Parallel and distributed computing concepts in the CS curriculum

July 19, 2018

This week I attended a workshop at UMass Amherst on Incorporating Parallel and Distributed Computing (PDC) concepts into courses for students in the early years of their undergraduate study. The workshop was organised by the NSF-supported Center for Parallel and Distributed Computing Curriculum Development and Educational Resources (CDER). Over the week, we had lectures, hands-on sessions, … More Parallel and distributed computing concepts in the CS curriculum

Computer Science Education: Ireland Engaged Early!

June 11, 2018

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), SIGCSE Board Member-at-Large Briana Morrison is compiling a history blog and circulating it on the SIGCSE members list. It makes a fascinating read and must be a lot of work, but it is appreciated! She started circulating it in … More Computer Science Education: Ireland Engaged Early!

Applications Open: UCD Professional Diploma in Educational Studies – Computational Thinking

May 29, 2018

The University College Dublin Schools of Education and Computer Science are pleased to announce that the Professional Diploma in Educational Studies (Computational Thinking) is now open for applications for the 2018/19 academic year. The PDES (Computational Thinking) is a 30 credit, part-time, Level 9 NQF programme taught jointly by the School of Education and the School of Computer Science … More Applications Open: UCD Professional Diploma in Educational Studies – Computational Thinking

Paper deadline extended for the 7th Computer Science Education Research Conference (CSERC ’18)

May 25, 2018

The 7th Computer Science Education Research Conference (CSERC ’18) has announced an extended deadline for papers (20 June). Conference Dates: 10-12 October 2018 Location: Saint-Petersburg, Russia URL:  https://www.ou.nl/web/cserc Important dates: Paper Submission deadline: Wednesday 20 June 2018 Review deadline: Friday 3 Aug 2018 Notification of paper acceptance: Thursday 9 Aug 2018 Conference: 10-12 October 2018 Submission of … More Paper deadline extended for the 7th Computer Science Education Research Conference (CSERC ’18)

Computing history in the classroom: The cereal box toy that was an early hacking device, and nuclear weapons systems that depend on floppy disks

May 22, 2018

I’m a big fan of using history in the computing classroom. Computing and computing education have rich histories, and as computing is a relatively young discipline, only recently has much of that history started to signifiantly pre-date the lives of the students we teach. I often forget (until I hear myself talking) that most of … More Computing history in the classroom: The cereal box toy that was an early hacking device, and nuclear weapons systems that depend on floppy disks

Computational thinking compulsory at two top-50 universities

April 20, 2018

As I was sitting on a draft of this post about plans at Asia’s top ranked university to make computational thinking compulsory for all students, I got a notification from Mark Guzdial’s blog about a top European university with a very similar initiative. The Times Higher Education has reported that the president of the National … More Computational thinking compulsory at two top-50 universities

Final call: Calling all Irish Introductory Programming lecturers!

March 25, 2018

This is a final call for my survey of Introductory Programming modules (courses) at third-level institutions in Ireland and Northern Ireland. If you happen to teach a current Introduction to Programming course (during any semester) I would really appreciate if you would be willing to complete the survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Ireland_CS1). If you don’t teach on an … More Final call: Calling all Irish Introductory Programming lecturers!

Girls in Computer Science: the STEM Paradox, the Scully Effect and more

March 10, 2018

The Financial Times published an article today on the state of gender imbalance in academic computer science. Many of the facts in this arena are oft-mentioned, perhaps to the point that some of us don’t critically think about them – a statistical overload perhaps. That’s why I think it’s important to listen to what others … More Girls in Computer Science: the STEM Paradox, the Scully Effect and more

Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunity – Artificial Intelligence in Education

February 19, 2018

Please note that a candidate has been selected for this proposal and we are not seeking further applications. If you would be interested in similar opportunities, please contact me via email and provide your CV. I expect a similar position coming up later this year. Please distribute to relevant mailing lists. Thank you. University College … More Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunity – Artificial Intelligence in Education

Dagstuhl Seminar 18061: Evidence about programmers for programming language design

February 11, 2018

Last week I was fortunate to attend a seminar at Schloss Dagstuhl. It was a unique, immersive, possibly once-in-a-lifetime experience of computer science flavoured academic inquiry. Seminar 18061 was titled: Evidence About Programmers for Programming Language Design. That’s quite a mouthful, but the basic idea is this – too often, design choices that go into new programming … More Dagstuhl Seminar 18061: Evidence about programmers for programming language design