carl k. chang, hen-i yang, igors svecs, and johnny...
TRANSCRIPT
Carl K. Chang, Hen-I Yang, Igors Svecs, and Johnny WongDepartment of Computer ScienceIowa State [email protected]
“Hello World” doesn’t really say hello to the real world
Programming Kits such as PicoCricket and Mindstorms feel like toys
Hands-on experience Generate observable, physical effects in a
familiar environment Real outcome with real use Underscore the critical computational thinking (CT)
Smart home is a sensor-rich, service-rich, context-aware intelligent environment
SHL @ ISU was established in 2006 Research Lab Computer Networking, Sensor Network Service Oriented Architecture Software Product Line Engineering Human Centered Computing Collaboration with Gerontology
Teaching Lab ComS 486 Fundamentals of Computer Networking ComS 309 Software Development Practices
Computer Laboratory for new and cross-disciplinary students (ComS Lab 101)
Support asynchronous distance education Enable usability and user studies Enable interdisciplinary group work Promote interests in computer science in
female/minority students by Putting computer system in a real-world context (e.g.
senior care and )
Align lab activities with students’ majors and prior interest, experience and knowledge
Virtualization Packed lab kits (middleware, software tools, libraries, collaboration
tools, manuals and useful links to references) Individually customized environment and suspend-resume Encourage trial and error disposable images (sandboxes)
Distance observation facility Web cam Sensor logs
Improved scalability Encourage self-exploration via well defined API and well-structured
programmers’ manual with step-by-step lab instruction Separated development and experimental environments Maximize utilization of the smart home lab facility Minimize interference between different projects
Improved flexibility and reduced complexity Use of SOA that allows students to focus on logical composition using
existing services rather than detailed implementation
students
in
group m
remote
desktop
remotedesktop
students
in
group 1
remotedesktop
remote
desktop
development
mode
experimentation
mode
log data
SHADE im
age
SHADE
image
SHADEimage
Sensor 1
. . .
SH-DEV 1(vmware server)
Sensor n Sensor 1
. . .
Sensor n
Sensor 1
. . .
Sensor n
SH-AUX
sensor logs
remote observers
Utilities:
▪ file server for images
▪ hardware registry
▪ gateway
▪ shared database
▪ project management
software
▪ SVN server
▪ course websites
SH-DEV m(vmware server)
SH-EXP(vmware server)
Control
Panel
Host OS: Windows Server 2008
Virtualization: VMware Server 2.0
Guest OS: Windows Server 2008
OSGi Framework: Knopflerfish
Fundamental bundles Database:
MySQL
IDE:
Eclipse +
plug-ins
Version
control:
SVN
SHADE images Binding and
switching
REACH can be easily reconfigure to support a wide-range of learning activities:
Basics of Computer Programming and Service Computing
Smart Environment Service Development Experimentation, Evaluation and User
Studies
ComS/Geron 415x Gerontechnology in Smart Home Environments
A new interdisciplinary course (LAS, Human Sciences, Design) for the new interdisciplinary gerontechnology certificate
1st offering: 10 + 1 students 6 female, 5 male
6 Caucasian, 3 Asian, 1 Hispanic, 1 African REACH is designed to support a variety of
courses in CS, but the initial design aims to be the enablers of the course activities in 415x
Course objectives: Introduction of gerontechnology Dissemination/reinforce of important CT concepts Familiar students with basic execution environment and
programming tools First offering (fall 2010) is for on-campus students We hope to get distance students from other colleges in Iowa (2011)
Includes a heavy medium-size interdisciplinary term project component
Pedagogy: Concepts of CT and introduction to aging is taught via more
traditional direct instruction; Basic programming, term project, introduction to software
engineering and design principles is taught via guided explorationthrough in-class group discussion + programmers’ manual and guidance of mentors
Enables exploration-based pedagogies in computer science education
Generates observable effects of the software artifact in a familiar, real-world setting
Aligns the learning activities directly with students’ career goals and prior accumulated knowledge
With regarding to the effect on student learning of CT and Gerontechnology using REACH platform without distance usage (as demonstrated by ComS 415x) : Successful dissemination of CT to diverse group of students
▪ non CS majors (from 4 colleges, 81% outside of CS)
▪ female students (6 students, 54% of the class)
Successful instruction using guided exploration on familiarizing with programming environments and basic program concepts: ▪ Average: 92/100
▪ 60% of students perform on the top half in the module are non-CS majors
Coherent interdisciplinary groups for term projects With regarding to 415x, Pre-test data collected, wait for post-test in November 2010
Qualitative data (focus group) is planned to be collected in January 2011
415X
REACH
Programming and computational thinking are inherently complex, guided exploration works only after considerable build-up of basic knowledge Personal tutoring plays an important role in
students’ understanding
Online technical instruction video is considered to be added
Psychological factor remains a critical factor in determining students’ success
REACH satisfies all the technical capability requirements REACH enables three pedagogical innovations, in addition, it Enables effective design of Computer Science Lab 101 to students
from other disciplines
Promotes interest in computer science in non-CS, under-represented students
Facilitates interdisciplinary projects
Future work REACH is effective in user studies in research settings, we’ll have
results on its effectiveness in course settings by this December
Aforementioned learning activities for REACH works well for on-site students, effectiveness when used in distance education needs to be further studied
Part of the post-test data and focus group findings will provide further insights into the effectiveness of the REACH platform and class activities
Questions?