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The most common course delivery model is based on teacher (knowledge provider) - student (knowledge receiver) relationship. The most visible symptom of this situation is over-reliance on textbook's tutorials. This traditional model of delivery reduces teacher flexibility, causes lack of interest among students, and often makes classes boring. Especially this is visible when teaching Computer Literacy courses. Instead, authors of this paper suggest a new active model which is based on MS Office simulation. The proposed model was discussed within the framework of three activities: guided software simulation, instructor-led activities, and self-directed learning activities. The model proposed in the paper of active teaching based on software simulation was proven as more effective than traditional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faculty teaching computer courses go through repeated updates of their classes in order to keep their programs current. The updates may include more than changing textbooks or adding a new volume. Instead, the changes may require the installation of new software, hardware, troubleshooting and solving complicated technology related problems. The faculty requesting these changes may need the expertise of technical staff in updating these technology courses and in solving emerging problems. In such cases, coordination and collaboration between the faculty and technical staff will be necessary in order to assure course updates. This paper reports on the collaboration between a faculty and technical staff at Eberly College of Business and Information Technology (ECOBIT) -- Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). Both faculty and technical staff have been working cooperatively at different levels to address course and programmatic changes for their computer curriculum. The details of this cooperation between the faculty and the technical staff are explained in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enrollment in computer science programs has been facing a steady decline for a number of years. Although more recent trend has shown a slight upward trend in enrollment, but the number of admitted students into computer science programs falls far short of what they have been before and in meeting employment demands. Numerous reasons have contributed to this decline and various steps have been taken by departments to counter this decline and to bring more students into their programs. This paper examines steps taken to understand the causes and improvements to the availability of computer science graduates. Specifically, the Computer Science (COSC) program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) has been proactively taking different steps in order to attract more students into their program and to improve retention among their enrolled students. The result of these efforts has been mixed and it is helpful to analyze these factors and delve into some aspects of the program to understand the extent of the steps taken so far. Thus the experience of the computer science program at IUP and their efforts to reverse enrollment decline is discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computer science (CS) curricula are composed of various study modules, each of which focuses on particular contents, concepts, principles, and associated problem-solving methods. Developers of CS curricula recommend that students become acquainted with different programming paradigms in order to acquire alternative ways of computational thinking and various approaches for problem solving. In this paper, we illuminate two different though related paradigms: object-oriented programming and logic programming. We present and discuss the findings of a comparative study aimed at revealing similarities and dissimilarities between object oriented programming and logic programming in the context of problem-solving approaches and conclude with guidelines for instructional design of a study track that combines both paradigms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Courses on Operating Systems (OS) are essential in computer science education. The topic provides the students with an excellent opportunity to experience the interplay between theory and practice. Specifically, a project-based-learning (PBL) instructional design for an OS course can provide the students with opportunities to engage in practical projects. The PBL approach enables students to take part in learning activities which are essential for grasping underlying theoretical concepts, linking theory, practice and system-level perception. In this paper we present our experience in teaching an operating systems course with a continuing evolving project using a PBL approach. The findings of a preliminary assessment indicated a highly positive attitude on the part of the students towards the PBL approach used in the course as well as towards the qualitative evaluation method that was used to assess their achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data Structure is an important and mandatory course in Computer Science and Information Technology curricula. The topics of the course require detailed view of the algorithm behavior with the implementation part by a programming language. This paper introduces a visualized learning environment and assesses the effectiveness of using this system in order to enhance the education in computer science and information technology concerning data structure course. Whether the use of the system will produce remarkable enough affects to encourage the developers to enhance such systems. The system uses embedded visualizer rather than external visualizer to produce the animation. The significant result of the experiment indicates that combining Algorithm and Program Animation is an effective way to enhance students' performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of the research presented in the paper is to study the Electrical Engineering (EE) and Computer Engineering (CE) curriculum in order to improve its coverage, with the goal of better preparing graduates to pursue a wider range of professional careers. The research deals with the differences in studying subjects related to computer architecture by two groups of students having different prior knowledge: EE students and CE students. This research establishes the implications of hands-on studies and considers the gap in knowledge, and whether these studies reduce the gaps. This research was conducted for the same "Microprocessors practicum" course. The first group (CE students) acquired a large body of knowledge in computer architecture, while the second group (EE students) acquired knowledge mainly in "Introduction to programming" prior to the practicum course, and this fact was reflected in a pretest conducted for the two groups. The official test that was taken at the end of the semester, which examined the knowledge that was acquired during the course's lectures, revealed no difference between the two groups. However, a posttest, specifically arranged for the purpose of this study, strongly indicated that the Computer Engineering students have an advantage over the Electrical Engineering students. Regarding the objective that the lab should provide students with an understanding of computing processes, it seems that lack of prior knowledge hinders it. The lab is meaningful provided that the students are exposed to prior studies, in which case, the lab serves to reinforce the subject matter. At the university in which the research took place, suitable changes in the curriculum have already been made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the frameworks used by Computer Science students at the conclusion of two semesters of study in Software Engineering. A questionnaire listing 64 Software Engineering concepts was given to students at three universities upon completion of their second-semester course. To identify which topics were most important, students were asked to rate each concept on a ten-point scale. From their responses, we calculated the average perceived importance for each concept. This paper analyzes the results of the survey. We also compare these concept ratings to similar ratings obtained earlier from a sample of first-semester Software Engineering students. Using both data sets, we describe how Software Engineering perceptions evolve as students progress through a two-semester course sequence. This knowledge can be valuable to Software Engineering instructors as they decide which concepts to emphasize and how to unite these concepts into a consistent, meaningful framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An algorithm learning tool was developed for an introductory computer science class in a specialized science and technology high school in Japan. The tool presents lessons and simple visualizations that aim to facilitate teaching and learning of fundamental algorithms. Written tests and an evaluation questionnaire were designed and implemented along with the learning tool among the participants. The tool's effect on the learning performance of the students was examined. The differences of the two types of visualizations offered by the tool, one with more input and control options and the other with fewer options, were analyzed. Based on the evaluation questionnaire, the scales with which the tool can be assessed according to its usability and pedagogical effectiveness were identified. After using the algorithm learning tool there was an increase in the post-test scores of the students, and those who used the visualization with more input and control options had higher scores compared to those who used the one with limited options. The learning objectives used to evaluate the tool correlated with the test performance of the students. Properties comprised of learning objectives, algorithm visualization characteristics, and interface assessment are proposed to be incorporated in evaluating an algorithm learning tool for novice learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaders at California State University, East Bay, in the College of Business and Economics decided to review and revise the MBA Program prior to the upcoming accreditation visit. The outcome was a program with fewer foundation courses, more core course requirements and fewer options (sometimes called areas of specialization or tracks). The number of foundation courses was reduced from nine to three, the number of required core courses was increased from three to nine and the number of specialized option courses was reduced from about five (depending on the option) to three. The number of options was reduced from 16 to 8. The Computer Information Systems option was revised and named Information Technology Management. CIS/ITM survived the reduction in options -- for now. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Information Technology (IT) Department of the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences (GCCIS) at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) offers core courses in four threads. These threads cover various subject areas of Information Technology. Increasingly, students enter the IT program with prior programming experience from high school or college courses, work, or from other activities. Several studies, including the authors' own have indicated that students, who have prior experience, often perform better in the first programming course. Our earlier study verified that using 2002 data and found that after the first course, the experience did not have a significant impact on student performance in subsequent programming courses. In this study, we reexamined the results of our first study with data from 2003 and looked at beginning courses in other core threads to see if the prior experience had a significant impact on those courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]