Robert Lutz

Enhancing information technology education (ITE) with the use of 3D printer technology

This workshop provides an introduction to three-dimensional (3D) printing. This tutorial will: cover the general background of 3D printing, summarize popular software tools, describe associated challenges and offer suggestions for application within information technology (IT) coursework. Attendees will get hands-on experience with 3D printing tools and will be able to print a limited number of items during the workshop. The workshop will also describe the authors experience integrating this authentic learning into several IT courses. (Participant Laptop Recommended)

Integrating authentic learning into a software development course: an experience report

This paper describes our experience integrating an authentic learning project into a junior-level software development course. During the course, students applied full software development life cycle processes to meet a campus need -- providing classroom clicker support without purchasing additional hardware. The paper provides the motivation for this approach, summarizes relevant developments in classroom response systems, details the design of the class project, and shares our results. Finally, we offer reflections describing both intended and unintended outcomes of this experiment.

Integrating Cutting Edge Devices to Increase Student Retention in Programming (Abstract Only)

Literature has estimated that about 33% of students who start a computer science degree program eventually drop or fail their first programming course. With the decreasing number of college graduates entering the computing industry, the workforce is missing out on the wealth and breadth of innate student ability and skills that are switching to non-STEM fields. This project developed, implemented and researched the effects of an innovative instructional strategy that integrated cutting-edge devices into an intermediate programming curriculum. Assignments were designed with the Java Software Ddevelopment Kkit for Java to strengthen student motivation and engagement by tapping into their creativity, collaborative skills, and critical thinking by using the InterAxon Muse, Oculus Rift, and the LeapMotion devices. Preliminary data indicates that although students may have enough motivation and interest in programming to persevere through the course, the implementation of this teaching methodology positively impacted their views and beliefs about programming skills and their relevance to their education. As well, survey data shows that student self-efficacy increased immediately after this educational intervention. Finally, instructor reflections point to a general shift in class morale and engagement with the inclusion of the assignments where students were required to solve problems without documentation. Future implications are also presented in this poster.

Operation Java blitz: extracurricular programming workshops to engage it students

An engaging context has been shown to improve student motivation and performance in programming courses. Therefore, we incorporated six hands-on, supplementary, voluntary workshops (called Operation Java Blitz, or OJB) on subjects that were not exhaustively included in the current programming curriculum in Spring 2014. The poster will discuss the sessions, the initial results from 34 students, and future plans.