digitallearning@keuka (dl@k)

DigitalLearning@Keuka (DL@K)

DL@KC

2 September 2013

We live in a data-driven world: information is our lifeblood. More information with more value is being generated constantly, becoming the raw material from which decisions are being made; information is the intellectual capital that is transforming our world. The accumulated knowledge of humanity can now be “manipulable” through information and communication technologies (ICT).

Furthermore, “in the 21st century, much of the vast volume of scientific data captured by new instruments on a 24/7 basis, along with information generated in the artificial worlds of computer models, is likely to reside forever in a live, substantially publicly accessible, curated state for the purposes of continued analysis. This analysis will result in the development of many new theories!” 1

All disciplines—ranging from the natural sciences and engineering to the humanities, arts, and social sciences—can advance at a greater speed with computational approaches, methods, techniques, and ideas. The importance of computational “thinking” has never been made so clear.2 Imagine the possibilities when combined with powerful computational tools seamlessly integrated in an digital infrastructure that the user community can easily exploit—because they have the technological sophistication.

Before the arrival of the personal computer, computer users were all computer professionals with specialized training. In 1984 the Mac changed everything, and the notion of computer literacy was born. Terms like IT literacy, digital literacy, computer literacy, and the like are commonly used but seldom well defined.

The central theme is to infuse and integrate knowledge of digital technology across our liberal arts-based curricula, both at the general education level and at the professional level. We dub this effort DigitalLearning@Keuka (DL@K). It is clear that the requisite knowledge for DL@K goes beyond functional literacy; it goes way above the perception that the “computer is simply a tool.”

“This is similar to higher education requiring math and writing skills that go beyond the mechanics of grammatical schemes and algebraic manipulation to the proper use of language and the optimization of expressions.” 3

The increasingly public importance of computing systems and ICT makes it imperative for the work force of the future, and the public at large, to have a sound understanding of their fundamental underpinnings as well as their limitations. What we are talking about is computation for everyone.

Computation-for-everyone requires the application of computational methods for designing plausible solutions to complex problems, writing descriptions of these solutions, analyzing and visualizing the results and, most importantly, understanding the limits of what is computable.

Keuka College is destined to become a leading institution of higher learning in this century–the century of information– by providing “computational proficiency” to all its students, also known as computation-for-everyone. We must ensure that each of our students has the opportunity to develop and apply core computational knowledge and skills.

keuka college proposes a comprehensive approach integrating the liberal arts, digital technologies, experiential learning, and professional practice in what we call digital learning at keuka (dl@k).

1 Gordon Bell. “The Forth Paradigm: Data-Intensive Scientific Discovery.” Preface. Microsoft Research, 2009.

2 Our Cultural Commonwealth: the report of the American Council of Learned Societies Commission on Cyberinfrastructure for the Humanities and Social Sciences 2006.

3 “Computational sciences will be central in the transformation of biology and medicine in the 21st century.” Elias Zerhouni, 2006, NIH.

DigitalLearning@Keuka (DL@K)

Computation-for-Everyone

DigitalLearning@Keuka

3DL@KC

Computers are incredibly fast, accurate and stupid. Human beings are incredibly slow, inaccurate and brilliant.

Together they are powerful beyond imagination.~ albert einstein

Individuals need to be computationally literate at the comprehension and working literacy levels, and be knowledgeable about concepts, terminology, and methods and their application in managing data to solve problems computationally. This level of “operational literacy” has been termed computational thinking.4

While the genesis is clearly within the computer sciences, at Keuka we are investigating how and why the principles of computational thinking can and should be integrated into a liberal arts curriculum. That is, • How can the ideas and skills of computational

thinking transcend into the education of non-computer scientists?

• What is the value of computational thinking for a liberal arts-based education?

• What are the key conceptual underpinnings to developing capacity to define, understand, and solve 21st century problems with 21st century technology?

Compelling historical motives for computation-for-everyone:• To have a powerful new tool with which to think

(Perlis5 and Einstein—see quote above)• To have full expressive power with the most powerful and

creative medium humans have ever invented (Alan Kay6)• To make difficult problems more tractable (Wing7)• “If they can’t, they’ll just understand the global context

of their own unemployment.” (Steve Jobs8)

The idea is to treat computation as something that would be to the natural sciences what math is for physics, and to the human behavioral sciences what statistics is to social sciences.

The ultimate goal is computation across the curriculum.

5 Professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University who proposed in 1960 that everyone needed to learn how to program a computer.

6 Alan Kay, attributed as the inventor of the clicking mouse, sees the “Computer as humanity’s first metamedium: A medium that can represent all other media.”

7 Jeannette Wing’s seminal paper on Computational Thinking in 2006 resurrected the issue among computer scientists and non-computer scientists.

8 ‘Steve Jobs: “Technology Alone Is Not Enough.” Posted by Jonah Lehrer. The New Yorker, October 7, 2011.

4 J. Wing. “Computational Thinking.” Communications Of The ACM, March 2006/Vol. 49, No. 3, pp 33-35.

DL@KC

4 September 2013

Not at all. Alan Perlis proposed programing in the liberal arts in 1962, indicating that computer science should be part of a liberal education and argued that all students should learn to program. Why? Because computer science is the study of process and the automated execution of process changes everything, including how we think about things we already know.9

Cornell University proposed computing across the curriculum and for everyone in 1999: “We can be the first university to broadly integrate Computing and Information Science into education for all students and into research and scholarship across the campus.”10 As a result, the Faculty of Computing and Information Sciences was created in 2000 “to bring together experts in computing with researchers and scholars in a variety of disciplines, including but not limited to three inter-disciplinary focal areas: Digital Arts and Culture, Human and Social Systems, and Computational Science” (Op. Cit.).

Georgia Tech implemented “basic” programming for everyone in the fall of 1999 and all students today must take a course in computer science; this course is considered part of Gen. Ed.11

Finally, there are some more recent efforts incorporating computing into the curriculum at Union College in New York12 and Towson University in Maryland.13

What is new? Our approach that incorporates digital technologies seamlessly into a liberal arts-based, professional programs curricula to make computation-in-context a reality.

Computation-in-context focuses on the specific computational needs of an area of expertise such as sociology or biology, to provide customized and customizable programming tools such as domain-specific programming languages and environments. Thus, computation-in-context is the embedding of computational methods within a discipline or domain of expertise.

Computational Thinking: At the heart of DL@KWe can encourage students to “think computationally” by moving technology projects beyond “using” tools and information toward “creating” tools and information. Students will learn how computational thinking will benefit their general education and program- specific learning goals.

Is Computation for Everyone a New Idea?

9 Perlis, A. The computer in the university. In M. Greenberger, Ed., Computers and the World of the Future, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1962, 180–219.

10 Cornell in the Information Age. Initial Report of the Task Force on Computing and Information Science. June, 1999

11 “Student will be able to develop algorithms and implement them using an appropriate computer language and will understand algorithmic complexity and reasonable versus unreasonable algorithms.” http://www.registrar.gatech.edu/students/gened.php

12 Valerie Barr, Computer Science, Union College. Schenectady, NY 12308

13 http://triton.towson.edu/~compthnk/wp2/ Visited on 7/30/2013.


5DL@KC

Understanding DigitalMichael Staton said it very well in The New Liberal Arts, October 16, 2012, Inside Higher Ed:

“Many liberal arts colleges require a foreign language – not because they believe their history majors will land jobs in France or Mexico, and not because they are being trained as translators, but because they believe the skills learned in a new language create global citizens who are open to and comfortable with interacting in a multicultural, multilingual world. It’s the same with the above skills [computation]. They need to be understood not as a way to turn philosophy majors into geeks, but into telling the world that a philosophy major can be open to and comfortable with, daresay even take advantage of and thrive in a technologically changing world.”

DigitalLearning@Keuka (DL@K) will result in graduates who, along with understanding the basic canon of our civilization as well as their place in the world, understand how to explore and communicate their ideas using modern tools through interactive visual communication, data manipulation and analytics, and even writing code. Thus, they will be better prepared for the work force and be productive citizens in today’s world.

Digital Learning @ Keuka (DL@K) is designed to allow students to move from using computers to understanding computation and the effective use of information to create knowledge and ultimately, wisdom. While using limits the user to the tools at hand, understanding unleashes the creativity and power to solve problems now and in the future.

The basic idea is that our graduates must have the understanding to lead and not just the ability to participate and follow. This type of access to computing power and information, currently restricted to a few, would now be available to everyone. Thus, a specific goal of DL@K is to prepare Keuka students for the skills critical to 21st century life. Students will be prepared for effective life-long learning armed with a deeper understanding of the modern digital world and the critical thinking skills from our liberal arts-based curriculum.

The essence of DL@K is to infuse, in an integrated way, digital learning seamlessly with our liberal arts-based curricula, both at the general education and professional advanced levels. The approach teaches vital problem-solving, creativity, and communication skills; not just learning to code, but coding to learn as well. We argue that by engaging Keuka students and faculty in a digital world, Keuka graduates will be the exemplary citizens and leaders to serve the nation and world of the 21st century. That’s DigitalLearning@Keuka.

Is Computation for Everyone a New Idea?

DL@KC

6 September 2013

ComputationalProblem-SolvingComputational problem-solving helps you “think” about how to solve problems in general and more specifically by following a process-driven (algorithmic) approach, i.e., computational thinking in practice. It is the application of a set of computer science skills to the problem-solving process (essential for everyone to function in today’s world).

Computational thinking is a new problem-solving method fundamentally based on computer science concepts and techniques to algorithmically solve complicated problems of scale by manipulating data and ideas (abstractions). It “is the thought processes involved in formulating problems and their solutions so that the solutions are represented in a form that can be effectively carried out by an information processing agent.”14 Wing’s definition is based on the process of abstraction defining computation as the automatic processing of abstractions by following prescribed, well-defined processes. The essence of computational thinking is thinking about data and ideas, and using and combining these resources to solve (complex) problems.

Computational thinking not only further develops critical thinking skills, but when combined with powerful digital tools, it expands our uniquely human intellectual capability. Albert Einstein’s statement quoted on page three captures the essence of computational thinking. Computational thinking involves using the capabilities of one’s (human) brain and the capabilities of a computer to represent and solve problems and accomplish tasks. We want students to understand what a computer can do, what a human can do, and why they are different; why we need algorithms; why some things are harder for computers than humans; and the differences between human and artificial intelligence.

We can group computational problem-solving knowledge elements into three main categories: • Computational methods for transforming data into

information, knowledge and understanding.• Interactive resources to control, transact, and

visualize information.• A wide range of applications, systems, and networks to

store, communicate, and transform information.

14 Cuny, J., Snyder, L., & Wing, J.M. (2010). Demystifying computational thinking for non-computer scientists. Unpublished manuscript in progress, referenced in http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~CompThink/resources/TheLinkWing.pdf


7DL@KC

Until recently, computers were largely used as glorified word processors and “calculating” machines. Today, end-users (people who are not professional software developers15), can use special tools to create or modify software artifacts (descriptions of automated behavior) and complex data objects without significant knowledge of a computer science or a complex programming language.

Computer programming comes in many flavors, ranging from using general purpose programming languages by computer professionals to domain-specific languages and end-user programming tools. The latter are tools centered around adding programming capabilities to extend and adapt an existing application, such as an office suite or spreadsheet applications, and software packages used for specific applications, such as graph layout and graph rewriting.

Examples of domain-specific languages abound and some of the most widely-used ones include HTML, Logo for pencil-like drawing, MATLAB and GNU Octave for matrix programming, Mathematica and Maxima for symbolic

mathematics, spreadsheet formulas and macros, SQL for relational database queries, and Csound for sound and music synthesis.

The role that end-user programming plays by bringing the power of programming to end users includes the following:• Capabilities for adapting computing devices and

applications to the user’s specific needs (e.g., programming your smart phone).

• Automate practical idiosyncratic situations in everyday computer usage that an application’s designer did not anticipate.

• Automate repetitive, tedious end-user tasks.• Discover more creative solutions, for example,

automatically acquiring data from new sources, cleaning and reformatting it to integrate that data with existing data, and implementing sophisticated analyses. Other examples are Web Summaries and ConceptNets.

• Exercise more effective communication with professional programmers (who do the heavy-duty coding) by knowing the fundamentals of how to program.

End-User Programming

The underlying philosophy of a DL@K course includes: (1) Interaction between professors and students and among

students is key to effective learning. These interactions are facilitated and promoted by appropriate technology usage.

(2) Self-directed learning is paramount to digital learning now and in the future. Students will learn the process and value of self-directed learning as they utilize digital technologies.

(3) Appropriate digital tools are used by the professor and students alike, in and out of class. Digital classes teach and use current digital tools (hardware, software, cloud, etc.).

(4) The understanding and use of digital or computational thinking skills to allow students to unleash the power of digital tools to frame and solve problems.

In the computer revolution, ideas are not constrained by physical limitations but by what is computationally feasible within the now global information resources. At the heart of digital learning, or any learning, are the interactions between the student and professor and students with one another. DL@K promotes, enhances, and facilitates these interactions with the appropriate use of technology.

Technology use must improve learning as well as prepare students for the work of the future. The intersection of digital tools and digital classes work to support these goals.

Interactive Communication

15 A user of an application program. A person who uses a computer as part of their daily life or daily work, but is not a computer professional.

DL@KC

8 September 2013

• Digital Classes refer to learning opportunities in a variety of class modes that span a spectrum from face-to-face in smart classrooms all the way to synchronous or asynchronous (anytime anywhere) online courses (including MOOCs). Digital classes occur via Internet connectivity mediated by learning management systems (such as Moodle and e-portfolios) and using mobile learning devices (smart phones, tablets, etc.).

• Digital Tools, broadly defined, are those tangible technologies (e.g., hardware, software, networks, etc.) that can enhance the learning process. Students have a working knowledge and understanding of digital tools and how they are effectively used. These refer to the computing-enabled infrastructure of the 21st century or Cyberinfrastructure—a term coined by the National Science Foundation16: the global information technology environments in which capabilities of the highest level of computing tools are available in an interoperable network with access to vast amounts of data and information.

• Digital or Computational Thinking is a set of problem-solving skills and techniques that enhance creative and critical thinking. (See Computational Problem Solving, p.6)

DL@K Objectives

DL@K consists of three intersecting pieces: digital classes, digital tools, and digital (or computational) thinking. These three main components intersect and interesting things happen at their intersections (See Figure 1).

Figure 1: digitallearning@keuka main elements and the effect of their interactions.

16 Revolutionizing Science and Engineering through Cyberinfrastructre: Report of the National Science Foundation Blue-Ribbon Advisory Panel. (January 2003) http://www.nsf.gov/cise/sci/reports/atkins.pdf

WE WANT STUDENTS TO BE ABLE TO:

1. Solve complex problems by• Deploying heuristic reasoning (think recursively with iteration

and search) to discover solutions to complex problems.• Using abstraction and decomposition when tackling

large problems.• Being alert to the need for prevention, detection, and

protection against faults.

2. Communicate interactively by• Employing visualizations and “infographics”.• Creating Web pages.• Leveraging digital storytelling works.

3. Analyze data by• Designing data abstractions (information design,

storage, and retrieval).• Performing algorithmic analytics (statistics and applied math).• Identifying patterns (machine learning).• Performing experimentation and simulation

(computer modeling).

4. Develop applications by• Using domain-specific and scripting languages.• Being familiar enough with code on one or more platforms

(computers, mobile devices, the Internet and the Web, etc.).


9DL@KC

DL@K will be a faculty-developed endeavor, and their discussion and collaboration will ultimately define what shape DL@K will take in the curriculum, both at the general education and professional levels. There are a few possibilities.

One approach involves three levels of digital learning. The introductory level focuses on the teaching of the essence of computation and its fundamental underpinnings. The professional level would be computation-in-context17, where students would learn how computing is used in their own major, that is, how are computational methods and approaches explicitly embedded in the methods and approaches to problem-solving of a given discipline or knowledge area; this typically involves domain-specific or end-user programming.18

The teaching in this second level would vary with the particular academic program and may involve augmenting existing major courses with major-specific computational opportunities.

The integrative level would have students using computational skills to help solve multidisciplinary problems, for example, those found in Integrative Studies (INS 301), the General Education capstone course.

A second possibility is to use and augment existing courses in the General Education and majors curricula. Certain courses would be given a DL@K designation if they integrated the three basic tenants of DL@K: digital classes, digital tools, and digital (or computational) thinking. Each DL@K class would cover a small part of the DL objectives, and students would take many of these courses. Collectively, the courses would provide the necessary skills and experiences. Thus, the learning would be integrated throughout the existing curriculum, and students would see how computation can augment and enhance many different disciplines.

Selective integration of these two broad approaches would probably be the winning combination; in any case, a most distinguishing feature of our approach would be computation-in-context. We will likely incorporate computing methods and concepts into existing courses.

Students will experience novel curriculum based on digital learning and embedded with computational thinking, have access to faculty trained in digital learning and computational thinking, and use a cutting edge Cyberinfrastructure.

DL@K and the Curriculum

The ultimate goal is to embed computation

across the curriculum.

DL@K

17 M. Guzdial “Teaching Computing to Everyone.” Communications Of The ACM, May 2009/Vol. 52, No. 5, pp 31-33.

18 An elusive computer science goal, but one that is gaining prominence today.

DL@KC

10 September 2013

Technological improvements have transformed early large machines into compact devices that enable, mediate, support, and organize our lives. Since the 1960s, there have been six major milestones in the development of computational machinery: from mainframes, mini-computers, and personal computers, to the Internet and the Web, new multi-modal, mobile connecting devices, and the cloud. The last three, in combination, are having a far greater impact and adoption speed than any previous technology.

The rate of adoption and the number of people affected by these new technologies is twice as fast and an order of magnitude as large as anything before. For example, in the first nine quarters after the introduction of the iPhone, it reached 57 million users. The number of subscribers to AOL totaled less than 20 million 20 quarters after its introduction.

This technological revolution has indeed transformed the world and all aspects of our daily lives. Society as a whole is increasingly dependent on information and communication technologies to the point that it may ultimately have an impact on its own success.

ICT touches every aspect of human endeavor, ranging from the most theoretically minded to the most expressive manifestation of human creation, transforming entertainment and the arts by providing new forms of expression, leading to unprecedented emergent business, behavioral, and industrial intelligence, including “digital democracy.”

What’s more, the speed of technology adoption and innovation is accelerating. To wit, “Can you imagine organizing your daily schedule with a few touches on your bathroom mirror? Changing the look of your car dashboard with a quick swipe? Reading a classic novel on a whisper-thin piece of flexible glass?” 19

Rapid Technology Adoption and Innovation

19 http://www.corning.com/news_center/features/a_day_made_of_glass.aspx A Day Made of Glass, Corning, Inc. (Accessed on 8/9/2013.)


11DL@KC

Although the computer revolution has brought substantial changes to the way we live, the population at large does not completely understand, for the most part, the real impact of this revolution, and what’s more, cannot begin to imagine the possibilities and what is yet to come. The computer has become so imbedded, “so fitting and natural,” that we use it without even thinking about its shortcomings and how to use it effectively.

A universal problem for every citizen of this century is how to get access to information about the world, and how to acquire skills to articulate and organize that information.

At Keuka College we are addressing this problem head on. DigitalLearning@Keuka involves using technology to enhance student/professor interactions (digital classes); using technology to facilitate content, skills, and interaction (digital tools); and using computational thinking to learn how to be more creative and a better problem-solver (computational problem-solving).

DigitalLearning@Keuka not only prepares our students for today, but to be exemplary citizens and leaders in an increasingly digital future.

DL@K will produce:• Teachers ready for the 21st century classroom.• Criminal justice experts helping to solve cybercrimes. • Scientists armed with computational methods.• Nurses proficient in medical informatics.• OT professionals highly skilled in using

technology in their lab and clinics.• English majors fluent in digital storytelling…

Summary

DigitalLearning@Keuka is our roadmap to comprehensively integrating liberal arts, digital technologies, experiential learning, and professional practice.