Class meetings: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00-2:20 p.m., in 227, CIT
The Educational Software seminar at Brown (CS92), pioneered by Andy van Dam and developed for several years with David Niguidula, combines topics and activities that, at other universities, would almost certainly be encountered only in different courses offered in different departments. The basic idea of CS92 -- that groups of undergraduates, primarily those with interests and abilities in computer science and education, work closely with local teachers to design, create and implement classroom software that meets the needs and specifications of those teachers -- has made it a model of interdisciplinary and University-School collaboration in the area of educational technology. The goals of the Seminar are to engage and support students in these collaborations while they read about, discuss, and come to understand some of the historical, cognitive, technical, and sociological issues involved in the use of computers in education, and particularly in the creation of the products known as "educational software."
This syllabus provides a list of the books and articles we'll be reading and discussing, as well as a week-by-week description of the course. Although they are not included below, we will have several guests during the semester, some of them the authors of the works we'll be reading, and, following the seminar model, a student will have the responsibility of presenting and leading the discussion of the readings in each class session. Once the seminar is underway, a project page will describe both the projects and the tools we'll be using.
* Cuban, Larry. Teachers and Machines. (Teachers College Press, 1986).
Cummins, Jim and Sayers, Dennis. Brave New Schools (St. Martins Press, 1997)
* Gardner, Howard. The Unschooled Mind. (Basic Books, 1991).
Leebaert, Derek (ed). The Future of Software. (MIT Press, 1995).
Macromedia Inc. Authorware 4 Authorized. (Peachpit Press, 1997).
McGilly, Kate. Classroom Lessons: Integrating Cognitive Theory and Classroom Practice. (MIT Press, 1994).
Oostendorp, Herre van, and Mul, de Sjaak (eds.), Cognitive Aspects of Electronic Text Processing, Advances in Discourse Processes, vol. LVIII (Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1996).
Salzman, Harold, and Rosenthal, Stephen R. Software By Design. (Oxford University Press, 1994).
* Sandholtz, Judith Haymore, and Ringstaff, Cathy, and Dwyer, David C. Teaching with Technology: Creating Student-Centered Classrooms. (Teachers College Press, 1997).
Schank, Roger, and Cleary, Chip. Engines for Education. (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1995). HTML edition at: http://www.ils.nwu.edu/~e_for_e/.
Scheffler, Israel. Reason and Teaching. (Routledge, 1973).
Smith, Irene and Yoder, Sharon. Inside HyperStudio: Scripting with HyperLogo (ISBN# 1-56484-122-7).
* Tiffin, John and Rajasingham. In Search of the Virtual Class: Education in an Information Society. (Routledge, 1995)
* Ullman, Ellen. Close to the Machine: Technophilia and its Discontents. (City Lights, 1997).
Anderson, John. "Can Information Technology Change the Curriculum?" in Nick Rushby (ed.), Technology-Based Learning: Selected Readings, (Kogan Page, 1987), pp. 73-78.
Beeman, William O., and Anderson, Kenneth T., and Bader, Gail, and Larkin, James, and McClard, Anne, and McQuillan, Patrick, and Shields, Mark. "Hypertext and Pluralism: From Lineal to Non-lineal Thinking." (Brown University: Insitute for Research in information and Scholarship, 1987).
Bierman, Alan W. "Software Engineering," in Bierman, Great Ideas in Computer Science: A Gentle Introduction, (MIT Press, 1997), pp. 209-219.
Brooks, Ruven. "Comparative Task Analysis: An Alternative Direction for Human-Computer Interaction Science," in John M. Carrol (ed.), Designing Interaction, (Cambridge University Press, 1991), pp. 50-59.
Catano, James V. "Poetry and Computers: Experimenting with the Communal Text," Computers and the Humanities, vol. 13, pp. 269-275 (1979).
Clinchy, Evans. "The New Technologies and the Continuing Questions," in Clinchy (ed.) Transforming Public Education (Teachers College Press, 1997), pp. 132-142.
Copeland, Peter. "The Educational Significance of Electronic Media," in Nick Rushby (ed.) Technology-Based Learning: Selected Readings, (Kogan Page, 1987),pp. 79-85.
Cuban, Larry. "Computers Meet Classroom: Classroom Wins." Teachers College Record, vol. 95, number 2, pp. 185-210 (1993).
DeWitt, Scott Lloyd. "The Current Nature of Hypertext Research in Computers and Composition Studies: An Historical Perspective," Computers and Composition, vol. 13, pp. 69-84 (1996).
Kenney, Martin. "Value Creation in the Late Twentieth Century: The Rise of the Knowledge Worker," in Jim Davis, Thomas Hirschl and Michael Stack (eds.), Cutting Edge: Technology, Information, Capitalism and Social Revolution (Verso, 1997), pp. 87-102.
Linard, Monique and Zeiliger, Romain. "Designing Navigational Support for Educational Software," in Brad Blumenthal, et al. (eds.), Human-Computer Interaction, Lecture Notes in Computer Science 1015, (Springer, 1995), pp. 63-78.
Lu, Casey, and Voss, Burton E., and Kleinsmith, Lewis J. "The Effect of Microcomputer-Based Biology Study Center on Learning in High School Biology Students," The American Biology Teacher, vol. 59, No. 5, pp. 270-278.
Nickerson, Raymond S. "Can Technology Help Teach for Understanding?," in David N. Perkins et al. (ed.) Software Goes to School: Teaching with New Technologies, (Oxford University Press, 1995), pp. 7-22.
Nicol, Anne. "Interfaces for Learning: What Do Good Teachers Know that We Don't?" in Brenda Laurel (ed.) The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design (Addison Wesley, 1990), pp.113-122.
Papert, Seymour. "An Anthology of Learning Stories," and "Computerists," in Papert, The Children's Machine (Basic Books, 1993), pp. 106-113, 157-178.
Pylyshen, Zenon W. "Some Remarks on the Theory-Practice Gap," in John M. Carrol (ed.), Designing Interaction (Cambridge University Press, 1991), pp. 39-49.
Rouet, Jean-Francois, and Levonen, Jarmo J. "Studying and Learning with Hypertext: Empirical Studies and Their Implications," in Rouet, et al. (eds.) Hypertext and Cognition (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1996), pp.9-24.
Sandholtz, Judith. "A Model, Not a Mold: A Comparison of Four School-University Partnerships," in David M. Byrd and D. John McIntyre (eds.), Research on the Education of Our Nation's Teachers. Teacher Education Yearbook V, Association of Teacher Educators. (Corwin Press, 1997), pp. 258-276.
Scheffler, Israel. "Computers at School?" Teachers College Record 87. 4 (1986). pp. 513-28. Reprinted in Scheffler, In Praise of the Cognitive Emotions (Routledge, 1991), pp.80-96.
Schwartz, Judah. "The Right Size Byte: Reflections of an Educational Software Designer," in David N. Perkins et al. (ed.) Software Goes to School: Teaching with New Technologies, (Oxford University Press, 1995), pp.172-181.
Spoehr, Kathryn T. and Spoehr, Luther W. "Learning to Think Historically." Educational Psychologist , 1994, 29(2), pp. 71-77.
Ward, Robert, and Sewell, David. "How Impoverished is Existing Educational Software for Microcomputers?" in Nick Rushby (ed.) Technology-Based Learning: Selected Readings, (Kogan Page, 1987), pp. 140-148.
Weizenbaum, Joseph. "Science and the Compulsive Programmer." in Weizenbaum, Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgement to Calculation (W. H. Freeman, 1976), pp.111-131.
Dewey, John. Democracy and Education. (MacMillan, 1916). HTML edition at Columbia University (http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/academic/texts/dewey/d_e/title.html)
Dewey, John. School and Society. (University of Chicago Press, 1907). HTML edition at the Mead Project at Brock University (http://paradigm.soci.brocku.ca/~lward/SUP/Dewey/DEWEY_11.HTML).
"Fostering the Use of Educational Technology: Elements of a National Strategy," RAND Corporation Report, 1996. http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR682/contents.html
Hanson-Smith, Elizabeth. "Technology in the Classroom: Practice and Promise in the 21st Century." TESOL Professional Paper #2, (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc., http://www.tesol.edu/pubs/profpapers/techclass.html, 1997).
McNeil, Sara. "Instructional Design." A course offered at the College of Education, University of Houston. Fall 1997. http://www.coe.uh.edu/courses/cuin6373/.
Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL). "The Impact of Technology." http://www.mcrel.org/connect/tech/impact.html. 1995-1997.
Nielsen, Jakob. The Alertbox: Current Issues in Web Usability. 1995-98. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/.
Nijmegen University. "The History of Education Site." University Nijmegen, Algemene Pedagogie, Netherlands, 1998. http://www.socsci.kun.nl/ped/whp/histeduc/
"Report to the President on the Use of Technology to Strengthen K-12 Education in the United States," President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, Panel on Educational Technology, 1997. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OSTP/NSTC/PCAST/k-12ed.html).
Schank, Roger, and Cleary, Chip. Engines for Education. http://www.ils.nwu.edu/~e_for_e/nodes/I-M-NODE-4121-pg.html (1995).
"Technology and the New Professional Teacher: Preparing for the 21st Century Classroom," National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, 1997. http://www.ncate.org/specfoc/"Technology Counts: Schools and Reform in the Information Age," Education Week, vol. XVII, No. 11, November 10, 1997. http://www.edweek.com/sreports/tc/
Introduction to the Seminar. What is educational software? Why study it? Where should it be studied and how? A brief overview of the history of educational software and the current state of software in the age of computer networks. Details of the seminar will be discussed, along with questions of what brings different students to take this course. We'll also devote some time to talking about what makes for a successful seminar, and some strategies for successfully leading, and participating in a seminar.
The culture and power of programming. We'll read different perspectives on the promise and perils of computer programming, and specifically software engineering. The goal of the week is to discuss and understand what is involved in programming a computer to carry out a task, or manipulate a behavior, and to understand what draws people to programming. We'll also talk about how computer programmers approach the job of software design. Readings this week drawn from Ullman, Weizenbaum, Leebaert, Copeland, and Bierman. We'll distribute the project descriptions and briefly discuss the sorts of interests and talents which might be right for each of them.
Required reading: Ullman 1997 (chs 1-4 for Tuesday and finish for
Thursday), Bierman 1997 (Tuesday), Weizenbaum 1976 (Thursday).
Other assignments: On Thursday bring in a short computer
program for explication.
The dismal history of classroom technology in America. We'll discuss a number of (sobering) questions about the role of computers in the classroom, and some considerations of how/whether computers are different than the educational technologies that have come before. We'll read about the history of classroom technology in the U.S. in this century as well as contemporary analyses of how computers are actually being used (or not) in schools throughout the world. Readings will be drawn from Cuban, Scheffler, and Cummins and Sayers. This week we'll also form project teams, choose projects, and discuss some preliminary strategies for structuring those projects.
Required reading: Cuban 1986 (chs 1-3 for Tuesday and finish for
Thursday), Gardner 1991 (ch. 1 for Tuesday), Scheffler 1986 (Thursday).
Other assignments: (For Tuesday) Post a message to the CS92-L
list about the ideas, images and/or passages from Ullman and/or
Weizenbaum that you think are especially important for us to
keep in mind as we go forward into the projects.
An introduction to Hyperstudio and Authorware. This week is devoted to learning two authoring tools. We'll begin with a brief discussion of programming languages vs. authoring tools, and the TAs will give everyone a crash-course, as we discuss what sorts of tools are appropriate to what sorts of projects. Similarly, the project teams will make a preliminary decision about the tools they'll use to create their software. While all this is going on in class, project teams will meet with their teachers for the first time, to schedule meetings, classroom observations, and get a sense of the sorts of curricular materials available to the project.
Required reading: Introduction to and documentation for Hyperstudio
at http://www.hyperstudio.com
Other assignments: Meet as a team with your project teacher and
send a summary report to CS92-L before the 19th.
The current state of educational software and classroom technology projects. We'll look at several examples of "educational software" and discuss the sorts of skills and knowledge necessary to properly use and/or evaluate a piece of software. We'll also analyze the kinds of decisions that need to be made in the construction of even a small computer application. Readings drawn from Lu, Voss, and Kleinsmith, Gardner, and Ward and Sewell.
Required reading: Articles by Lu, Voss and Kleinsmith (1997),
and Ward and Sewell (1986).
Other Assignments: By Wednesday the 18th, turn in your
Authorware project to the HANDIN
folder in the CS0092 folder in the CLUSTER.CLASSES server. By the
19th, post your meeting report to CS92-L.
Begin revised project descriptions and come
to class prepared to discuss questions or obstacles you've encountered.
The significance of the classroom.. Preliminary plans from the project teams will be discussed and published at the Web site, and we'll discuss strategies for working with teachers and students in schools, as "an outsider". Readings by Cuban, Sandholtz, and Tiffin and Rajasingham, and reports on the first meetings between teachers and the project teams.
Required reading: Sandholtz, Ringstaff and Dwyer's
Teaching with Technology
(chapters 1-3 for Tuesday, at least 9-11
for Thursday), Gardner (1991), chs. 6-7 (for Tuesday), and
Cuban (1993) (for Thursday).
Other Assignments: Revised project descriptions due on the
24th, and begin project pages for the CS92 site.
The significance of the interface. Design issues in software engineering and the consideration of scale in building a useful product. We'll discuss some of the controversies concerning the design of successful interfaces for education. We'll look at the "Exploratoria" Group's applets and discuss their approach to interface and teaching over the Web, and we'll discuss the relationship between cognitive learning theory, classroom practice and software design. Readings drawn from McGilly, Spoehr and Spoehr, Oostendorp, Nicol, and Schwartz.
Required reading: Articles by
Grabinger and Osman-Jouchaux (1996) and
Nicol (1990) for Tuesday; Spoehr and Spoehr (1994) and McGilly (1994)
for Thursday
Other Assignments: Project pages should be posted by Tuesday,
and storyboards are due on Thursday.
Storyboard Presentations I. Project teams will present their projects and storyboards to the class, and we'll evaluate their approach, their documentation of the project and their prospects for success. Readings may be assigned by the project teams (e.g. course curriculum), but the work of the next two weeks will be in creating and documenting "sketches" or prototypes of the software.
Required reading: Articles by
Schwartz (1995), for Tuesday, and
Instone, Teasley and Leventhal (1996) for Thursday.
Recommended reading: Gardner (1991), chapters 11 and 12.
Other Assignments: Storyboards should be posted or discussed
on the project pages, and all project teams must decide on the tool
they will use to create their software by the end of the week.
Storyboard Presentations II. Project team presentations continue, and we'll identify patterns and critical issues in the design of classroom software.
Required reading: Brooks (1991) and Gardner (1991),
chapters 10-13, for
Thursday.
Recommended reading: Linard and Zeiliger (1995), Pylyshyn (1991),
and Nickerson (1995) for Thursday.
Other Assignments: Storyboards should be posted or discussed
on the project pages, and all teams should have begun programming
before the start of the Break.
Wilkicki's Notes on Brooks (1991)
Sherman's Notes on Gardner (1991)
Atkins' Notes on Gardner (1991)
The future of teaching and technology: Networked technologies and the Virtual Class(room) in contemporary education. We'll discuss visions of how computers could bring about sustained and systemic change in K-16 education, as well as recent impact studies. We'll discuss the idea of "learning environments" and "multimedia" as instructional and learning technologies. Readings drawn from Rouet, Gardner, the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, Clinchy and Tiffin and Rajasingham.
Required Reading: Tiffin and Rajasingham, chapters 1-3.
Recommended Reading: Hanson-Smith (1997), and
The President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (1997)
(see Electronic Texts and Articles).
Schep's Notes on Tiffin and Rajasingham
Software testing and technology assessment I. We'll begin testing some of the software created by the project teams, as part of the project presentations, in preparation for classroom implementation. We'll also discuss what it means to evaluate the effectiveness of software in the classroom, and we'll read selected cognitive learning theory studies that attempt to assess the value of integrating technology in the classroom.
Required Reading: Schank and Cleary, chapters 10-11 (for Tuesday).
Tartaro's Notes on Schank & Cleary
Software testing and technology assessment II. We'll complete our own testing and analysis of the software created by the project teams, and discuss ways to analyze the effectiveness of the classroom software over time.
The Aims of Education Revisited. We'll complete the project presentations and begin discussions of short- and long- term implementation issues. We'll also discuss selections from John Dewey's Democracy and Education, in order to see how/whether earlier discussions of the aims of education might be revised in light of the projects.
Required Readings: Dewey's Democracy and Education, chapters 7-9 (the entire book is recommended).
Eklund's Notes on Chapter Seven
Faulkner's Notes on Chapter Eight
George's Notes on Chapter Nine
Assignment: A draft of the documentation for your software is due by Friday at noon.
Final Presentations. A final session, in the Multimedia Lab, at which teams will present their finished products. We'll reflect on the course, brainstorm about how it might be improved next year, and plan for the May 14th presentation for our teachers, and Brown faculty members.
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Brown Home |
STC Home |
CS Home |
CS Courses |