Tony Clear

Resources for instructors of capstone courses in computing

Most computing programs now have some form of integrative or capstone course in which students undertake a significant project under supervision. There are many different models for such courses and conducting these courses is a complex task. This report is intended to assist instructors of capstone courses, particularly those new to the model of teaching and learning inherent in the capstone course.This paper discusses important issues that must be addressed when conducting capstone courses. These issues are addressed through a series of questions, with answers reflecting the way that different institutions have chosen to handle them, and commentary on the impact of these different choices. These questions include: Goals of the Course; Characteristics of Projects; Project Deliverables; Sponsors; Teams; Prerequisites and Preparation; Grading and Assessment; Administration and Supervision; and Reflection, Analysis and Review.Subsequently we present information about the companion Web site, intended as an active repository of best practice for instructors of capstone projects. The Web site will have examples of information about capstone courses and materials used by instructors. Readers are invited to contribute content to this site. The paper concludes with a bibliography of additional reference material and resources.

Understanding technology use in global virtual teams: Research methodologies and methods

Context: The globalisation of activities associated with software development and use has introduced many challenges in practice, and also (therefore) many for research. While the predominant approach to research in software engineering has followed a positivist science model, this approach may be sub-optimal when addressing problems with a dominant social or cultural dimension, such as those frequently encountered when studying work practices in a globally distributed team setting. The investigation of such a team reported in this paper provides one example of an alternative approach to research in a global context, through a longitudinal interpretive field study seeking to understand how global virtual teams mediated the use of technology. The study involved a large collective of faculty and support staff plus student members based in the geographically and temporally distant locations of New Zealand, the United States of America and Sweden. Objective: Our focus in this paper is on the conduct of research in the context of global software activities, and in particular, as applied to the actions and interactions of global virtual teams. We consider the appropriateness of various methodologies and methods in enabling such issues to be addressed. Method: We describe how we undertook a substantial field study of global virtual teams, and highlight how the adopted structuration theory, action research and grounded theory methodologies applied to the analysis of email data, enabled us to deliver effectively against our goals. Results: We believe that the approach taken suited a research context in which situated practices were occurring over time in a highly complex domain, ensuring that our results were both strongly grounded and relevant to practice. It has resulted in the generation of substantive theory and techniques that have been adapted and applied on a pilot basis in further field settings. Conclusion: We conclude that globally distributed teamwork presents a complex context which demands new research approaches, beyond the limited set customarily applied by software engineering researchers. We advocate experimenting with different research methodologies and methods so that we have a more rounded repertoire to address the most important and relevant issues in global software development research, with the forms of rigour that suit the chosen approach.

An introduction to program comprehension for computer science educators

The area of program comprehension comprises a vast body of literature, with numerous conflicting models having been proposed. Models are typically grounded in experimental studies mostly involving experienced programmers. The question of how to relate this material to the teaching and learning of programming for novices has proven challenging for many researchers. In this critical review from a computer science educational perspective, the authors compare and contrast the way in which different models conceptualize program comprehension. This provides new insights into learning issues such as content, sequence, learning obstacles, effective learning tasks and teaching methods, as well as into the assessment of learning

Exploring programming assessment instruments: a classification scheme for examination questions

This paper describes the development of a classification scheme that can be used to investigate the characteristics of introductory programming examinations. We describe the process of developing the scheme, explain its categories, and present a taste of the results of a pilot analysis of a set of CS1 exam papers. This study is part of a project that aims to investigate the nature and composition of formal examination instruments used in the summative assessment of introductory programming students, and the pedagogical intentions of the educators who construct these instruments.

Information technology fluency in practice

Recent work has stressed the importance of fluency with information technology (IT) in the modern world. This report presents a set of context profiles that detail courses and programs to realize increased IT fluency across a small sampling of academic institutions. The goal is to provide some representative examples for other schools interested in addressing the issues associated with IT fluency.

Using groupware for international collaborative learning

The paper reports the lessons learned from a two year collaborative learning trial between students at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and Uppsala University. The trials took place using a combination of email and a custom developed Lotus Notes/sup TM/ database. The first trial involved a case study in which students performed different roles in designing a software solution for an Auckland based nailcare distributor. The second trial built upon the knowledge base of the earlier trial, and required students to evaluate and rank the previous design proposals. A theoretical model developed from the group support systems literature guided some of the changes in the second trial. The software, the collaboration process and the evaluation methods evolved over the course of these trials. The challenges of creating global student communities within a short collaboration window in existing courses of study are discussed. Further extensions to this research are proposed and some general recommendations are made.

The Canterbury QuestionBank: building a repository of multiple-choice CS1 and CS2 questions

In this paper, we report on an ITiCSE-13 Working Group that developed a set of 654 multiple-choice questions on CS1 and CS2 topics, the Canterbury QuestionBank. We describe the questions, the metadata we investigated, and some preliminary investigations of possible research uses of the QuestionBank. The QuestionBank is publicly available as a repository for computing education instructors and researchers.

A cyber-icebreaker for an effective virtual group?

This paper reports selected results from the most recent of a series of international collaborative trials between students at Auckland University of Technology and Uppsala University. The trials require students to work together in virtual groups, comprising students from each institution, to perform a common task. The topic of this paper is how to form and sustain more effective virtual groups. In this trial a cyber-icebreaker task has been introduced and its contribution to group effectiveness is explored. Some conclusions are drawn pinpointing the strengths and weaknesses of this trial design, and some insights into effective design of electronic collaborative learning groups are gained.

Dimensions of distance learning for computer education

In this paper, we explore what is variously termed distance learning (DL), asynchronous, online, Web-based, and Web-supported learning in terms of how it can support and perhaps even improve the fields of education involving computing. We use the term distributed education to cover all mentioned topics. We describe how the incorporation of these methods can benefit computer education. These benefits arise because of the nature of the computing field, the profound requirements for students to understand concepts and acquire skills as opposed to mere exposure to facts, and our assessment that distributed education has the potential to address many of the challenges identified. We conclude with suggestions on the incorporation of distributed methods into computer education.

Introducing an external mentor in an international Open Ended Group Project

An International Open Ended Group Project collaboration has been running for several years and the very nature of the setting inspires constant reflection and adjustments. These are based on active involvement in education research, and especially theories of learning. Open Ended Group Projects (OEGPs) are based on students taking an active role in both choosing what to do and how to do it. This might however prove too difficult for some students and a need for scaffolding has been noted. Introduction of an external mentor is described and analyzed in this paper as is the effect of introducing relevant research frameworks, to support the project leaders in the offering of the course during the fall semester 2008. The paper reviews a pioneering use of the Collaborative Technology Fit framework. This research tool aimed to highlight aspects of leadership and technology, and to help the students to run the project in a manner consistent with the ideas behind using OEGPs.