Living In the KnowlEdge Society LIKES NC A

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Living In the KnowlEdge Society (LIKES) NC AT
Opening Session

• North Carolina A T
• Santa Clara University
• Villanova University
• Virginia Tech
• NSF CPATH CCF-0722259,
• 0722276,
• 0722289,
• and 0752865

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Motivation

• We are living in exponential time in a flat
  world
• Computer technology is changing fast
• Students computing knowledge cannot keep up with
  the technologies when they graduate
• Various computing concepts are not incorporated
  into the university (CS?) core curriculum enough
  (at all ?)
• CS/IT enrollment has been dropping (but jobs
  increase)
• Students think computing is difficult and not fun

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LIKES Vision

• Build a community leading the way to change how
  computing concepts are taught in both
  computing-related disciplines and the disciplines
  of the broader workforce and society.
• Reach a broader audience of potential students
  and produce a larger number of professionals with
  the computing competencies and skills for LIKES.
• Improve computing competencies and skills of
  people in all disciplines, to help them address
  the pervasive and growing needs for computing in
  society.

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Computing Concepts 1 Computing Curricular 2001

• Discrete Structures (DS)
• Programming Fundamentals (PF)
• Algorithms and Complexity (AL)
• Architecture and Organization (AR)
• Operating Systems (OS)
• Net-Centric Computing (NC)
• Programming Languages (PL)

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Computing Concepts 2 Computing Curricular 2001

• Human-Computer Interaction (HC)
• Graphics and Visual Computing (GV)
• Intelligent Systems (IS)
• Information Management (IM)
• Social and Professional Issues (SP)
• Software Engineering (SE)
• Computational Science and Numerical Methods (CN)

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VT Core Curriculum

• Area 1 Writing and Discourse -gt ViEWS Courses
• Area 2 Ideas, Cultural Traditions, and Values
• Area 3 Society and Human Behavior
• Area 4 Scientific Reasoning and Discovery
• Area 5 Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning
• Area 6 Creativity and Aesthetic Experience
• Area 7 Critical Issues in a Global Context

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LIKES Vision - Disciplines
Economics
English
Marketing
Chemistry
Geography
Political Science
Algorithms
HCI
Geology
Visualization
Math
Database
Archi- tecture
Social Ethical
Systems Analysis Design
Knowledge Society
History
Sociology
Intelligent Systems
Health- care
Physics
Simulation
Programming
Knowledge Management
Finance
Biology
Architecture Net-Centricity
Music
Commun- ications
Psychology
Engi- neering
Library / Information Science
Art
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LIKES Vision - Applications
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LIKES Goals

• Engagement of public in planning for, building,
  and living in the Knowledge Society
• ICT fluency, contextualized into ones discipline
  and into daily life in the 21st century
• Computational thinking
• Key computing concepts
• Fundamental CS/IT paradigms
• Applied computing

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Transform Computer Science Education

• Find Interesting Problems to Bring into Computing
  Courses to Provide Opportunities for Learning in
  Context
• For example, in a database class students could
• See the value of hierarchical data structures to
  biology by representing the taxonomy of species.
• See the value of hierarchical data structures to
  political science and management by representing
  the organization chart of the executive branch of
  U.S. government.

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Transform Computer Science Education

• Bring a Service Culture to Computing Disciplines
• Students in project classes or independent
  studies develop LIKES education modules working
  with core course faculty.
• This results in computing discipline students
  helping non-computing discipline students to
  learn computing concepts.
• OPEN philosophy and approach followed to publish
  all LIKES modules.
• Students think about how to teach others.
• Students experience the joy of service.
• Needed Benefits
• Attract/retain more students to computer science,
  information systems, and information technology
  disciplines.
• Sustainable education-based interdisciplinary
  collaborations.

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Transform Computing Education for non-Majors

• Infusing the Core Curriculum with Key Computing
  Concepts
• Matrix of Core Area Courses x Computing Concepts
• A cell contains an Education Module that teaches
  the computing concept in the context of the core
  area course.
• An Education Module consists of everything needed
  to teach the computing concept, e.g., lecture
  slides, assignments, grading rubric, downloads,
  specialized program, etc.

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Interdisciplinary Work ExampleVirtual Jamestown

• Project Director
• Prof. Crandall Shifflett, Dept. of History, VT
• In 1996 he conceived the idea of combining
  technology, history, and Jamestown 2007.
• Project Staff Members
• Julie Richter Ph.D in early american history
• Matthew Parrott computer science major, chief
  modeller, animator
• Virtual Jamestown is a product of collaboration
  between Virginia Tech, the University of
  Virginia, and the Virginia Center for Digital
  History at the University of Virginia.

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Interactive Maps
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Virtual Reality Indian Village

• http//www.virtualjamestown.org/quicktime/flash/po
  mhi.html

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Four Workshops

• Workshop 1 Theme Defining Problems and
  Applications of the Knowledge Society
• Santa Clara University
• Completed December 2007 see report
• Workshop 2 Theme Testing LIKES Vision
• North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State
  University
• April 18-19, NOW!
• Workshop 3 Theme LIKES Pedagogy
• Virginia Tech
• Fall 2008
• Workshop 4 Theme LIKES in Practice
• Villanova
• Spring 2009

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Workshop 1 Computing Concepts
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Workshops 3 and 4

• Workshop 3
• Similar to workshop 2, but with different
  disciplines, e.g., political science, chemistry,
  marketing.
• Have something to contribute? Someone to invite?
• Workshop 4
• Pedagogy of delivering LIKES modules.
• Implementation using service approach.
• Integrating OPEN architecture and approach.
• Have something to contribute? Someone to invite?

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Workshop Plans

• W. Chung Workshop 1 report
• C. Evia Examples (Perspective English, CS)
• Keynotes Inspire, Illustrate, Guide us
• Working groups -gt friends, collaborators
• Plenary discussions -gt plans for future
• Change life on each campus
• Online community to share and help
• Disseminate nationwide and worldwide