techniques for incorporating the social value of computing into your courses mikey goldweber xavier...
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Techniques for Incorporating The Social Value of Computing into
your CoursesMikey GoldweberXavier University
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
Computing for the Social Good: Educational Practices (CSG-Ed)
CSG-Ed is an umbrella term meant to incorporate any educational activity, from small to large, that endeavors to convey and reinforce computing's social relevance and potential for positive societal impact.
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
Why do your students elect to study computing?
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
What is it these students think the study of computing is? (i.e. Expected learning outcomes.)
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
What are the reasons STEM-talented pre-University students give for not pursuing computing?
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
Which fields do STEM-talented pre-University students pursue instead of computing?
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
How do we (inadvertently) contribute to this?
What is done on the first day of the first course in computing?
What is done throughout the first course in computing?
What are the projects these students work on/complete?
Consider the second course, the third course, etc. Throughout the curriculum, what motivating examples are employed, and what projects are assigned? (e.g. Database Systems, Networking)
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
It’s all about context.
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
Values vs Interests
For far too long the CSE community has been pursuing contexts believed to capture/engage student interests. E.g. Game playing, animation, robots.
The research suggests the opposite: Students’ desires to have a positive societal impact are a strong determinant regarding their selection of a major. [Buckley, et.al. SIGCSE ’08; Margolis. “Stuck in the Shallow End: Education, Race and Computing”]
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
Incorporating Computing’s Social Relevance in our Curricula
Not a new idea. Ben Shneiderman first wrote about this in 1971.
Up to the dot-com bubble burst, CSG-Ed was not unusual; though informal evidence suggests its emphasis was declining.
A confluence of events seemingly buried CSG-Ed:Widespread broadband accessWidespread Java adoptionPlummeting enrollments in computing
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
Incorporating Computing’s Social Relevance in our Curricula
CSG-Ed soon became limited, at best, to Software Engineering and Capstone courses.
Lisa Kaczmarczyk published “Computers and Society: Computing for Good” in 2011.
Two ITiCSE Working Group reports (2010 & 2012) focused on CSG-Ed.
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
Is CSG-Ed integration worthwhile?
Attraction and retention of a diverse population of STEM-talented students.WomenOther underrepresented categories
Student Motivation
How can it hurt? CSG-Ed can’t be any worse than games, animations and business oriented app development.
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
Barriers to widespread CSG-Ed adoptionMindset and historical precedent
Lack of domain knowledge
Overworked instructors
Fear of extraneous cognitive load
Textbook support (or lack thereof)
“Role of the Educator”
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
How “Green” must one become?
1. The low hanging fruit: redefine an existing example/project with a CSG-Ed narrative.
2. Explicitly address a social good problem, though often in a simplified form.
3. A real world problem solved as an exercise.
4. A real world problem brought by stakeholders and with real world benefits rather than just an exercise.
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
CSG-Ed Wrapped Assignments
Radioactive mice
Image analysis
Red Cross response
Blood bank database
Voting system analysis
STI (Measles) modeling
Virtually every programming assignment and motivating example can be “wrapped” with a CSG-Ed narrative.
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
Simple Social Good Assignments
Instead of starting with an algorithm or data structure and “wrapping” it, start with simplified real problem.
• Water pollution analysis
• Sitting a nuclear power plan
• Herd management/hunting
• NP problem heuristic
• Spam filter
• Search and “rescue”
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
Real World Assignments
Take a real problem and strive for a real solution. Typically only possible for upper-level courses.
• Database for a local non-profit
• Contribute to an HFOSSof ICT4D project
• Create an emergency Ad hoc network
• Develop a socially relevant mobile app
• Work with “open data” to develop a new city service
AUT: CSG-Ed Workshop
Give it a try!
Talk your ideas through with a colleague (or anyone in the CSG-Ed movement).
Read the newspapers.
Talk to colleagues in other disciplines.
Don’t reinvent the wheel, search the literature.
Share.
