CSCI Computers in Society Week 14: Computers in Education

Computers as a Means to Education There are a number of ways computers can be used as a vehicle for providing education: Online Courses Learning Management Systems Computers in the Classroom Educational Software Youtube and Social Media

On-Line Courses On-line courses allow more students access to courses and allow courses to be delivered at a lower cost per student. We will talk about Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on Wednesday. Today we will focus on high school.

On-Line Courses (2) Cyber charter schools are an option in many states. While cyber schools can provide low-cost education to a wide range of students, there have been a number of problems: Governments are sometimes charged much more that the education costs Student performance is often below the average for public schools Student turnover is high, and absenteeism is often rampant

On-Line Courses (3) The enrollment of students across large geographical distances has encouraged fraud in government-provided financial aid (e.g., Pell Grants) as well. One article described criminal rings who defraud the government via phantom students.

Technology and Cheating Technology has made it easier for students to collaborate and to cheat on assignments and tests. It has also made it easier to catch cheaters. We will talk about these technologies in the college setting next class.

Learning Management Systems Moodle and Blackboard are two learning management systems we have used at Bucknell. Such systems make organizing and running classes, including access to materials, online course discussions, assignment distribution and collection, and access to grades faster and easier.

Technology in Classrooms When used appropriately, computers can enhance the classroom experience. Computers open the possibility of using multimedia in lessons. Material can be presented in more interesting and more effective ways.

Technology in Classrooms (2) One of the readings this week was about the use of laptops in Mooresville, NC. Laptops came at the cost of jobs and educational resources. Effective use of the computers there has improved the performance of students.

Educational Software In addition to software designed to teach, various special-purpose software has found its way into the classroom. Matlab Mathematica Statistical packages

Youtube and Social Media Many social media sites are used by instructors in courses. An important recent example is the use of Youtube in “flipping” classrooms. Some courses use Twitter and Facebook to support classes, or as material for class. Second Life was used by teachers to provide online virtual classrooms.

Computers as an End in Education Computational Thinking is a hot topic in educational circles. Jeannette Wing has argued that it is a necessary skill: “To reading, writing, and arithmetic, we should add computational thinking to every child’s analytical ability.”

What is Computational Thinking? The definition of Computational Thinking has been the subject of disputes. Cuny, Snyder, and Wing have defined it as follows: Computational thinking is the thought processes involved in formulating problems and their solutions so that the solutions are represented in a form that can be effetively carried out by an information- processing agent.

Should Computational Reasoning Be Required? What do you consider computational thinking to be? Is this something that should be required in all schools at all levels?