Abstract: Engaging undergraduate women in computer science is a difficult task. Women often enter computer science programs with less experience and hence less confidence than their male classmates. This disparity often leads the  ... more

Abstract: Engaging undergraduate women in computer science is a difficult task. Women often enter computer science programs with less experience and hence less confidence than their male classmates. This disparity often leads the women to leave the field because they think they cannot compete. The result is that the male domination of the field continues. This paper describes a research program that has been designed to develop and enhance the education, abilities and experience of undergraduate women and to encourage them to embrace the field with enthusiasm and confidence. It also describes how research stemming from this program can be incorporated into the classroom.   less

The aims of the paper are to identify Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MB27) personality attributes of computing professionals that are best suited to three major subtasks of computing ? g~stem analysis, system design and programing  ... more

The aims of the paper are to identify Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MB27) personality attributes of computing professionals that are best suited to three major subtasks of computing ? g~stem analysis, system design and programing and to corg%m the validi~ of the attributes for computing professionals. The MBIT categorises individuals on four pairs of personali~ characteristics: extraversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling and judging/perceiving, giving sixteen possible personality types. The existing literature indicates that just two of these sixteen personality types account for more than a third of computing professionals. Consideration of the tasks of computing professionals today suggests that a much broader range of personality types is required. Preferred types are suggested for each of the major subtasks of system analysis, system design and programming. A study of 38 computing professionals tends to confirm that computing professionals with a preference for one of the subtasks do have characteristics suggested for that subtask. The implications of these findings for the recruitment and retention of students are discussed.   less

Abstract: Computer based models of teaching and learning are receiving renewed attention in the post-secondary sector. In the province of Alberta, Canada, over $40000000 (Canadian) has been made available to the adult learning sys  ... more

Abstract: Computer based models of teaching and learning are receiving renewed attention in the post-secondary sector. In the province of Alberta, Canada, over $40000000 (Canadian) has been made available to the adult learning system under the Learning Enhancement Envelope (LEE) funding initiative, for alternative models of instruction and learner support. Technology will allow us to reach new learners, in new learning contexts, and potentially in new ways. Yet the new technologies in education may exacerbate the marginalization of some students if we do not attend to learning styles, learning designs, and access issues that are entangled with gender inequality. Technology and technology based models of teaching and learning, are not value-neutral; and neither are the vocabulary and prevailing metaphors which can exclude women or include them in undesirable ways. How can women negotiate and transform a world of instructional technology that is, in effect, premised on their absence? Can new learning technologies and new learning designs support new teaching and learning opportunities? The author thinks they can, and in ways that creatively promote inclusivity through representation and design, by: 1) allowing for alternative representations to support diverse learning styles; 2) including large databases of resources, inviting the inclusion of experiences of women and other marginalized groups, and supporting the interrelatedness of perspectives; 3) supporting relational ways of knowing and being in the world; 4) inviting the instructional designer to step outside linear, objectivist, traditional models of instruction to create environments reflecting knowledge that is both intuitive and rational.   less

Describes how to build a simple, yet effective seismograph. Also gives suggestions about improving the basic seismograph and how to think towards developing one's own design.  ... more

Describes how to build a simple, yet effective seismograph. Also gives suggestions about improving the basic seismograph and how to think towards developing one's own design.   less

Journey to Forever is a pioneering expedition by a small, mobile NGO (Non-Government Organization) involved in environment and rural development work, starting from Hong Kong and travelling 40,000 kilometres through 26 countries i  ... more

Journey to Forever is a pioneering expedition by a small, mobile NGO (Non-Government Organization) involved in environment and rural development work, starting from Hong Kong and travelling 40,000 kilometres through 26 countries in Asia and Africa to Cape Town, South Africa. The "route" they follows takes the user from the cities and populated districts to remote and inaccessible areas (usually also the least developed and poorest areas), where we'll be studying and reporting on environmental conditions and working for local NGOs on rural development projects in local communities. The focus is on trees, soil and water, sustainable farming, sustainable technology, and family nutrition. The aim is to help people fight poverty and hunger, and to help sustain the environment we all must share. Projects inlcude those in community development, rural development, city farms, organic gardening, composting, small farms, biofuels, solar box cookers, trees, soil, water, seeds, vehicles, appropirate technology. Schools projects include: Biofuels, Solar box cookers, Backpack stove, PicoTurbine, Low-tech radio, What to do with a cardboard carton, Sisters of silk, Silkworms in a shoebox, School gardens, School composting, Trees and forests, The Beach House fish pond, HOMeR, Eco-footprint School and youth programs on the Web, Education resources on the Web, Children's poetry. Translated into English, Japanese, Chinese and Spanish.   less

Abstract: This paper describes a new course developed at University of Maine to help students better understand the discipline of computer science and to aid us in recruiting and retaining majors. The course verview of computer sc  ... more

Abstract: This paper describes a new course developed at University of Maine to help students better understand the discipline of computer science and to aid us in recruiting and retaining majors. The course verview of computer science, but also, through focusing on particular topics at an advanced level, begins to teach students how computer scientists think about problems. The course has been taught in Fall 2002, 2003 and 2004. This paper describes the course and discusses our results from the first two years.   less

The West Point Bridge Designer is a computer-aided design (CAD) software package developed to introduce students to engineering through the design of a steel highway bridge. The software provides an engaging, hands-on civil engine  ... more

The West Point Bridge Designer is a computer-aided design (CAD) software package developed to introduce students to engineering through the design of a steel highway bridge. The software provides an engaging, hands-on civil engineering design experience that demonstrates how practicing engineers design real structures. Given a realistic set of design specifications, the user models a bridge, tests it for structural adequacy, and optimizes it to minimize cost.   less

Although many view computers purely as technological tools to be utilized in the classroom and workplace, attention has been drawn to the social differences computers perpetuate, including those of race, class, and gender. This pa  ... more

Although many view computers purely as technological tools to be utilized in the classroom and workplace, attention has been drawn to the social differences computers perpetuate, including those of race, class, and gender. This paper focuses on gender and computing by examining recent analyses in regards to content, form, and usage concerns. The content of educational software packages has been critically examined to reveal partiality in their design; this encompasses differences in software design, concern for race, socioeconomic class, and gender stereotypes in the overall text, and the lack of quality evaluation of educational software to identify gender bias. Other research is rooted in theory that microcomputers have been developed through mathematics and science, typically viewed as masculine fields; an inherent bias toward male-dominated thinking results. The question of who is using computers and how they are being used has raised the issue of access. In order to ensure equity in microcomputer use, all students must have equal opportunity to learn about and use computers. While it may be apparent how differences in socioeconomic class would allow for these discrepancies in access, issues of gender become noticeable upon examination when coupled with the fact that most computers were initially associated with mathematics and science departments. This has affected the way computing is taught, the location of computers, integration of computers into schools, and use of computers in schools.   less

Introducing the children's laptop from One Laptop per Child:a potent learning tool created expressly for the world's poorest children living in its most remote environments. The laptop was designed collaboratively by experts from  ... more

Introducing the children's laptop from One Laptop per Child:a potent learning tool created expressly for the world's poorest children living in its most remote environments. The laptop was designed collaboratively by experts from both academia and industry, bringing to bear both extraordinary talent and many decades of collective field experience in every aspect of this non-profit humanitarian project. The result is a unique harmony of form and function; a flexible, ultra low-cost, power-efficient, responsive, and durable machine with which nations of the emerging world can leapfrog decades of development?immediately transforming the content and quality of their children's learning.   less

Abstract: The purpose of the research study was to investigate critical thinking/problem solving ability in two Information Science courses, namely a structured (procedure-oriented) computer programming class, and an object-orient  ... more

Abstract: The purpose of the research study was to investigate critical thinking/problem solving ability in two Information Science courses, namely a structured (procedure-oriented) computer programming class, and an object-oriented computer programming class. Additionally, the researcher investigated the effects of cognitive learning style and gender constructs.   less