scholarly journals Research on Blended Learning Mode of SPOC-based Computer Science Course for the Deaf

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhili Liu ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Hanjing Li ◽  
Dengfeng Yao
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Computer Science

scholarly journals A Blended Learning Module in Statistics for Computer Science and Engineering Students Revisited

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 66
Author(s):  
Christina Andersson ◽  
Doina Logofatu
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Independent Learning ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Learning Module ◽  
Spare Time ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Learning Development ◽  
The University

Teaching a statistics course for undergraduate computer science students can be very challenging: As statistics teachers we are usually faced with problems ranging from a complete disinterest in the subject to lack of basic knowledge in mathematics and anxiety for failing the exam, since statistics has the reputation of having high failure rates. In our case, we additionally struggle with difficulties in the timing of the lectures as well as often occurring absence of the students due to spare-time jobs or a long traveling time to the university. This paper reveals how these issues can be addressed by the introduction of a blended learning module in statistics. In the following, we describe an e-learning development process used to implement time- and location-independent learning in statistics. The study focuses on a six-step-approach for developing the blended learning module. In addition, the teaching framework for the blended module is presented, including suggestions for increasing the interest in learning the course. Furthermore, the first experimental in-class usage, including evaluation of the students’ expectations, has been completed and the outcome is discussed.

Minecraft Server Project

2017 ◽  
pp. 197-219
Author(s):  
Ugochi Acholonu ◽  
Jessa Dickinson ◽  
Dominic Amato ◽  
Nichole Pinkard
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
African American ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Geographic Distribution ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Middle School Girls ◽  
Design Recommendations ◽  
School Girls

Opportunities to participate in computing-related informal programs are limited in terms of quantity and geographic distribution. This limitation is due, in part, to the dearth of adults who have the expertise to mentor youth on computational concepts. This chapter introduces the Digital Youth Network Minecraft Server Project, which aims to reduce the barriers to for non-expert adults to be able to provide informal, computing-related learning opportunities to diverse youth. Using Minecraft, an online multiplayer game, the authors investigate a blended approach to mentorship that diversifies who can lead informal computing opportunities. This study examines learner-mentor interactions in a Synchronous Blended Learning Environment (SBLE) focused on engaging African American and Latina middle school girls in computer science. The chapter concludes with design recommendations for SBLEs to better support the needs of mentors facilitating computing opportunities for African American and Latina middle-school girls.

Minecraft Server Project

2018 ◽  
pp. 818-836
Author(s):  
Ugochi Acholonu ◽  
Jessa Dickinson ◽  
Dominic Amato ◽  
Nichole Pinkard
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
African American ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Geographic Distribution ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Middle School Girls ◽  
Design Recommendations ◽  
School Girls

Opportunities to participate in computing-related informal programs are limited in terms of quantity and geographic distribution. This limitation is due, in part, to the dearth of adults who have the expertise to mentor youth on computational concepts. This chapter introduces the Digital Youth Network Minecraft Server Project, which aims to reduce the barriers to for non-expert adults to be able to provide informal, computing-related learning opportunities to diverse youth. Using Minecraft, an online multiplayer game, the authors investigate a blended approach to mentorship that diversifies who can lead informal computing opportunities. This study examines learner-mentor interactions in a Synchronous Blended Learning Environment (SBLE) focused on engaging African American and Latina middle school girls in computer science. The chapter concludes with design recommendations for SBLEs to better support the needs of mentors facilitating computing opportunities for African American and Latina middle-school girls.

Blended Learning Through Integrating Lego Mindstorms NXT Robots in Engineering Education

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Stiehm ◽  
Larissa Köttgen ◽  
Sebastian Thelen ◽  
Mario Weisskopf ◽  
Florian Welter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Engineering Education ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
Lego Mindstorms

The current program for Mechanical Engineering at the RWTH Aachen University in Germany has more than 1500 students enrolled. Lego Mindstorms’ NXT Robots are fully integrated in the current Engineering Education stream to help students practically apply theoretical concepts. The courses Communication and Organizational Development (KOE) and Computer Science in Mechanical Engineering 1 (INFO1), provided by the interdisciplinary institute cluster IMA/ZLW, follow a newly-designed “blended learning” approach. This institute cluster is composed of the Institute of Information Management in Mechanical Engineering (IMA) and the Center for Learning and Knowledge Management (ZLW). These institutes are currently within the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at RWTH Aachen University. Two years ago, the course KOE was redesigned and redirected towards a “Flipped Classroom” concept by initiating online lectures and a discussion class. Thus, the tutorial class ROBOFLEX as part of the KOE curriculum is introduced. ROBOFLEX is a two-stage business simulation that enables students to experience realistic virtual communication within computer science and engineering disciplines. Students are divided into groups of about thirty people, and become entrepreneurs and founders of start-ups that specialize in the production of innovative robots for the automotive industry. They create these robots using Lego Mindstorms’ NXT. Since its conception, the course INFO1 has been accompanied by a lab component, where students apply the concepts taught in class in a team-focused software design project. In 2011, the lab concept was changed into a two-stage robotics programming project based on Lego Mindstorms’ NXT Robots and the Java programming language. In the first stage, students practice the fundamental programming concepts that are presented in the lecture by completing a series of exercises in a self-paced manner. The second stage focuses on applied problem-solving. In this stage, pairs of students apply the previously-learned programming concepts to program a “pick-and-place” robot that is equipped with various sensors. The integration of Lego Mindstorms’ NXT Robots into these courses also join the concepts of the two described courses. While KOE delivers organizational and communicational skills, INFO1 provides technical and domain-specific skills. Here, the robots represent the connecting element. The problem-based second stage of INFO1 benefits from the skills that are taught in KOE. Because INFO1 is scheduled in the term following the KOE, it offers a direct opportunity for students to transfer the KOE skill set from the lecture where it was taught into a new context that is primarily concerned with a different subject. Both classes have been evaluated and developed independently in the past. Since last year’s introduction of ROBOFLEX in KOE, synergies between both lectures are becoming a main component of their further developments. In this paper the recent developments in both courses will be compared and discussed. Specific measurable effects concerning learning capability, motivation and learning endurance are being portrayed by using blended learning approaches.

scholarly journals A MOOC-BASED COMPUTER SCIENCE PROGRAM FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL: RESULTS, CHALLENGES, AND THE COVID-19 EFFECT

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shai Perach ◽  
Giora Alexandron
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
School Closure ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
Self Regulated Learning ◽  
K 12

In an attempt to pave the way for more extensive Computer Science Education (CSE) coverage in K-12, this researchdeveloped and made a preliminary evaluation of a blended-learning Introduction to CS program based on an academicMOOC. Using an academic MOOC that is pedagogically effective and engaging, such a program may provide teacherswith disciplinary scaffolds and allow them to focus their attention on enhancing students' learning experience and nurturingcritical 21st-century skills such as self-regulated learning. As we demonstrate, this enabled us to introduce an academiclevel course to middle-school students.In this research, we developed the principals and initial version of such a program, targeting ninth-graders in science-trackclasses who learn CS as part of their standard curriculum. We found that the middle-schoolers who participated in theprogram achieved academic results on par with undergraduate students taking this MOOC for academic credit. Participatingstudents also developed a more accurate perception of the essence of CS as a scientific discipline.The unplanned school closure due to the COVID19 pandemic outbreak challenged the research but underlined theadvantages of such a MOOC-based blended learning program above classic pedagogy in times of global or local crises thatlead to school closure. While most of the science track classes seem to stop learning CS almost entirely, and the end-of-yearMoE exam was discarded, the program's classes smoothly moved to remote learning mode, and students continued tostudy at a pace similar to that experienced before the school shut down.

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