Open University’s new Introduction to Computing
December 2, 2009 at 2:07 pm 2 comments
I’ve been exploring what I can find about TU100 “My Digital Life,” the new introduction to computing course being built by the Open University UK. The course is focused on ubiquitous computing and how cheap processors impact our daily lives. Since OpenU courses are revised infrequently, with a large budget, and are then used to teach tens of thousands of students, they’re worth noting.
The current intro to computing course at the OpenU is in JavaScript. The previous version was in Smalltalk. The new course will be taught in a form of Scratch that they’re building called “Sense.” Students will actually be sent a “SenseBoard” (video on Sense and Senseboard) which can be connected to probes and then to a computer for programming.
The only paper I’ve seen yet on TU100 was presented as part of a workshop on Pervasive Computing Education and is available in their proceedings. You can find some bits and pieces of TU100 content around the Internet, such as the piece by David Chapman on how computing is changing our sense of distance. The course looks like it’s aiming to introduce general principles of computing, with programming serving to help students understand better the role of ubiquitous computing in their lives.
Entry filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: CS1, distance education.
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