Group items tagged

This is an article from Workshop On Computer Architecture Education in the Proceedings of the 2007 workshop on Computer architecture education. The authors are concerned about the computer science curriculum at Georgia Tech and how so many different subtopics of computing have made their way into a computer science degree. So by reconsidering what should be considered the core of computer science, they define what is necessary for a computer science student to know at the hardware level. I find this article interesting because its cause does not only apply to George Tech, but to all computer science curricula nationwide. The main academic concern of the article is the separation of operating system courses and courses in computer architecture. The operating system is so close to the architecture that the two should be wrapped into one. This would streamline the hardware and software level of interaction and reduce confusion caused by the separation of these areas of study.

This is a panel discussion in the Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges that aims to address the issues associated with the advent of readily available multi-core and clustered computing systems. Moore's law has driven microprocessor architects to design platforms that exploit the performance gain of multi-core processors. The problem resides in the fact that many computer science curricula do not touch upon parallel computing because while the fundamentals may be relatively basic, other aspects of the technology is extremely difficult for students to understand and implement. However, this is the direction computer systems are headed and something must be done to utilize this technology to its fullest extent.

This is an article from the Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education in the Proceedings of the 40th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education. The article lays out a "ground up" approach to learning a complete picture of computer architecture. Instead of learning a complex and convoluted set of rules that dictates how the hardware works symbiotically with software, the authors modularize the process by creating a hands on approach to computer architecture. By starting out at the hardware level and then building to the level of abstraction created by modern operating systems and programming languages, a complete picture of how the computer functions can be obtained. I find this article interesting as it reverses the typical approach of understanding computer architecture. Instead of looking down at the hardware from the software above, the engineer or scientist can understand the ties that are created between machine level language and the hardware.

This is a panel discussion in the Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges that questions the importance of digital logic for the future of computer science. The discussion is composed of different individuals from different universities who share their own view concerning the foundation of the digital computer. This is a good example of a discussion warning against a great degree of abstraction between the underlying hardware and the high-level developer. The fact is that everything in computer science is built upon the fundamentals of digital logic and without an understanding of this logic, the connection between theory and practice is lost.

This is an article from ACM International Conference Proceeding Series; Vol. 8 in the Proceedings of the Australasian conference on Computing education. The authors of the article discuss an initiative that took place at Monash University that was designed to inform secondary school students of the area of digital hardware and computing, including employment opportunity from this area of study. The students were given a project named "Smart House", aptly named because it was to be an automated home system based upon the development of custom hardware and software. I find this article interesting because it is a unique way to introduce an ambiguous area of study, such as "Digital Systems", to students who might not necessarily know what the area of study is. By offering a hands on project to students based in a field that they might have never heard of before, a greater understanding of the opportunities available in this area of study are gained.

This is an article in the Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges that argues the point that the majority of students possess basic computing skills, e.g., WWW, email, search engines (Google), instant messaging, etc., but this knowledge is not founded upon the technology itself; rather, students are mere consumers who learn to use such technologies only because they possess meaningful functionality.

This article is about an experiment that was done to test the knowledge of elderly adults. There were 137 participants and the test lasted for about five weeks. The test proved that if the elderly were given a course about internet and computer use, they were more open to using it and did not stress or have anxiety over it. They also were given internet/computer courses about health that improved there health literacy.

This is an ACM Computing Surveys article that breaks up the act of computer programming into the simplest of forms: symbols that make up expressions that make up larger constructs by following the syntax of a given language. It does this by analyzing the paradigm of specialized programming languages designed specifically for the beginner programmer. Not only does the beginner learn how to program in a particular language, but the language should not hinder the design of algorithms and constructs that are utilized across many different platforms. The article also details the pros and cons of the enumerated languages and whether or not they follow this paradigm.

This examins the computer-assisted learning(CAL). This helps people examin words and see what they mean. It also helps you say the word which is very helpful for some kids.

This is an article from ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review. The authors of the article emphasis the importance of simulation in designing and virtually testing components of computer architecture. They also suggest that simulators can be used as teaching tools for exposing tough to grasp concepts in both the hardware and machine level language that are otherwise impossible to understand. I find this article insightful because it suggests that utilization of such simulators at the architecture level will lead to much more efficient hardware by use of metrics used in virtual performance tests. However, design of accurate enough simulators have proven to be an arduous task, which is addressed by the article.

This is an article from Design, Automation, and Test in Europe in Proceedings of the conference on Design, automation and test in Europe. The author of the article suggests the creation of a new type of profession that might result from the rapid advancement of hardware and software. Instead of having two separate entities that develop computer systems, the hardware and software professions, there will be one profession that handles the development of both. However, both existing professions would need to join together to make this possible. The hardware technology produced from this joining would be similar to field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), an architecture that can be "reprogrammed" on the fly. This profession would be more like the software development profession as the hardware can be reprogrammed for a particular task. I find this interesting as it could technically eliminate the lack of communication between hardware and software engineers as one would be handling both.

This article explains how graphing calculators can be used in calculus to benefit students, and also how graphing calculators are changing the way that calculus is being taught. One issue that sets this article apart from the other articles is its assessment of how students are required by most schools to purchase their own calculators. This article analyzes the effect this can have on how the class should be taught, and how calculators put students at advantages and disadvantages depending on how they are used, and how students with more computing power excelled or failed compared to those with the less powerful model of calculator.

This text talks about how the technology effect kids. Kids with dissabilities say that there technologies have really helped with the speech and spelling for them.

This is an article from International Conference on Supercomputing in the Proceedings of the 19th annual international conference on Supercomputing. The article provides an in depth analysis of a particular technique in monitoring performance in real-time of hardware performance counters that then further analysis of bottlenecks in the microarchitecture and the software that meets hardware at a high-level abstraction layer. This real-time analysis can improve the optimization of existing software systems and lead to more efficient platforms, even applications in parallel computing. I found this article interesting as it is a technique that can improve the level of hardware literacy not only within the hardware engineering community, but it is also a technique that can be used by software developers to study the performance of their code in real life circumstances.

Internet technology has come out with a new technology called computer-assisted learning. The CAL is a web-based technology that is used for kids with disabilities.

Parents and students in a growing number of schools can track fluctuations in a grade-point average from the nearest computer in real time, a ritual that can become as addictive as watching political polls or a stock-market index.

A film on OhioLINK. Could be useful background information for those researching bilingualism. Melvyn Bragg begins the story of English in Holland, finding ancestral echoes in the Frisian dialect. What follows is a chapter on survival as the English language weathers Viking and Norman invasions, vying with and eventually absorbing rival tongues. Lively settings such as village pubs and markets bring home the lasting influence of Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse, and Old French. The connection between Christianity, Latin, and an alphabet is explored, as well as the role of the language's first champion, King Alfred the Great. Nobel prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney reads from and discusses the first epic in English, Beowulf. This menu-driven disc can be viewed using a DVD player or computer DVD-ROM drive. (50 minutes, color) Part of the "Adventures in English" series.

A film on OhioLINK. Could be helpful for those students studying Biblical literacy. In late-medieval England, English quietly ousted French in law and government but the move to make it God's language meant bloodshed. This enhanced DVD looks at the battle for a Bible in English, a struggle with huge impact on the language itself. Dramatic readings from successive English Bibles show the language's evolution. Location footage and original manuscripts illustrate key figures and events, such as John Wycliffe, the Lollards, and the first English Bible; William Langland's Piers Plowman; Henry V's official correspondence; the role of the Chancery or English civil service; William Caxton's printing press; William Tyndale's translation; and the King James Bible. Can be viewed using a DVD player or computer DVD-ROM drive. (50 minutes, color) Part of the "Adventures of English" series.