new methods for learning in computer science ...

DOI 10.2478/cplbu-2014-0113

The 6th Balkan Region Conference on Engineering and Business Education & The 5th International Conference on Engineering and Business Education & The 4th International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Sibiu, Romania, October, 18th – 21st, 2012

NEW METHODS FOR LEARNING IN COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION Iunia-Cristina, Borza

University ”Lucian Blaga” of Sibiu, [email protected]

ABSTRACT: Computer Science has an important impact on our every-day lives. Education in Computer Science is a difficult process that in the last decade has known radical transformations. New concepts were brought to life, for example K12, which regulates the way that the education develops in this domain from an educational system point of view and also from the teaching ways of the professors. The wide-range development of the Internet generated new ways of teaching in computer science. In this paper, I would like to present the way in which an interactive lecture can be held between a student and its teacher, a course that respects the SCORM standards of WEB implementation. Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) is a collection of standards and specifications for e-learning. This collection of standards is defined by the de Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL), an organization from the USA Defence Department. Key words: computer science, software, course, database, programming 2.

1. INTRODUCTION In this paper we present the main features of the model curriculum for K-12 computer science, methods of achieving a course e-learning SCORM compliant tooth teacher and student interaction in this process. The ACM Model Curriculum for K12 Computer Science has made a significant contribution to computer science education, providing a practical guideline for educators seeking to ensure that students acquire the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly technology-imbued and globally competitive world. SCORM standards are very important for e-learning courses.

2. A MODEL CURRICULUM FOR K-12 COMPUTER SCIENCE The model curriculum can be used to integrate computer science fluency and competency throughout schools and universities, both in the United States and throughout the world. It is written in response to the pressing need to provide academic coherence to the rapid growth of computing and technology in the modern world, alongside the need for an educated public that can utilize that technology most effectively to the benefit of humankind. As a basis for describing a model curriculum for K-12 computer science, the definition of computer science is required. Computer science (CS) is the study of computers and algorithmic processes, including their principles, their hardware and software designs, their applications, and their impact on society.

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present computer science at the secondary school level in a way that would be both accessible and worthy of a curriculum credit (e.g., math or science). offer additional secondary-level computer science courses that will allow interested students to study it in depth and prepare them for entry into the work force or college. increase the knowledge of computer science for all students, especially those who are members of underrepresented groups.

2.1. A comprehensive model curriculum The overall structure of this model is shown in Figure 1. As this figure suggests, the model has four different levels, whose goals and content are introduced below. Level I [1] should provide elementary school students with foundational concepts in computer science by integrating basic skills in technology with simple ideas about algorithmic thinking. This can be best accomplished by adding short modules to existing science, mathematics, and social studies units. Students at Level II [2] should acquire a coherent and broad understanding of the principles, methodologies, and applications of computer science in the modern world. This can best be offered as a one-year course accessible to all students, whether they are college-bound or workplace-bound. Since, for most students, this Level II course will be their last encounter with computer science, it should be considered essential preparation for the modern world.

This definition requires that K–12 computer science curricula have the following kinds of elements: programming, hardware design, networks, graphics, databases and information retrieval, computer security, software design, programming languages, logic, programming paradigms, translation between levels of abstraction, artificial intelligence, the limits of computation (what computers can’t do), applications in information technology and information systems, and social issues (Internet security, privacy, intellectual property, etc.). The goals of a K–12 computer science curriculum are to: 1. introduce the fundamental concepts of computer science to all students, beginning at the elementary school level.

Figure 1. Structure of a K–12 Computer Science Curriculum

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Students who wish to study more computer science may elect the Level III course, a one-year elective that would earn a curriculum credit (e.g. math or science). This course continues the study begun at Level II, but it places particular emphasis on the scientific and engineering aspects of computer science— mathematical principles, algorithmic problem-solving and programming, software and hardware design, networks, and social impact. Students will elect this course to explore their interest and aptitude for computer science as a profession. Finally, the Level IV offering is an elective that provides depth of study in one particular area of computer science. Any Level IV course will naturally require the Level II course as a prerequisite, and some will require the Level III course as well.

2.2. Implementation Challenges Teaching any subject effectively depends on the existence of a sound curricular model, explicit teacher certification standards, appropriate teacher training programs, and effective curricular materials. For schools to widely implement this model, work is needed in three important areas: teacher preparation, state-level content standards, and curriculum materials development. In addition, persons in leadership positions must acknowledge the importance of computer science education for the future of our society. States and accrediting organizations should make this a factor in overall school accreditation.

2.2.1. Teacher Preparation For students to master this new subject, teachers must acquire both a mastery of the subject matter and the pedagogical skills that will allow them to present the material to students at appropriate levels. It is understood that there must be a match between the computer science skills and knowledge defined for the students and the acquired skills and knowledge of the teachers. At the same time, teachers must have a greater depth of knowledge than that embodied in the topics they are teaching.

2.2.2. State-Level Content Standards Recently, efforts have increased to develop national and state content standards for computer science. Curriculum standards serve to define the skills and knowledge of the discipline to be acquired by every student. For this to happen, school curricula must be aligned with these standards. Content standards for computer science education need to be developed and adopted in a way that parallels what has occurred in disciplines such as science, mathematics, and language arts. Curriculum frameworks aligned with these content standards can then be developed for the classroom.

2.2.3. Curriculum Development This report presents a model for computer science education, but not a complete “deliverable” curriculum. Additional steps need to be taken to formulate content standards, define professional development needs, develop curriculum (textbooks and laboratory materials), and disseminate information to students in the classroom. For all this to happen, teachers must play a substantial and leading role in the formulation of curriculum components. This will also require the participation of university faculty and professional organizations to serve as facilitators and guide a process that will yield a deliverable and effective curriculum.

2.2.4. Implementation and Sustainability This report proposes a model, but not a “deliverable” curriculum in the form of teaching materials, lesson plans, a trained teaching cohort, or an operational budget to deliver K– 12 computer science in the way suggested above. Additional steps are needed to begin this process of implementation in K– 12 schools. The following are essential. Buy-in—these recommendations should be endorsed widely by organizations that have a stake in their implementation: ACM SIGCSE, ISTE SIGCS, ASCD curriculum directors in school districts, state boards of education, NEA, NASSP, and NSBA. Curriculum and course development — Funding sources like NSF should be approached to assist teams of K–12 teachers and other computer science educators to develop pilot courses along the lines suggested in this report. Concurrently, textbook and Web-based publishers should be encouraged to invest in these experimental courses, so that the resulting teaching materials can be widely disseminated and used elsewhere. Professional societies—Support the establishment of a “National Computer Science Teachers Association,” a new professional society for K–12 computer science teachers, which has recently been proposed by ACM (ACM, 2003). Similarly, ACM SIGCSE and ISTE’s NECC should continue to broaden their missions and conferences to better accommodate K–12 computer science teachers. State and regional organizations should provide ongoing support and collaboration for K–12 computer science teachers at the local level. Culture—Most teachers who now offer computer science in K– 12 schools are experiencing a strong sense of isolation and vulnerability. This frustration has many roots, including the glacially slow pace of attitudinal and programmatic change, the battle to obtain adequate computing resources, the lack of acceptance of computer science among math and science colleagues, the absence of state curricular standards, the shortage of opportunities for in-service and pre-service training in computer science, and the unusual vulnerability of computer science faculty and courses to budget cuts during times of fiscal restraint.

3. THE LEVEL III: OBJECTIVES AND OUTLINES MODEL The Level III course [3], broadly described in the Model, focuses on introductory computer science analysis and design concepts. It provides learning objectives, detailed focus points, assessment measures and sample educational activities for each topic in the Level III course. The Level III course places analysis and design front and centre in the study of computer science. As such, it is targeted to high school students who may be interested in pursuing further study in the computing disciplines beyond high school. It is not intended to be a first course in computer science. While it may be a final course for some students, the goal is to present the various facets of computer science in a broad and compelling manner so as to excite students and encourage continued study of the computing disciplines. Level III establishes a framework of topics that are typically introduced in depth at the undergraduate level.

3.1. Content of Level III Model [3] The document contains 10 main topics. For each main topic there is a general description, statement of necessary resources,

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learning objectives, assessment guidelines, a list of focus areas that fall within the main topic area, and a sample activity or two that suggests the anticipated level of student learning. The sample activities are meant to be representative; they are not to be taken as required implementations of the student learning objectives. Careful consideration must be given to choosing a set of activities appropriate to a given classroom situation.

3.2. Presentation of topic 1: Program Design and Problem Solving This topic provides an introduction to the fundamental ideas about problem solving and program development including style, abstraction, and discussion of correctness as part of the software design process. Students design algorithms and programming solutions to a variety of computational problems. While the choice of programming language is left to the instructor, the programming component should include control structures, functions, parameters, objects and classes, and structured programming and event-driven programming techniques. Table 1. Student Learning Objectives

3.3.2. Using Computer Software Some software is written to be tightly integrated with specific hardware, as in a cell phone or a digital camera. In other cases, a software application, such as a word processor or a Web browser, is primarily designed to run on standard hardware. Sometimes software works "behind the scenes" and can be almost invisible, as in the Internet or many parts of an operating system. Familiarity with a variety of computer software programs and with the basic concepts underlying many of them is a prerequisite for many jobs and for understanding a large part of 21st century culture.

3.3.3. Solving Problems by Developing Software Computer software solutions are created by identifying a need or opportunity, analyzing how it can be addressed with software, designing and coding the program, carefully testing the program, and in many cases writing documentation and training the users. Gaining a basic understanding of how software is created gives students a deeper understanding of what computers can do.

3.3.4. Computers, People, and Society Technical advances have driven social changes throughout history, and tools have shaped culture in many ways. The rapid development of computers, networks, and peripherals has an ongoing impact on society. Principal concepts of this facet are: 1.

Table 2. Assessment Recommendations

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3.3. Facets of Computer Science Computer science can be seen as comprising four facets: • • • •

Computer Hardware Using Computer Software Solving Problems by Developing Software Computers, People, and Society

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3.3.1. Computer Hardware

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The development of the electronic computer has been one of the technological marvels of the last century. Research and development of computers and peripherals actively continues. Principal concepts and themes of this facet are: 1. 2. 3.

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At a fundamental level, all computers are collections of circuits. The most common architecture for computers is based on a central processor, memory, and peripherals. Memory storage devices (including punch cards, paper tape, cassette tapes, hard disk drives, floppy disks, CDROMs and DVDs, memory sticks, RAM, ROM, cache, and video memory) have a variety of characteristics. Memory storage devices usually store information in units called bytes, and each byte has a numeric address. Computer processors (chips) are almost ubiquitous in cars, cell phones, traffic signal controllers, and other embedded devices.

Computer technology and software changes more quickly than ethics and laws, thus creating a constant tension in society. The ubiquity of data in digital format presents new issues of privacy and security. Computerized data is often copied and rarely deleted, raising issues of privacy, ethics, and ownership rights. Humans are best at recognition, making connections between similar things, and learning by doing. Computers are best at following small instruction steps and processing digital data quickly and consistently. A human-computer interface is the meeting point of the human and computer realms. A good interface minimizes the human's short-term memory load, is compatible with a diverse set of users, and prevents errors. Computers are tools with several functions: to process data (to compute), to store data, to acquire and display data, and to move data from one computer to another (to communicate).

4. SCORM STANDARD Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) is a collection of standards and specifications for computer-assisted learning (e-learning).This collection of standards defined by the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL), an organization within the U.S. Department of Defense. SCORM is a model for multiple use and its goal of standardizing content and content technology for education and online education, such training. More specifically SCORM is a set of technical standards for elearning software. SCORM says programmers how to write their code so that it was "fit" with several e-learning software. Specifically, SCORM eLearning and regulate the content of LSM (Learning Management Systems). Take, for example, DVDs. When buying a new DVD movie, it works on all brands of DVD players, as they are made according to certain standards.

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SCORM defines the communication between the content on the client system and a host system called the run-time environment (commonly a function of learning management system). SCORM 2004 introduces a complex idea called sequencing, which establishes a set of rules that specify the order in which the user can access training topics can experiment and use different teaching materials. The standard uses XML, and is based on results obtained by AICC (CBT) Training IMS Global Consortium and IEEE.

4.1. SCORM components SCORM specifications documents[4]:

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• SCORM Content Aggregation Model (SCORM aggregation model content) defines the requirements for assembly and packaging of content, requirements for content editors, so any package that complies with these requirements can be loaded on any platform and run e-learning in it. • SCORM Run-Time Environment (SCORM runtime environment) defines requirements for running the content, applicable to both an LMS (software learning management) and content objects. • SCORM Sequencing and Navigation (SCORM Sequencing and Navigation) defines requirements for the order in which various items of content are delivered on students and how this order can be controlled by a series of events generated by the student navigation or content From a structural, SCORM is constutuit of 4 sequences, respectively: • sequence overview at the conceptual level (refer to SCORM version) • sequence describing the unit components • sequence showing learning management (learning progress) • Navigation and production sequence of events SCORM Sequencing defines the requirements on the order in which various items of content are delivered on students and how this order can be controlled by a series of events generated by the student navigation or content. Sequencing rules allow the author to do the following: to determine what Moodle LMS should provide student (buttons previous / next); specify the order of activities; to do so some parts of the course to be more important than others. In terms of information, a SCORM object is a zipped file containing the definition of a file name extension with IMS manifest, XML. Xml files showing all the other components of the object specification use.

Figure 2. SCORM Evolution Product eXe (eLearning XHTML editor) is an editor available at http://www.exelearning.org, offered free. Udutu[6] is an online editor that can be used freely by creating a user account on the site located at http://www.myudutu.com. Pedagogical support to create courses. Can be imported created using other text editors.

5. CONCLUSIONS Computer science is a very important discipline that can no longer be ignored by public schools in the 21st century. K12 model curriculum provides a basis by which states, schools of education, and individual school districts can begin to implement a coherent computer science curriculum that is available to all students. K 12 model curriculum, allows important courses for e-learning. Making computer science courses shall conform to SCORM standards.

6. REFERENCES 1.

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4.2. SCORM Versions

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The SCORM’s versions is presented in figure 2. They are: SCORM 1.1 - is the first version, little used because of its rigidity; SCORM 1.2 base version for most platforms; SCORM 2004 - current version to resolve some ambiguities found in version 1.2 and adding new specifications for learning management [5]. SCORM 2004 editions: 3rd edition (October 2006); 4th edition (March 2009)

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Producing SCORM objects is the result of a conversion with a module attached to an editor (eg Microsoft Word) or as a result of interaction with a specialized editor (UDUTU, CourseLab, exe, etc.). CourseLab software [6] is one of the most important editor for e-learning courses. The objects of this software respect SCORM standards.

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Daniel Frost, Anita Verno, David Burkhart, Michelle Hurton, Karen North, A Model Curriculum for K–12 Computer Science Level I Objectives and Outlines, Computer Science Teacher Association, New York, 2003, http://csta.acm.org/Curriculum/sub/Implementation.html; Anita Verno, Debbie, Carter, D., Cutler, R., Michelle. Hutton, M., Pitt, L. A Model Curriculum for K-12 Computer Science: Level 2 Objectives and Outlines. Computer Science Teachers Association, New York 2004, http://csta.acm.org/Curriculum/sub/Implementation.html; Bill, Madden, Anita, Verno, Debbie, Carter, Steave, Cooper, Thomas, J., Cortina, Ron, Cudworth, Barb, Ericson, Elizabeth, Parys, A Model Curriculum for K-12 Computer Science: Level III Objectives and Outlines. Computer Science Teachers Association, 2007. http://csta.acm.org/Curriculum/sub/Implementation.html; Kiyoshi Nakabayashi, Yosuke Morimoto, Yoshiaki Hada, Design and Implementation of an Extensible LearnerAdaptive Environment, Knowledge Management & ELearning: An International Journal, Vol.2, No.3.(2009); Borza Sorin-Ioan, Brindasu Paul Dan and Beju Livia Dana, Modern Methods of Education, Research and Design Used in Mechanical Engineering chapter in Mechanical Engineering, ISBN: 978-953-51-0505-3, InTech, Croatia (2012); CourseLab User Guide pdf document, http://download.courselab.com/downloads/clpics/CourseL ab_2_Guide_Eng.pdf; http://wikieducator.org/Online_manual; http://www.myudutu.com/myudutu/main/workspace/udutu _getting_started_guide.pdf.

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