Institut für Informatik und Computational Science
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Einsatz einer mobilen Lern-App - Ein Werkzeug zur Verbesserung von klinisch-praktischem Unterricht
(2018)
Der Unterricht am Krankenbett ist im Medizinstudium eine wertvolle Möglichkeit klinisch-praktische Fertigkeiten zu erlernen. Eine optimale Vorbereitung der Studierenden ist dabei Voraussetzung. Eine mobile Lern-App wurde entwickelt, die den Studierenden, neben Lernzielen, Kursinhalte und Anleitungen zu Untersuchungstechniken bietet, um die Vorbereitung auf einen klinisch-praktischen Kurs zu fördern und Kurzinformationen auch während des Kurses zur Verfügung zu stellen. 175 Studierende hatten die Möglichkeit die App parallel zu einem klinischen Untersuchungs-Kurs im Semester zu nutzen. Im Anschluss beantworteten die Studierenden einen Fragebogen zur Nützlichkeit und Vielseitigkeit der App und zur Zufriedenheit mit der App unter Verwendung eine 5-Punkt-Likert-Skala und zwei offenen Fragen. In diesem Beitrag wird das Kurskonzept zusammen mit der Lern-App, die Ergebnisse aus dem Fragebogen und unsere Schlussfolgerungen daraus vorgestellt. Studierende bewerteten die App grundsätzlich als hilfreich. Sie sollte dabei gründlich eingeführt werden. Patienten sollten über die Nutzung von Smartphones im Studentenunterricht zu Lernzwecken informiert werden.
Die Veröffentlichung eines global frei verfügbaren Onlinekurses abseits der großen MOOC Plattformen bringt spezielle Herausforderungen mit sich. Neben technischen Herausforderungen sind eine effiziente Wissensvermittlung und die Erhaltung der Lernmotivation zentral. Der folgende Beitrag stellt Techniken zur Steigerung der Lerneffizienz und -motivation anhand des ARCS Modells vor. Er zeigt auf, wie die verschiedenen Techniken in der Entwicklung des Onlinekurses „Designing Sustainable Food Systems“ umgesetzt wurden und inwieweit sie erfolgreich waren.
Berufsbegleitende Studiengänge stehen vor besonderen Schwierigkeiten, für die der Einsatz von Blended Learning-Szenarien sinnvoll sein kann. Welche speziellen Herausforderungen sich dabei ergeben und welche Lösungsansätze dagegen steuern, betrachtet der folgende Artikel anhand eines Praxisberichts aus dem Studiengang M. P. A. Wissenschaftsmanagement an der Universität Speyer.
Der vorliegende Beitrag berichtet auf der Grundlage von Erfahrungen mit dem Audience Response System (ARS) „Auditorium Mobile Classroom Service“ von Erfolgsfaktoren für den Einsatz in der universitären Lehre. Dabei werden sowohl die technischen Rahmenbedingungen und Herausforderungen der Anwendungen berücksichtigt, als auch die unterschiedlichen didaktischen Konzepte und Ziele der beteiligten Akteure (Studierende, Lehrende und Institution). Ziel ist es, Einflussfaktoren für den erfolgreichen Einsatz sowohl für die Praxis als auch die wissenschaftliche Untersuchung und Weiterentwicklung der Systeme zu benennen und ein heuristisches Framework für Chancen und Herausforderungen beim Einsatz von ARS anzubieten.
Der Beitrag skizziert ein Modell, das die Entwicklung digitaler Kompetenzen im Lehramtsstudium fördern soll. Zwar wird das Kompetenzmodell aus der Deutschdidaktik heraus entwickelt, nimmt aber auch fachübergreifende Anforderungen in den Bereichen Informationskompetenz, medientechnischer Kompetenzen, Fähigkeiten der Medienanalyse und -reflexion sowie Sprachhandlungskompetenz in den Blick. Damit wird das Ziel verfolgt, die besonderen Anforderungen angehender Lehrkräfte als Mediator*innen digitaler Kompetenzen darzustellen. Das beschriebene Modell dieser Vermittlungskompetenz dient der Verankerung digitaler Lehr-Lernkonzepte als wesentlicher Bestandteil der modernen Lehrer*innenbildung.
Digitale Medien enthalten bislang vor allem Inhalte in verschiedenen Darstellungsformen. Dies allein erzeugt jedoch nur einen geringen Mehrwert zu klassischen Lernressourcen, da die Kriterien der Interaktivität und Adaptivität nicht mit einbezogen werden. Dies scheitert jedoch oft an dem damit verbundenen Erstellungsaufwand. Der folgende Beitrag zeigt, wie durch die automatische Erzeugung von Aufgaben ein hochwertiger Wissenserwerb mit digitalen Medien ermöglicht wird. Ferner werden Vor- und Nachteile der automatischen Erstellung von Aufgaben erörtert.
Dieser Beitrag diskutiert die Konzeption eines Software-Projektpraktikums im Bereich E-Learning, welches Lehramts- und Fachstudierenden der Informatik ermöglicht, voneinander zu profitieren und praxisrelevante Ergebnisse generiert. Vorbereitungen, Organisation und Durchführung werden vorgestellt und diskutiert. Den Abschluss bildet ein Ausblick auf die Fortführung des Konzepts und den Ausbau des Forschungsgebietes.
Die Unterrichtsmethode Stationsarbeit kann verwendet werden, um Individualisierung und Differenzierung im Lernprozess zu ermöglichen. Dieser Beitrag schlägt Aufgabenformate vor, die in einer Stationsarbeit über das Klassendiagramm aus der Unified Modeling Language verwendet werden können. Die Aufgabenformate wurden bereits mit Studierenden erprobt.
Dieser Beitrag diskutiert den Einsatz von interaktiven und automatischen Theorembeweisern in der universitären Lehre. Moderne Theorembeweiser scheinen geeignet zur Implementierung des dialogischen Lernens und als E-Assessment-Werkzeug in der Logikausbilding. Exemplarisch skizzieren wir ein innovaties Lehrprojekt zum Thema „Komputationale Metaphysik“, in dem die zuvor genannten Werkzeuge eingesetzt werden.
Der Unterricht großer Studierendengruppen im wissenschaftlichen Schreiben birgt vielfältige organisatorische Herausforderungen und eine zeitintensive Betreuung durch die Dozenten. Diese Arbeit stellt ein Lehrkonzept mit Peer-Reviews vor, in dem das Feedback der Peers durch eine automatisierte Analyse ergänzt wird. Die Software Confopy liefert metrik- und strukturbasierte Hinweise für die Verbesserung des wissenschaftlichen Schreibstils. Der Nutzen von Confopy wird an 47 studentischen Arbeiten in Draft- und Final-Version illustriert.
Die Vermittlung von Modellierungsfähigkeiten in der Softwaretechnik-Ausbildung konzentriert sich meist auf Modellierungskonzepte, Notationen und Entwicklungswerkzeuge. Die Betrachtung der Modellierungsaktivitäten, etwa die Entwicklung und Gegenüberstellung alternativer Modellvorschläge, steht weniger im Vordergrund. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht zwei Formen des kollaborativen Modellierens am Tabletop in Bezug auf ihren Einfluss auf die Modellierungsaktivitäten in kleinen Gruppen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sowohl selbstorganisierte als auch moderierte Modellierungssitzungen das Entwickeln eines gemeinsamen Modellverständnisses fördern. In moderierten Sitzungen wurden zudem mehr alternative Lösungsideen entwickelt und in stärkerem Maße diskutiert.
Das „Startprojekt“
(2016)
Absolventinnen und Absolventen unserer Informatik-Bachelorstudiengänge benötigen für kompetentes berufliches Handeln sowohl fachliche als auch überfachliche Kompetenzen. Vielfach verlangen wir von Erstsemestern in Grundlagen-Lehrveranstaltungen fast ausschließlich den Aufbau von Fachkompetenz und vernachlässigen dabei häufig Selbstkompetenz, Methodenkompetenz und Sozialkompetenz. Gerade die drei letztgenannten sind für ein erfolgreiches Studium unabdingbar und sollten von Anfang an entwickelt werden. Wir stellen unser „Startprojekt“ als einen Beitrag vor, im ersten Semester die eigenverantwortliche, überfachliche Kompetenzentwicklung in einem fachlichen Kontext zu fördern.
Die Wahl des richtigen Studienfaches und die daran anschließende
Studieneingangsphase sind oft entscheidend für den erfolgreichen Verlauf eines Studiums. Eine große Herausforderung besteht dabei darin, bereits in den ersten Wochen des Studiums bestehende Defizite in vermeintlich einfachen Schlüsselkompetenzen zu erkennen und diese so bald wie möglich zu beheben. Eine zweite, nicht minder wichtige Herausforderung ist es, möglichst frühzeitig für jeden einzelnen Studierenden zu erkennen, ob er bzw. sie das individuell richtige Studienfach gewählt hat, das den jeweiligen persönlichen Neigungen, Interessen und Fähigkeiten entspricht und zur Verwirklichung der eigenen Lebensziele beiträgt. Denn nur dann sind Studierende ausreichend stark und dauerhaft intrinsisch motiviert, um ein anspruchsvolles, komplexes Studium erfolgreich durchzuziehen. In diesem Beitrag fokussieren wir eine Maßnahme, die die Studierenden an einen Prozess zur systematischen Reflexion des eigenen Lernprozesses und der eigenen Ziele heranführt und beides in Relation setzt.
Ziel einer neuen Studieneingangsphase ist, den Studierenden bis zum Ende des ersten Semesters ein vielfältiges Berufsbild der Informatik und Wirtschaftsinformatik mit dem breiten Aufgabenspektrum aufzublättern und damit die Zusammenhänge zwischen den einzelnen Modulen des Curriculums zu verdeutlichen. Die Studierenden sollen in die Lage versetzt werden, sehr eigenständig die Planung und Gestaltung ihres Studiums in die Hand zu nehmen.
Es wird ein Informatik-Wettbewerb für Schülerinnen und Schüler der Sekundarstufe II beschrieben, der über mehrere Wochen möglichst realitätsnah die Arbeitswelt eines Informatikers vorstellt. Im Wettbewerb erarbeiten die Schülerteams eine Android-App und organisieren ihre Entwicklung durch Projektmanagementmethoden, die sich an professionellen, agilen Prozessen orientieren. Im Beitrag werden der theoretische Hintergrund zu Wettbewerben, die organisatorischen und didaktischen Entscheidung, eine erste Evaluation sowie Reflexion und Ausblick dargestellt.
In der Lehre zur MCI (Mensch-Computer-Interaktion) stellt sich immer wieder die Herausforderung, praktische Übungen mit spannenden Ergebnissen durchzuführen, die sich dennoch nicht in technischen Details verlieren sondern MCI-fokussiert bleiben. Im Lehrmodul „Interaktionsdesign“ an der Universität Hamburg werden von Studierenden innerhalb von drei Wochen prototypische Interaktionskonzepte für das Spiel Neverball entworfen und praktisch umgesetzt. Anders als in den meisten Grundlagenkursen zur MCI werden hier nicht Mock-Ups, sondern lauffähige Software entwickelt. Um dies innerhalb der Projektzeit zu ermöglichen, wurde Neverball um eine TCP-basierte Schnittstelle erweitert. So entfällt die aufwändige Einarbeitung in den Quellcode des Spiels und die Studierenden können sich auf ihre Interaktionsprototypen konzentrieren. Wir beschreiben die Erfahrungen aus der
mehrmaligen Durchführung des Projektes und erläutern unser Vorgehen bei der Umsetzung. Die Ergebnisse sollen Lehrende im Bereich MCI unterstützen, ähnliche praxisorientierte Übungen mit Ergebnissen „zum Anfassen“ zu gestalten.
Der folgende Artikel beschreibt die Evaluation eines Lehrvideos zum informatischen Problemlösen, welches auf der Grundlage einer Vergleichsstudie mit starken und schwachen Problemlösern entwickelt wurde. Beispielhaft wird in dem Film ein Färbeproblem durch einen fiktiven Hochleister unter lautem Denken gelöst, die einzelnen Arbeitsschritte werden abschnittsweise kommentiert und erklärt. Ob dieses Lernkonzept von Studenten akzeptiert wird und sich durch Anschauen des Videos tatsächlich ein Lerneffekt einstellt, wurde durch eine Befragung und eine erste Vergleichsstudie untersucht.
Auf der Grundlage der Planung, Durchführung, Evaluation und Revision eines gemeinsamen Seminars von Medienpädagogik und Didaktik der Informatik stellen wir in diesem Aufsatz dar, wo die Defizite klassischer Medienbildung in Bezug auf digitale bzw. interaktive Medien liegen und welche Inhalte der Informatik für Studierende aller Lehrämter – im allgemeinbildenden Sinne – aus dieser Perspektive relevant erscheinen.
A lot has been published about the competencies needed by
students in the 21st century (Ravenscroft et al., 2012). However, equally
important are the competencies needed by educators in the new era
of digital education. We review the key competencies for educators in
light of the new methods of teaching and learning proposed by Massive
Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and their on-campus counterparts,
Small Private Online Courses (SPOCs).
Participants of this workshop will be confronted exemplarily
with a considerable inconsistency of global Informatics education at
lower secondary level. More importantly, they are invited to contribute
actively on this issue in form of short case studies of their countries.
Until now, very few countries have been successful in implementing
Informatics or Computing at primary and lower secondary level. The
spectrum from digital literacy to informatics, particularly as a discipline
in its own right, has not really achieved a breakthrough and seems to
be underrepresented for these age groups. The goal of this workshop
is not only to discuss the anamnesis and diagnosis of this fragmented
field, but also to discuss and suggest viable forms of therapy in form of
setting educational standards. Making visible good practices in some
countries and comparing successful approaches are rewarding tasks for
this workshop.
Discussing and defining common educational standards on a transcontinental
level for the age group of 14 to 15 years old students in a readable,
assessable and acceptable form should keep the participants of this
workshop active beyond the limited time at the workshop.
Let’s talk about CS!
(2015)
To communicate about a science is the most important key
competence in education for any science. Without communication we
cannot teach, so teachers should reflect about the language they use in
class properly. But the language students and teachers use to communicate
about their CS courses is very heterogeneous, inconsistent and
deeply influenced by tool names. There is a big lack of research and
discussion in CS education regarding the terminology and the role of
concepts and tools in our science. We don’t have a consistent set of
terminology that we agree on to be helpful for learning our science.
This makes it nearly impossible to do research on CS competencies as
long as we have not agreed on the names we use to describe these. This
workshop intends to provide room to fill with discussion and first ideas
for future research in this field.
The poster and abstract describe the importance of teaching
information security in school. After a short description of information
security and important aspects, I will show, how information security
fits into different guidelines or models for computer science educations
and that it is therefore on of the key competencies. Afterwards I will
present you a rough insight of teaching information security in Austria.
Current curricular trends require teachers in Baden-
Wuerttemberg (Germany) to integrate Computer Science (CS) into
traditional subjects, such as Physical Science. However, concrete guidelines
are missing. To fill this gap, we outline an approach where a
microcontroller is used to perform and evaluate measurements in the
Physical Science classroom.
Using the open-source Arduino platform, we expect students to acquire
and develop both CS and Physical Science competencies by using a
self-programmed microcontroller. In addition to this combined development
of competencies in Physical Science and CS, the subject matter
will be embedded in suitable contexts and learning environments,
such as weather and climate.
Think logarithmically!
(2015)
We discuss here a number of algorithmic topics which we
use in our teaching and in learning of mathematics and informatics to
illustrate and document the power of logarithm in designing very efficient
algorithms and computations – logarithmic thinking is one of the
most important key competencies for solving real world practical problems.
We demonstrate also how to introduce logarithm independently
of mathematical formalism using a conceptual model for reducing a
problem size by at least half. It is quite surprising that the idea, which
leads to logarithm, is present in Euclid’s algorithm described almost
2000 years before John Napier invented logarithm.
A project involving the composition of a number of pieces
of music by public participants revealed levels of engagement with and
mastery of complex music technologies by a number of secondary student
volunteers. This paper reports briefly on some initial findings of
that project and seeks to illuminate an understanding of computational
thinking across the curriculum.
Mentoring in a Digital World
(2015)
This paper focuses on the results of the evaluation of the first
pilot of an e-mentoring unit designed by the Hands-On ICT consortium,
funded by the EU LLL programme. The overall aim of this two-year
activity is to investigate the value for professional learning of Massive
Online Open Courses (MOOCs) and Community Online Open Courses
(COOCs) in the context of a ‘community of practice’. Three units in the
first pilot covered aspects of using digital technologies to develop creative
thinking skills. The findings in this paper relate to the fourth unit
about e-mentoring, a skill that was important to delivering the course
content in the other three units. Findings about the e-mentoring unit
included: the students’ request for detailed profiles so that participants
can get to know each other; and, the need to reconcile the different
interpretations of e-mentoring held by the participants when the course
begins. The evaluators concluded that the major issues were that: not all
professional learners would self-organise and network; and few would
wish to mentor their colleagues voluntarily. Therefore, the e-mentoring
issues will need careful consideration in pilots two and three to identify
how e-mentoring will be organised.
The study reported in this paper involved the employment
of specific in-class exercises using a Personal Response System (PRS).
These exercises were designed with two goals: to enhance students’
capabilities of tracing a given code and of explaining a given code in
natural language with some abstraction. The paper presents evidence
from the actual use of the PRS along with students’ subjective impressions
regarding both the use of the PRS and the special exercises. The
conclusions from the findings are followed with a short discussion on
benefits of PRS-based mental processing exercises for learning programming
and beyond.
In this paper we describe the recent state of our research
project concerning computer science teachers’ knowledge on students’
cognition. We did a comprehensive analysis of textbooks, curricula
and other resources, which give teachers guidance to formulate assignments.
In comparison to other subjects there are only a few concepts
and strategies taught to prospective computer science teachers in university.
We summarize them and given an overview on our empirical
approach to measure this knowledge.
How does the Implementation of a Literacy Learning Tool Kit influence Literacy Skill Acquisition?
(2015)
This study aimed at following how teachers transfer skills
into results while using ABRA literacy software. This was done in
the second part of the pilot study whose aim was to provide equity to
control group teachers and students by exposing them to the ABRACADABRA
treatment after the end of phase 1. This opportunity was
used to follow the phase 1 teachers to see how the skills learned were
being transformed into results. A standard three-day initial training and
planning session on how to use ABRA to teach literacy was held at the
beginning of each phase for ABRA teachers (phase 1 experimental and
phase 2 delayed ABRA). Teachers were provided with teaching materials
including a tentative ABRA curriculum developed to align with the
Kenyan English Language requirements for year 1 and 3 students. Results
showed that although there was no significant difference between
the groups in vocabulary-related subscales which include word reading
and meaning as well as sentence comprehension, students in ABRACADABRA
classes improved their scores at a significantly higher rate
than students in control classes in comprehension related scores. An
average student in the ABRACADABRA group improved by 12 and
16 percentile points respectively compared to their counterparts in the
control group.
The Technology Proficiency Self-Assessment (TPSA) questionnaire
has been used for 15 years in the USA and other nations as a
self-efficacy measure for proficiencies fundamental to effective technology
integration in the classroom learning environment. Internal consistency
reliabilities for each of the five-item scales have typically ranged
from .73 to .88 for preservice or inservice technology-using teachers.
Due to changing technologies used in education, researchers sought to
renovate partially obsolete items and extend self-efficacy assessment to
new areas, such as social media and mobile learning. Analysis of 2014
data gathered on a new, 34 item version of the TPSA indicates that the
four established areas of email, World Wide Web (WWW), integrated
applications, and teaching with technology continue to form consistent
scales with reliabilities ranging from .81 to .93, while the 14 new items
gathered to represent emerging technologies and media separate into
two scales, each with internal consistency reliabilities greater than .9.
The renovated TPSA is deemed to be worthy of continued use in the
teaching with technology context.
Computational Thinking
(2015)
Digital technology has radically changed the way people
work in industry, finance, services, media and commerce. Informatics
has contributed to the scientific and technological development of our
society in general and to the digital revolution in particular. Computational
thinking is the term indicating the key ideas of this discipline that
might be included in the key competencies underlying the curriculum
of compulsory education. The educational potential of informatics has
a history dating back to the sixties. In this article, we briefly revisit this
history looking for lessons learned. In particular, we focus on experiences
of teaching and learning programming. However, computational
thinking is more than coding. It is a way of thinking and practicing interactive
dynamic modeling with computers. We advocate that learners
can practice computational thinking in playful contexts where they can
develop personal projects, for example building videogames and/or robots,
share and discuss their construction with others. In our view, this
approach allows an integration of computational thinking in the K-12
curriculum across disciplines.
How Things Work
(2015)
Recognizing and defining functionality is a key competence
adopted in all kinds of programming projects. This study investigates
how far students without specific informatics training are able to identify
and verbalize functions and parameters. It presents observations
from classroom activities on functional modeling in high school chemistry
lessons with altogether 154 students. Finally it discusses the potential
of functional modelling to improve the comprehension of scientific
content.
This paper originated from discussions about the need for
important changes in the curriculum for Computing including two focus
group meetings at IFIP conferences over the last two years. The
paper examines how recent developments in curriculum, together with
insights from curriculum thinking in other subject areas, especially mathematics
and science, can inform curriculum design for Computing.
The analysis presented in the paper provides insights into the complexity
of curriculum design as well as identifying important constraints and
considerations for the ongoing development of a vision and framework
for a Computing curriculum.
This article shows a discussion about the key competencies
in informatics and ICT viewed from a philosophical foundation presented
by Martha Nussbaum, which is known as ‘ten central capabilities’.
Firstly, the outline of ‘The Capability Approach’, which has been presented
by Amartya Sen and Nussbaum as a theoretical framework of
assessing the state of social welfare, will be explained. Secondly, the
body of Nussbaum’s ten central capabilities and the reason for being
applied as the basis of discussion will be shown. Thirdly, the relationship
between the concept of ‘capability’ and ‘competency’ is to be
discussed. After that, the author’s assumption of the key competencies
in informatics and ICT led from the examination of Nussbaum’s ten
capabilities will be presented.
The objectives of this study were to examine (a) the effect
of dynamic assessment (DA) in a 3D Immersive Virtual Reality
(IVR) environment as compared with computerized 2D and noncomputerized
(NC) situations on cognitive modifiability, and (b) the
transfer effects of these conditions on more difficult problem solving
administered two weeks later in a non-computerized environment. A
sample of 117 children aged 6:6-9:0 years were randomly assigned
into three experimental groups of DA conditions: 3D, 2D, and NC, and
one control group (C). All groups received the pre- and post-teaching
Analogies subtest of the Cognitive Modifiability Battery (CMB-AN).
The experimental groups received a teaching phase in conditions similar
to the pre-and post-teaching phases. The findings showed that cognitive
modifiability, in a 3D IVR, was distinctively higher than in the two
other experimental groups (2D computer group and NC group). It was
also found that the 3D group showed significantly higher performance
in transfer problems than the 2D and NC groups.
BugHunt
(2015)
Competencies related to operating systems and computer
security are usually taught systematically. In this paper we present
a different approach, in which students have to remove virus-like
behaviour on their respective computers, which has been induced by
software developed for this purpose. They have to develop appropriate
problem-solving strategies and thereby explore essential elements of
the operating system. The approach was implemented exemplarily in
two computer science courses at a regional general upper secondary
school and showed great motivation and interest in the participating
students.
In the project MoKoM, which is funded by the German
Research Foundation (DFG) from 2008 to 2012, a test instrument
measuring students’ competences in computer science was developed.
This paper presents the results of an expert rating of the levels of
students’ competences done for the items of the instrument.
At first we will describe the difficulty-relevant features that were
used for the evaluation. These were deduced from computer science,
psychological and didactical findings and resources. Potentials and
desiderata of this research method are discussed further on. Finally
we will present our conclusions on the results and give an outlook on
further steps.
The growing impact of globalisation and the development of
a ‘knowledge society’ have led many to argue that 21st century skills are
essential for life in twenty-first century society and that ICT is central
to their development. This paper describes how 21st century skills, in
particular digital literacy, critical thinking, creativity, communication
and collaboration skills, have been conceptualised and embedded in the
resources developed for teachers in iTEC, a four-year, European project.
The effectiveness of this approach is considered in light of the data
collected through the evaluation of the pilots, which considers both the
potential benefits of using technology to support the development of
21st century skills, but also the challenges of doing so. Finally, the paper
discusses the learning support systems required in order to transform
pedagogies and embed 21st century skills. It is argued that support is
required in standards and assessment; curriculum and instruction; professional
development; and learning environments.
This paper discusses results from a small-scale research
study, together with some recently published research into student
perceptions of ICT for learning in schools, to consider relevant skills
that do not appear to currently being taught. The paper concludes by
raising three issues relating to learning with and through ICT that need
to be addressed in school curricula and classroom teaching.
The Student Learning Ecology
(2015)
Educational research on social media has showed that
students use it for socialisation, personal communication, and informal
learning. Recent studies have argued that students to some degree use
social media to carry out formal schoolwork. This article gives an
explorative account on how a small sample of Norwegian high school
students use social media to self-organise formal schoolwork. This
user pattern can be called a “student learning ecology”, which is a
user perspective on how participating students gain access to learning
resources.
Teaching Data Management
(2015)
Data management is a central topic in computer science as
well as in computer science education. Within the last years, this topic is
changing tremendously, as its impact on daily life becomes increasingly
visible. Nowadays, everyone not only needs to manage data of various
kinds, but also continuously generates large amounts of data. In
addition, Big Data and data analysis are intensively discussed in public
dialogue because of their influences on society. For the understanding of
such discussions and for being able to participate in them, fundamental
knowledge on data management is necessary. Especially, being aware
of the threats accompanying the ability to analyze large amounts of
data in nearly real-time becomes increasingly important. This raises the
question, which key competencies are necessary for daily dealings with
data and data management.
In this paper, we will first point out the importance of data management
and of Big Data in daily life. On this basis, we will analyze which are
the key competencies everyone needs concerning data management to
be able to handle data in a proper way in daily life. Afterwards, we will
discuss the impact of these changes in data management on computer
science education and in particular database education.
Social networks are currently at the forefront of tools that
lend to Personal Learning Environments (PLEs). This study aimed to
observe how students perceived PLEs, what they believed were the
integral components of social presence when using Facebook as part
of a PLE, and to describe student’s preferences for types of interactions
when using Facebook as part of their PLE. This study used mixed
methods to analyze the perceptions of graduate and undergraduate
students on the use of social networks, more specifically Facebook as a
learning tool. Fifty surveys were returned representing a 65 % response
rate. Survey questions included both closed and open-ended questions.
Findings suggested that even though students rated themselves relatively
well in having requisite technology skills, and 94 % of students used
Facebook primarily for social use, they were hesitant to migrate these
skills to academic use because of concerns of privacy, believing that
other platforms could fulfil the same purpose, and by not seeing the
validity to use Facebook in establishing social presence. What lies
at odds with these beliefs is that when asked to identify strategies in
Facebook that enabled social presence to occur in academic work, the
majority of students identified strategies in five categories that lead to
social presence establishment on Facebook during their coursework.
The paper discusses the issue of supporting informatics
(computer science) education through competitions for lower and
upper secondary school students (8–19 years old). Competitions play
an important role for learners as a source of inspiration, innovation,
and attraction. Running contests in informatics for school students
for many years, we have noticed that the students consider the contest
experience very engaging and exciting as well as a learning experience.
A contest is an excellent instrument to involve students in problem
solving activities. An overview of infrastructure and development
of an informatics contest from international level to the national one
(the Bebras contest on informatics and computer fluency, originated
in Lithuania) is presented. The performance of Bebras contests in 23
countries during the last 10 years showed an unexpected and unusually
high acceptance by school students and teachers. Many thousands of
students participated and got a valuable input in addition to their regular
informatics lectures at school. In the paper, the main attention is paid
to the developed tasks and analysis of students’ task solving results in
Lithuania.
The paper presents two approaches to the development of
a Computer Science Competence Model for the needs of curriculum
development and evaluation in Higher Education. A normativetheoretical
approach is based on the AKT and ACM/IEEE curriculum
and will be used within the recommendations of the German
Informatics Society (GI) for the design of CS curricula. An empirically
oriented approach refines the categories of the first one with regard to
specific subject areas by conducting content analysis on CS curricula of
important universities from several countries. The refined model will be
used for the needs of students’ e-assessment and subsequent affirmative
action of the CS departments.
Regardless of what is intended by government curriculum
specifications and advised by educational experts, the competencies
taught and learned in and out of classrooms can vary considerably.
In this paper, we discuss in particular how we can investigate the
perceptions that individual teachers have of competencies in ICT,
and how these and other factors may influence students’ learning. We
report case study research which identifies contradictions within the
teaching of ICT competencies as an activity system, highlighting issues
concerning the object of the curriculum, the roles of the participants and
the school cultures. In a particular case, contradictions in the learning
objectives between higher order skills and the use of application tools
have been resolved by a change in the teacher’s perceptions which
have not led to changes in other aspects of the activity system. We look
forward to further investigation of the effects of these contradictions in
other case studies and on forthcoming curriculum change.
As a result of the Bologna reform of educational systems in
Europe the outcome orientation of learning processes, competence-oriented
descriptions of the curricula and competence-oriented assessment
procedures became standard also in Computer Science Education
(CSE). The following keynote addresses important issues of shaping
a CSE competence model especially in the area of informatics system
comprehension and object-oriented modelling. Objectives and research
methodology of the project MoKoM (Modelling and Measurement
of Competences in CSE) are explained. Firstly, the CSE competence
model was derived based on theoretical concepts and then secondly the
model was empirically examined and refined using expert interviews.
Furthermore, the paper depicts the development and examination of
a competence measurement instrument, which was derived from the
competence model. Therefore, the instrument was applied to a large
sample of students at the gymnasium’s upper class level. Subsequently,
efforts to develop a competence level model, based on the retrieved empirical
results and on expert ratings are presented. Finally, further demands
on research on competence modelling in CSE will be outlined.
Computational thinking is a fundamental skill set that is learned
by studying Informatics and ICT. We argue that its core ideas can
be introduced in an inspiring and integrated way to both teachers and
students using fun and contextually rich cs4fn ‘Computer Science for
Fun’ stories combined with ‘unplugged’ activities including games and
magic tricks. We also argue that understanding people is an important
part of computational thinking. Computational thinking can be fun for
everyone when taught in kinaesthetic ways away from technology.