Monday, August 07, 2006
Computer Science Teachers Association
|
Teachers of computer science at the high school level in Southwestern Indiana are collaborating with the University of Southern Indiana College of Business to support and promote the teaching of their discipline. Scott Anderson, instructor in computer science at USI, has facilitated the startup of a local chapter of the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), an organization founded in 2005 by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). The local chapter held its first meeting in May. The ultimate goal is to produce graduates better prepared for jobs in computer science. Through its activities, CSTA will provide teachers with opportunities for professional development, offer enrichment for high school students interested in computer science, and build a community of high school and college educators dedicated to outstanding education in computer science. Based on interest expressed at the first meeting, Anderson will teach an introductory one-day workshop for high school computer-science educators in object-oriented programming. The workshop will take place August 10 in Orr Center at USI. “I want them to see how easy it is to download and install JAVA and introduce object-oriented programming using JAVA,” Anderson said. Participants will learn to use the JAVA programming language and jGRASP, an integrated development environment. Both JAVA and jGRASP are available as free downloads. Participants will leave the workshop with additional software that will benefit them in the classroom, including a program Anderson developed. The first programming exercise workshop participants will complete is modification of existing code, using Anderson’s program to move a robot through a maze. CSTA members can take that software back to their respective schools for use with their students. Anderson said many high school students are capable of going beyond keyboarding and the mastery of applications for creating text documents and spreadsheets to learn programming and theoretical concepts. More advanced computer-science education at the secondary level will enable students to make a better transition to study at the college level. The CSTA national organization provides a recommended curriculum for high school computer-science education. In addition, the College Board provides an Advanced Placement course in computer science. The AP course is not available at any high schools in Southwestern Indiana. Anderson hopes that will change. He expects that as high school educators become more familiar with resources and support available to them, they will be comfortable teaching the AP course. They also will communicate the excitement of the discipline to students who may be interested in higher education and careers in computer science. The USI computer-science curriculum follows the guidelines of ACM’s core curriculum, know as CC2001. The USI program prepares graduates for jobs such as network administrators, computer programmers, and Web developers as well as for postgraduate study in computer science. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs that require formal training in computer science are among the top 10 fastest-growing occupations in the United States between the years 2000 and 2010. Interest in USI’s computer-science program is on the increase. Enrollment in an introductory computer-science course this fall is more than double last fall’s enrollment. The first meeting of the local chapter of CSTA was attended by computer-science teachers from Mater Dei High School, Evansville Christian School, and Evansville Day School, all in Evansville; Mt. Vernon High School in Mt. Vernon, Indiana; Castle High School in Newburgh, Indiana, and Tecumseh High School in Lynnville, Indiana. Future activities of CSTA will be based on the interests and needs of the members. Anderson said that USI faculty might visit high schools to provide assistance to the computer-science program, offer more workshops for teachers and students at USI, or sponsor summer camps for students interested in computer science. Anderson is one of several College of Business faculty members who received fellowships to conduct research in their fields, develop courses, or complete community engagement projects during summer 2006. His project to establish CSTA was funded by a Community-Based Faculty Engagement Fellowship. Throughout the University more than 35 faculty members received stipends to conduct research or develop scholarly or creative projects during summer 2006. Most projects were funded by a combination of college, University, and USI Foundation funds. Eight faculty members were funded by the Lilly Endowment Summer Research Fellowships for faculty development Anderson joined the USI College of Business faculty in fall 2003. He is a former owner of Anderson BDG Corporation, which provided point-of-sale computer systems for automotive repair facilities. He holds a B.S. in computer science from Western Kentucky University and an M.S. in computer science from University of Southern California. For additional information, visit www.usi.edu/business, or contact Scott Anderson, at 812/465-7113 or rsanderson@usi.edu. |
Copyright © 2013 University of Southern Indiana. All rights reserved.