Point/Counterpoint: CS Education headed in wrong direction?
July 8, 2009 at 9:39 am 3 comments
The July 2009 CACM also has a great point/counterpoint piece by Robert Dewar and Owen Astrachan asking “Is CS Education in the US headed in the wrong direction?” I’m not going to give my personal opinion on the pieces, because I solicited both articles for CACM. I am really pleased with both position papers, and how the overall piece came out. It’s really about what do we want from our education system — what does an undergraduate degree in computing mean?
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Computing Ed Research - Guzdial's Take 
1.
Ian Bogost | July 9, 2009 at 9:39 am
I liked this part best:
It is highly likely that some programming languages are better for teaching, others are better for Ajax applications, and the right flavor of Linux makes a difference. But we shortchange our students and ourselves if we live at the level of what brand of brace and bit or drill is best for a carpenter.
2.
Leigh Ann | July 9, 2009 at 2:20 pm
I agree with Ian and the article about introductory languages.
I think we not only need undergraduate program outcomes to drive our introductory curriculum, but also an understanding of students and their learning process. This is a huge conversation, and its been going on for years, I’m not sure where the right answers lie.
3.
Michelle | July 15, 2009 at 8:09 pm
I agree with Ian and Leigh. I just graduated with a computer science minor and I felt like it was a waste of time. The teacher don’t seem to know the current material, but they also don’t know how to teach it. I took a beginning programming class and by the end I was the only one who didn’t drop the class or drop out. I am also seriously dissappointed in the computer teacher resources and lack of standards. I am glad to see the new software, Kodu, that I think is only the beginning of the growth of teaching in computer eduation.