Paul Tymann

Game playing as a technique for teaching parallel computing concepts

Blackboard tracing of algorithms, while an effective tool for the teaching of sequential programming, is singularly ineffective and confusing when applied to parallel computing. The use of classroom games to illustrate concepts and pathologies proves to be a useful alternative technique. Games in which students play the role of processors can be used to illustrate simple parallel algorithms as well as more complex concepts. Live demonstrations are stimulating for both the participants and the class as a whole. This paper discusses guidelines regarding the development of such exercises and presents several examples.

VNET: a tool for teaching computer networking to undergraduates

YNET is a software package that simulates a computer network and has been used to support an undergraduate course in networking. Access to the simulated network is through a network adapter card modeled by the software. This software runs under a BSD-based UNIX operating system and is used to implement a simplified network that uses the TCP/IP protocol suite.

The virtual computing environment

A network of supercomputers and high-performance workstations appears to be the only reasonable way to provide adequate computing resources for the Grand Challenge problems of the next century. Such a collection of computers and supporting software environments is called a virtual computing environment (VCE). The paper describes the motivation and goals of the VCE project, followed by a description of the system. The paper concentrates on the runtime aspects of the VCE, and concludes with a discussion of a small prototype system that has been built using the Isis distributed toolkit.<<ETX>>

The development and use of scoring rubrics: (or how to grade thousands of exams without losing your mind)

Every year, for the past 10 years, more than 10,000 students have taken the Advanced Placement Computer Science exam (AP CS). The free response section of the AP CS exam is manually scored by a group of about 100-150 high school and college faculty referred to as readers. The exams are scored accurately and consistently even though thousands of exams are being scored by dozens of readers. This accuracy is due in large part to the rubrics that are developed to score the exams. Rubrics not only improve the consistency and speed at which exams can be scored, they also can be used to communicate expectations to students. This special session will discuss how to develop a rubric, show how they are used in the AP CS scoring process and illustrate how rubrics can be used to convey expectations to students.

The future of the AP CS program

The objective of this special session is to provide an opportunity for computer science educators, at both the college and high school level, to provide input to the AP CS Development Committee as it refines the curriculum for the A course in light of the elimination of the AB exam. The input and active participation of educators attending this special session will help the members AP CS Development Committee to define a course and exam that continues to meet the high standards for teaching and learning required in the comparable college course.

Modern software development concepts: a new philosophy for CS2

In this paper we propose a significantly different approach to CS2, the second course in the undergraduate computer science curriculum. Rather than a central focus on the design and implementation of data structures, we propose that the central focus be on modern software development concepts such as object-oriented design, exceptions, GUIs, graphics, collection classes, threads, and networking. We believe that these are the important concepts that students should be exposed to and should use in the second computer science course.

Achieving a shared goal with AP Computer Science A and AP Computer Science Principles

College Board has joined national efforts to improve the state of STEM education, in particular to address the challenge of increasing participation with a diverse population of computer scientists to meet the growing demands of the field of computing. The Advanced Placement (AP) Program is pleased to endeavor in enhancing AP Computer Science offerings by maintaining college level integrity and addressing issues of equity and access for students and teachers. In addition to the established AP Computer Science A course, the AP Program is engaged in the development of a forthcoming AP Computer Science Principles course. The additional option for high school students to study college level computing will provide more students with an opportunity to be introduced to important computer science concepts, gain a broader perspective of the field of study, and have access to a larger pathway into computing. This session will review information regarding the AP Computer Science A course and will discuss plans for collecting feedback from college faculty regarding course content and approaches to programming techniques and languages. It will then discuss the new Computer Science Principles course and plans for the development and launch of the course and exam. The session will conclude with a Q&A session addressing questions regarding both courses. The session will be moderated by Lien Diaz from the AP Program at the College Board.

Successful K-12 outreach strategies

Much has been written about the decrease in the number of students pursuing computing in colleges. Unfortunately, most students form their (usually negative) opinions of computing long before they reach college [1], so it is beneficial for university faculty who want to increase college enrollment to do outreach aimed at a younger audience. Activities to promote computing among K-12 students can proceed at several levels, occur in various locations, and involve both students and faculty. College and high school faculty can collaborate in many ways. As teachers of introductory courses, both groups want to generate interest, cover important material, and provide a strong foundation for later work. For example, the AP CS course description includes material that fits well with both high school and introductory college courses. Also, today in both environments, there is much discussion regarding the best approaches for creating excitement and introducing students to computing. Although both faculties need to address common content and utilize active pedagogies, it also is important to acknowledge that college and high school environments are different, and both levels have special opportunities and constraints. Many college faculty are interested in doing K-12 outreach but often do not know where to start or do not know any successful strategies. The purpose of this panel is to present K-12 outreach strategies that have worked and then to provide the audience with the opportunity to brainstorm with the panelists to explore alternate ideas for outreach and to identify new approaches. Some ideas and strategies come from experiences of high school and college teachers working together as part of the AP CS program, but other approaches extend beyond AP CS.

The Impact of AP Computer Science Principles: Are You Ready to Change Your Undergraduate Courses?

1.SUMMARY In the last few years, there has been a groundswell of programs to support more and better computer science (CS) education in K-12. A large number of organizations and institutions including ACM, Code.org, CSTA and the National Science Foundation (NSF) have worked to make CS more available and engaging and in this way increase the CS into post-secondary CS programs. NSFs CS10K initiative, for example, aimed to “have rigorous, academic curricula incorporated into computing courses in 10,000 high schools, taught by 10,000 well-trained teachers” [3]. These initiatives have energized the education world and have resulted in sweeping changes in the way that computing is being taught at in K-12. Examples include the College Board’s CS Principles Course [1], the Beauty and Joy of Computing [2,4], UTeach CS Principles [5, 41], and Mobile CSP [6, 7].

NSF computing education funding

With many changes to the NSF education funding model, we thought this might be a good opportunity to highlight two programs that are of direct interest to the computing community.