>From owner-trad-l@LISTSERV.VT.EDU Wed Feb 12 10:26:41 1997 Received: from listserv.vt.edu (listserv.vt.edu [128.173.4.9]) by listserv.vt.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id KAA46548; Wed, 12 Feb 1997 10:26:40 -0500 Received: from LISTSERV.VT.EDU by LISTSERV.VT.EDU (LISTSERV-TCP/IP release 1.8c) with spool id 384432 for TRAD-L@LISTSERV.VT.EDU; Wed, 12 Feb 1997 10:26:40 -0500 Received: from sable.cc.vt.edu (sable.cc.vt.edu [128.173.16.30]) by listserv.vt.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id KAA58118 for ; Wed, 12 Feb 1997 10:16:38 -0500 Received: from [128.173.126.10] (conn.prov.vt.edu [128.173.126.10]) by sable.cc.vt.edu (8.8.4/8.8.4) with SMTP id KAA19081 for ; Wed, 12 Feb 1997 10:16:36 -0500 (EST) X-Sender: conn@mail.vt.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" X-Mime-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by listserv.vt.edu id KAA51976 Message-Id: Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 10:16:38 -0500 Reply-To: "J.A.N. Lee by way of laura@vt.edu Laura Taylor Hall by way of conn@vt.edu W. David Conn" Sender: trad-l Discussion List From: "J.A.N. Lee by way of laura@vt.edu Laura Taylor Hall by way of conn@vt.edu W. David Conn" Subject: Computing Across the Curriculum To: TRAD-L@LISTSERV.VT.EDU Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Mime-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by listserv.vt.edu id KAA46548 This just arrived via the DDD list. My apologies if you have received it already. David ***************** Virginia Tech Computing Across the Curriculum A White Paper by the Computer Science Department DRAFT Executive Summary The Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech, recognizing the need to integrate effective applications and uses of the computer into the learning experiences of students who will graduate in the 21st century, proposes that the University implement a "Computing Across the Curriculum= " project. Background: Virginia Tech has been involved in the integration of the computer with education for many years. It was one of the first institutions in the United States to install an IBM 650 in the 1950s and subsequently to move to an IBM System/360. From those early days, students were provided with access to computing facilities and later to timesharing facilities that extended computing across the campus. This naturally led to the wide infusion of the personal computer into the academic disciplines in 1980. In 1985, Virginia Tech was one of the first institutions to require that engineering and computer science majors purchase their own individual machines. With that move, the need to provide remote access and networki= ng became important, and since the mid-1980s Virginia Tech has been at the forefront of providing modem and Ethernet=81 access to the community. Th= e Virginia Tech campus is an "Electronic Campus". Thus, it is not unexpect= ed that Virginia Tech leads in providing access to the World-Wide Web and in supporting the Blacksburg Electronic Village. Over 40% of all homes in Blacksburg have Internet access and 75% of the citizens have access to th= e Village. The town of Blacksburg claims to have the greatest number of computers and network access ports per capita of any place in the world a= nd has been supported in that claim by Reader's Digest! The Problem: Problem solving is a fundamental skill expected to be in the repertoire o= f all university graduates. In the 21st century we expect computers to be = a thought-expanding device in that tool kit. However to merely look upon t= he computer as a tool is to miss the point. The computer itself is no more useful as an educational tool than a pencil or paper. It takes people wi= th special skills to use a computer in their discipline, just as it takes special teachers to teach how to use computers. Not all of us have the expertise to put a pencil in the hand of a student and teach them to use that pencil to produce acceptable literature. In the past fifteen years, since the personal computer appeared, the number of persons using compute= rs has increased by several orders of magnitude, but the number of users who have been able to utilize their computer skills to transfer their special knowledge to others has not seen the same expansion. The general user is not one who adds to the extension of the capabilities of his/her field through the computer. The purpose of this project is to develop a new generation of university graduates who can pass on their knowledge and skills through the innovative creation of computer applications that may = be shared with colleagues and customers. We have repeatedly heard our legislators (and several candidates for elected office) suggesting that placing computers into schools will be th= e panacea to solve the problems that beset education today. The missing element of this formula is the provision of a generation of computer faci= le teachers to make those computers serve the purpose expected by the well-intending legislators. Our university is the place to develop the next generation of teachers, scientists, engineers, and humanists who, rather than using a computer as a mere paperweight on their desk can instead use it as an extension of their intellect. The Proposal: It is our intention to build on the foundation of the Electronic Village and the Electronic Campus to further reform the undergraduate education i= n science, mathematics, engineering, and technology, with subsequent extensions into the other disciplines of the University, by making computing an integral part of each student's curriculum. One might claim that, surely after some forty years of computing on the campus, this has already taken place! This is only partially correct; in fact, computers a= re in extensive use on much of the campus, but not everywhere, and for the majority of students there is no goal to actually make the best use of th= e computer - that is, to enable them to develop their own applications and = to share those applications with their peers. To be able to control (or program) one's own tools is a paramount capability to be sought by the citizens of the next century - to go beyond being a passive passenger on the Information Highway and to become a driver. Obviously Computer Scien= ce and Computer Engineering graduates, in the same analogy, will become the road builders of the Information highway. That is not to propose that everyone should become a programmer but rather that professionals and specialists in all fields should be able to develop their own versions of computer applications in their discipline, and thus to provide, and furth= er develop, the tools for their own practices and activities. For some disciplines this may involve specialized applications development capabilities (including advanced programming techniques for engineers, tailored spreadsheet systems for accountants, or word processing template= s for writers), while for others it may involve visualization and multi-med= ia applications. To continually rely on the innovations of others is to be less of a professional than we would want of our graduates. A fundamenta= l element of this project must be to develop students who are facile in the Internet world, and aware of the ethical challenges and responsibilities = of living in this new world. To these ends, the Computer Science Department intends to take the lead i= n developing a "Computing Across the Curriculum" program that will follow naturally on the highly successful "Writing Across the Curriculum" progra= m that was instituted several years ago. Writing, as a learning tool, has been used not simply as an artifact where students merely use the writing= s of others, but instead to enhance their own capabilities of communication. Virginia Tech has successful programs in developing faculty expertise in computer usage and in the placement of computers on the desks of faculty throughout the institution. This "Computing Across the Curriculum" proje= ct will extend the capability of faculty not only to use computers but also = to become masters of the computer and, in turn, to transfer their special knowledge to students. The computer should not be used simply as a passi= ve tool, but instead as one that can be modified to better serve the individual's needs. If these developments are to be shared with colleagues, of special concern must be the development of reliable, correct, usable applications that are "user-friendly". This program will stress the contrast between the use of the computer as a medium for activ= e, collaborative experiences versus as a passive presentation device (e.g. Powerpoint files) or the computer as a repository for information (the traditional concept of a digital library). Building on the "Writing Across the Curriculum" success, the goals for th= e "Computing Across the Curriculum" project will be based on the following suppositions: * Computing is a learning process. Like the process of teaching, computi= ng requires the developer to thoroughly understand concepts and methodologie= s before the mechanisms of problem solving can be communicated to a compute= r. Through computing, individuals and groups determine, organize, analyze, refine, and reinforce their thoughts and activities. Knowledge is imbued with new attributes through the act of computing; * Computing is a decision-making process. In establishing strategies, developers learn about their ideas, establish relationships among developers and users, customers and clients, subjects, and applications, and shape the presentation of the content of applications for given contexts; * Computing is a recursive process. Developers continually revisit the stages of software development--specification, design, implementation, an= d maintenance--in various contexts and with different goals; * In the small, computing is an individual problem solving process. No t= wo individuals approach the problem solving process in exactly the same way, just as no two individuals think and behave exactly the same way; * In the large, computing is a collaborative process, and possibly a remotely collaborative process. In the emerging world of the cottage industry or home-based employment, collaboration with colleagues will be achieved through networking. Student computing is assisted by instructors and fostered by student peers; * Computing is a social and ethical process with serious responsibilitie= s. A developer's problem solving strategies originate within a set of conventions that define computing tasks and result in products that can have significant impact on the public. The studies of human-computer interaction and the ethical responsibilities of living in an electronic world must be a part of every user's education. Beyond a basic introductory course, the "Computing Across the Curriculum" project will expect every major undergraduate curriculum throughout the university to include at least one "computing-intensive" course that emphasizes the application of computers to the discipline on one hand and the means to develop applications on the other hand. Many departments already include such a course in their curriculum. These courses will build on the university core curriculum that requires all graduating students to include six (6) semester hours of courses in mathematical sciences, including at least one computer course, possibly taught in the college or department of the student. Virginia Tech Capabilities: In the past three years the Computer Science department has been the recipient of an NSF Educational Infrastructure (EI) Grant on digital libraries. This project has been the leader not only in creating digital libraries for the support of certain topics but also has taken the lead i= n using the World Wide Web for the support of course work and up-to-date, on-time communication with class participants. The project has also led = to innovations in the use of the Web in on-line learning, collaborative activities, and student interaction. With specially designed Web "applets", the EI project has opened up the possibilities of self-study a= nd distance learning to an extent that was not considered feasible only two years ago. This "Computing Across the Curriculum" project will build on the successes of the EI project to provide not only the basic principles = of virtual classrooms but also the tools to build better ways of teaching an= d learning. The College of Engineering, in cooperation with the Department of Compute= r Science and the Educational Technologies Department (Learning Resource Center), has been an active participant in the SUCCEED Project, partially sponsored by NSF. This project provides materials in support of courses throughout universities in the southeastern USA. Many of the techniques developed for use in the SUCCEED Project will be carried forward to this project. One of the major challenges to be overcome is the integration of incoming freshmen students into the "high tech" university environment. The TechN= et project has begun to provide the necessary on-campus orientation for freshmen and transfer students. This Computing Across the Curriculum project will extend its reach to encompass high schools throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia to prepare students for the transition to an electronic environment as is to be found in the Blacksburg Electronic Village and in Virginia Tech. We anticipate that one role we will play i= s in helping schools meet the 'standards' of computer literacy set recently by the Commonwealth's Department of Education for grades 5, 8 and 11, so that their students attain the skills they need for university entrance. The Products: While the major product of this project will be the reform of undergradua= te education, by improving the ability of students to make better use of computing facilities and to possess new tools for both teaching and learning, a secondary (primarily electronic) product will include extende= d digital libraries, and readily accessible software teaching/learning tool libraries. We anticipate that the project will exploit the involvement of faculty in summer Faculty Development Institute workshops, and the use of continuing work groups and cross-disciplinary mentoring activities. The Educational Technologies group has already recognized that the time has come to exten= d the capabilities of faculty who participated in the early summer Institutes. Through this program we would hope that the capabilities of faculty are extended to convert them from being passive users to their being active contributors to the technology of computer applications in their discipline. To best disseminate the procedures and techniques for the prosecution of the project, team teaching, cross registration for credit so as to place student experts in some classes, student service (mentoring, teaching assistants, etc.), on-line assistance, distance learning, and virtual laboratories are all expected to be utilized. An important by-product of this project must be the improved ability of t= he university community to reach out to the wider community of the Commonwealth and in particular to the K-12 school population. Problem solving by computer is akin to teaching - it is impossible to develop a computer assisted problem solution without the kind of understanding of t= he problem and solution that is needed to teach that methodology to others. This kind of program is an important part of the outreach program of the Computer Science Department that is part of the community service mission of the University. The "Computing Across the Curriculum" project will extend this service to include many other majors. This same theme extend= s the "Electronic Campus" to serve other communities that do not have the same on-campus people-expertise with which we are blessed and which will = be enhanced by this project. University Involvement: During the academic year 1995-1996 a task group sponsored by the Universi= ty Computing and Communications Committee examined the concepts of "Computin= g Across the Curriculum" but was unable to see beyond a special interest in visualization and an opportunity for developing a research proposal. Hig= h school counselors have expressed concerns about the need to better impro= ve the transition from high school to college. The highly successful FDI program and the TechNet project should become an integral part of the "Computing Across the Curriculum" project. In short, the whole University has the opportunity to be involved in both the development of the "Computing Across the Curriculum" goals, objective= s and methodologies, and in the innovative uses of the computer to generate= a new generation of drivers on the information superhighway. Vision The "Computing Across the Curriculum" project and subsequent curriculum requirements will prepare Virginia Tech students to become highly effecti= ve and contributing members of the high technology, electronic community of the next millennium. Mission Through the "Computing Across the Curriculum" project and resulting curriculum Virginia Tech graduates will be at a comparative advantage wit= h their peers from our sister institutions, will be highly sought by prospective employers, and will become leaders in their community and profession. Strategies (1) To create within the University the understanding of the broad application of information technology to all aspects of education and as = a means to improving the standards of life throughout the world. (2) To develop an addendum to the University Core Curriculum, parallel to the current University "Writing Across the Curriculum" requirements, that will include aspects of computer in each major curriculum. (3) To bring together the TechNet and FDI programs with the "Computing Across the Curriculum" project to create a cooperative teaching/learning program within Virginia Tech in the field of information technology. (4) To make the "Computing Across the Curriculum" project (and subsequent program) the primary resource support mechanism for the teaching and learning of computing and computer applications throughout the University. (5) To create a central entity within the academic community that is the advocate for academic computing. Schedule AY 1996-97: Develop a consensus within the university regarding the efficacy of the "Computing Across the Curriculum" concept. Work with TechNet and FDI to extend their reach and capabilities in preparation for the university-wide implementation of the "Computing Across the Curriculu= m" program. Work with the Core Curriculum Committee to ensure that such a program can be readily integrated into the core curriculum. Funding for the continued prosecution of the project is solicited. AY 1997-98: Process the final proposal through the University governance system with an intention of including computer intensive courses in each major curriculum in 1998-99. Departments begin to propose courses to be designated as "Computer Intensive". AY 1998-99: The "Computing Across the Curriculum" program is implemented. =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D John A.N. (JAN) Lee Ph: (540) 231-5780 Professor of Computer Science FAX: (540) 231-6075 Department of Computer Science E-mail:janlee@cs.vt.edu Virginia Tech URL:ei.cs.vt.edu/~janlee Blacksburg VA 24061-0106 U.S.A. =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D =A9 J.A.N. Lee, 1997, any commercial use of this information is prohibite= d =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D =3D=3D=3D Attachment converted: Macintosh HD:cac notice 97/02/11 (WDBN/MSWD) (0000D= 0C8)