OLGA BLINOVA HUDSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY OCTOBER 29, 2012 Making Computer Instruction Meaningful Via Interdisciplinary Connections and Interactive Projects

Protocol Identify interests and majors Form groups Aid in selecting external content for each specific computer application Show digital potential for each major and various aspects of life

First Class Meeting Students write a composition “My Life Goal”- three-fold purpose: Students share their personal and educational background I learn about their interests and major I Identify their computer proficiency level

Group Formation Before Second Class Meeting Unlike many Science Majors, Liberal Arts Majors like working in groups I analyze the information from student compositions and start forming groups according to Interests/ majors Gender Computer knowledge to ensure there would be a group leader

Teaching MS Word (second week of classes) Students start work on the prescribed project in MS Word from the textbook (usually the creation of a flyer) Then they change the content of the flyer according to their field of interest or major

Third Week As students work on MLA style as prescribed in the course syllabus, they start brainstorming their own future projects They exchange ideas and I vet the topics MLA reports done individually serve as a base for group projects in PowerPoint and Excel

Samples of Students’ Topics Steve Jobs Coffee Could Prevent Depression What Do You Think about Global Warming? From Graphite to Graphene 10 Simple Ways to Live a More Sustainable Life 10 Hot Jobs in the United States Earthquake in Japan Skype The Best Web Browsers Earth Hour

Sxxxxx Mxxxxxxxx October 8, 2012 “ I took Introduction to Computers in Fall Before I took the course I was very nervous because I didn’t have much knowledge about computers. But once I got went through the first assignment, I saw it was quite easy and fun. Not only do you learn about how to operate a computer, but you also learn how to write papers as well. For instance, Professor Blinova said to write a paper on how coffee can help fight depression. I learned quite a bit just from that one paper. It taught me how to use MLA (Modern Language Association)style and how to conduct a paper without plagiarizing. Professor Blinova also taught my class about the people who contributed to modern computers such as Steve Jobs. Overall, Introduction to Computers was a very informative class and I learned not only how to use a computer but also how to write a college educated research paper.”

Teaching MS PowerPoint After finishing textbook projects, the class selects topics appropriate for formatting in MS Power Point. (previously completed MLA reports serve as a prep for group projects thus providing connections to the “old” knowledge) Examples: Steve Jobs, The Earth Hour, Skype, The Best Web Brower (of interest to Liberal Arts students)

Teaching Excel Non-science majors benefit from presenting any data in other courses using MS Excel. They need more sophisticated Excel applications: Charts, Data tables, Formatting of Axis. Their projects are based on the content of their non- science classes, thus they can use the skills immediately (relevance of the CSC 100 course)

Samples Accounting Majors: Real Estate Tour Industry: Nursing: Education:

“ The workshop Mrs. Blinova gave our class on Tuesday March 23rd was an intellectual experience. We were taught how to use graphs to portray select data which became a burden at first but after several attempts I grew accustomed to this new experience. It helped our team work and growth in this class. “ “The workshop we did in class was very insightful. It helped me realize what I knew and what I didn’t know. Also, how to prepare myself for the future projects in class. Now I know I don’t have to use the book for everything. I could play around with the stuff and after that can be more creative and successful.”

Analogies for Information Processing Cycle Explaining the IPC (Information Processing Cycle), the series of input, process, output, and storage activities, I use analogies familiar to Liberal Arts students to explain hardware and software systems since their mind works differently and they need simplified explanations. pencil/paper; cat/processor or mouse;

Visual Basic Courses To provide smooth entry into the course, I expose them to a complex code without any explanations and then walk them through the writing step-by-step in simple terms. (I rely on the function of a human brain: completing the picture) Makes the whole path more logical and expedited, which coincides with my mission for liberal Arts students: develop their critical thinking skills rather that computer ones)

Approach to Teaching Liberal Arts Students Maximum freedom Scaffolding in Computer applications only Independent Choice of Content Examples: welcome screen (Visual Basic course)

Module Benefits Makes computer instruction relevant and applicable Enhances cooperative environment Provides social/ personal relevance Promotes self-efficacy Ensures student-centered instruction Improves quality of student work in other courses