- computing for the social good.

The computing ontology: application in education

Working Group 3 at ITiCSE 2007 continued the ongoing work of the Ontology of Computing project. The working group brought several new people into the project and addressed areas of the ontology of particular interest to these participants. In particular, the group worked on the Ontology sections related to History of Computing, Computing Security and Social and Ethical issues. With the intention of applying the ontology to the support of curriculum development in mind, the group also reviewed and discussed proposed means of presenting a visual representation of the ontology. There was also some work on the present structure of the ontology and future possibilities.

Evaluation: turning technology from toy to tool: report of the working group on evaluation

Evaluation is an educational process, not an end in itselfi we learn in order to help our students learn. This paper presents a pragmatic perspective on evaluation, viewing it as a matter of trade-offs. The space of possible evaluation approaches is analysed in terms of trade-offs among desired evidence, costs, and other constraints. This approach is illustrated with example scenarios and a list of selected resources is provided. Aim of the Working Group This working group set out to consider how pragmatic, empirical evaluation can be used to harness technology for teaching Computer Science and Information Systems. Educators reject the tendency to adopt ‘technology for technology’s sake’ and want to analyze technology in terms of its suitability for a teaching purpose and its impact—both costs and benefits—on teaching practice and outcomes. The question is not ‘Can we use technology in teaching?’, but ‘Can we use technology to enhance teaching and improve learning?’ Empirical evaluation and technology can form a powerful partnership to enhance teaching purposefully and usably. The working group explored the parameters of an effective partnership. Introduction Computer Science and Information Systems (CS/IS) are rife with examples of technology-driven projects that fail to address fundamental issues, with systems designed by introspection, with software evaluated by market share alone, with good ideas neglected after poor initial implementations. Evaluation is often Permission to make digitalmard copy of part or atl of this work for personal or classroom use is ranted without fee provided that copies are not made f or distributed for pro d or wmmercial advantage, the copyright notice, the titte of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of ACM, Inc. To copy otherwise, to republish, to post on servers, or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Integrating Tech. into C.S.E. 6/96 Barcelona, Spain 01996 ACM 0-89791 -844-4/96/0009 ...

Curriculum recommendations and guidelines for the community and junior college career program in computer programming: a working paper of the Association for Computing Machinery committee on curriculum in computer sciences by the sub committee on community and junior college curriculum

3.50 Diane M. Miller University of Southern Mississippi, USA dmmiller@medea. gp.usm.edu Marian Petre (joint chair) Open University, UK M.Petre@open.ac.uk Paul Schragger Villanova University, USA schragge@monet. vilI.edul Fred Springsteel University of Missouri, USA csfreds @mizzoul .missouri.edu seen as an expensive, time-consuming, esoteric process with little practical relevance. But principled, practical evaluation— empirical study of actual practice, perhaps within a tightly focused question or a particular task—can identify crucial issues, debunk inappropriate folklore, give substance to intuition, disambiguate causes, and make the difference between failure and success. The introduction of new technologies increases the importance of evaluation in order to untangle the snarl of factors and influences that impinge on how technology is used in context. Unless educational technology can address educational objectives, the ‘nifty’ ideas it encompasses are no more than fashion. Evaluators need to base their analyses and designers neecl to base thleir designs on real practice; not everything that is ‘intuitive’ or ‘sexy’ is appropriate within real teaching environments. Evaluation offers a means of putting technology into perspective, so that it is viewed as a tool for addressing real problems—a means, rather than an end in itself. Technology as toy and tool The current leading-edge technologies, such as videoconferencing, multi-media, software vi sualizatiou, and Internetenabled applications (World Wide Web, electronic mail, bulletin board systems, etc.), are perceived to have immediate potential for use as educational tools. However, it is all too easy to mis-aplply these technologies, using them as flashy toys or interesting playthings. Technology-led adoption follows a ‘we have it—let’s use it’ enthusiasm. But that can be a blind alley for evaluation: often the need for an answer expires before we have a chance to ask the question. We should pursue an education-led deliberation: ‘We have it—but is it appropriate for this purpose?’ Technology remains a toy when it is used merely because it is attractive and exciting, but its real potential is unexplored. Technology is often introduced into education to attract and excite, without any more than an assumption that it might be useful. But, if applied without deliberative study of its use in context and without the evaluation of the technology’s impact on this use, ‘educational’ technology remains a toy.

Integrating professionalism and workplace issues into the computing and information technology curriculum: report of the ITiCSE'99 working group on professionalism

Curriculum recommendations are given for a two year Associate Degree program to prepare computer programmers for jobs. The program is specifically directed toward the education of the computer programmer who works in conjunction with a systems analyst in the programming environment usually found in a medium to large job shop. Graduates should be qualified to do entry-level applications programming to support the general, administrative, and organizational information processing functions of industry, commerce, business, and government service.The history of and need for education in the computer field at the two year college level are discussed. Specific objectives and subject matter for the curriculum are given. Recommendations for facilities and staff resources needed to support such a program are made. Suggestions for implementation and for adaptation for continued relevance are given.

Using information technology to integrate social and ethical issues into the computer science and information systems curriculum: report of the ITiCSE '97 working group on social and ethical issues in computing curricula

Educators in computing and information technology (CIT) suggest a need for graduates going into the workplace to have a better understanding of professionalism and workplace issues. It is not enough for graduates to have technical capabilities. They must understand many aspects of CIT as a discipline. They should be aware of the various types of CIT educational programs, different job titles and functions, and some aspects of the employment supply and demand. They should be aware of the need for each computing worker to have professional responsibility for their work, and an awareness of the importance of appropriate ethical behavior in the group. They must also have an awareness of the impact of information technology on society as a whole and on individuals, and be prepared to handle a variety of issues arising in the workplace. This paper provides a rationale for the inclusion of professionalism in the CIT curriculum. It focuses on the responsibilities of CIT instructors and provides material to assist carrying out this obligation.

Perspectives on developing and assessing professional values in computing

This report presents the results of a collaborative working group activity focusing on the use of information technology (IT) to integrate social and ethical issues within computer science or information systems courses. The report provides an organizational approach for classifying exercises, based on the issue each one addresses and the course or courses in which it may fit. The exercises in this report are classified by the information technology to be used and the course or courses addressed by the exercise. Ten sample exercises are provided, each given in a recommended standardized format.

Integrating CASE tools into the CS/CIS curriculum

This paper discusses how to ensure that students attain professional values important to the workplace by integrating them into computing curricula. It describes a survey of the attitudes of students, faculty and professionals in computing towards the teaching and assessment of such values. The results show that these groups share a set of professional values, though students are less convinced of their importance in the work environment. There is broad consensus on the specific behaviors and attitudes reflective of these values to be developed in the curriculum. The groups differed in their opinions of whether these attitudes and behaviors could be workably assessed.

Enhancing the Social Issues Components in our Computing Curriculum: Computing for the Social Good

The integration of computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools into the curriculum benefits computer science/information systems educators as well as industry. There has been a continuing, long and arduous movement toward the use of CASE tools especially in industry. The type of tool, the type of methodology in use for software development, and the type of application being developed all influence the successful use of CASE [15]. Industry greatly benefits from having students learn about the use of CASE tools within their university program. It enables the organization to more easily assimilate graduates into the software development process.