Alice: a 3-D tool for introductory programming concepts
CCSC '00 Proceedings of the fifth annual CCSC northeastern conference on The journal of computing in small colleges
Rethinking CS0 with JavaScript
Proceedings of the thirty-second SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer Science Education
Implementing CC2001: a breadth-first introductory course for a just-in-time curriculum design
SIGCSE '03 Proceedings of the 34th SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
A media computation course for non-majors
Proceedings of the 8th annual conference on Innovation and technology in computer science education
Evaluating the effectiveness of a new instructional approach
Proceedings of the 35th SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
Science of computing suite (SOCS): resources for a breadth-first introduction
Proceedings of the 35th SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
Computer Science Illuminated
Including a web/database unit in CS0
Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges
Introductory-level computer science courseware
Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges
A CS0 course for the liberal arts
Proceedings of the 37th SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
Through the looking glass: teaching CS0 with Alice
Proceedings of the 38th SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
The current crisis in computing: what are the real issues?
Proceedings of the 38th SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
Making CS0 fun: an active learning approach using toys, games and Alice
Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges
Proceedings of the 40th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education
Fluency with Information Technology: Skills, Conceptsd Capabilities Value Pack
Fluency with Information Technology: Skills, Conceptsd Capabilities Value Pack
Reading mobile games throughout the curriculum
Proceeding of the 44th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education
Hands-on introduction to computer science at the freshman level
Proceedings of the 45th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education
Hi-index | 0.00 |
The breadth-first approach to teaching introductory computer science is one way of dispelling the common misperception that programming is the sole task of the computer scientist. The breadth-first approach is particularly useful in courses for non-majors. Hands-on activities that make up laboratory assignments for these courses tend to focus on learning to program or simulations of program execution. These activities unfortunately fail to build on the foundations laid by a breadth-first approach, and serve to perpetuate the computer science = programming misperception. We have developed a set of laboratory activities which are based on what we call authentic computing tasks: everyday tasks that students want to know how to accomplish. Example tasks include image editing, operating system installation and configuration, and building home computer networks. Explicit connections are made between these authentic computing tasks and the computer science concepts being covered in the lecture portion of the course. The course has experienced dramatic increases in enrollment, and we have evidence that students see the connections, rather than coming to believe that performing computing tasks well is the essence of computer science.