The vast majority of complex engineering tasks in today's business world are completed using a team-oriented approach. Therefore, teaching collaborative skills to university students can be viewed as a practical means of enhancing their employability. With these goals in mind, the authors developed a network environment that helps Taiwanese…

The authors conducted ethnographic research to provide deep understanding of the learning environment of a selection of computer science classrooms at a large, research university in the United States. Categories emerging from data analysis included (1) impersonal environment and guarded behavior; and (2) the creation and maintenance of informal…

This study examined how midterm student ratings feedback provided to teaching assistants via a theory-based ratings instrument, combined with consultation on instructional practices, would affect teaching practices, ratings of teaching effectiveness, and student learning and motivation. The student ratings instrument that was employed focused on a…

This study investigated gender differences for college computer science majors in Taiwan. Subjects were college students enrolled in five universities offering computer science programs. A total of 940 valid questionnaires were collected, including 796 males (85%) and 144 females (15%). Significant gender differences were not found for most of the…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is apprenticeship for real-life problem solving, helping students acquire the knowledge and skills required in the workplace. Although the acquisition of knowledge and skills makes it possible for performance to occur, without self-efficacy the performance may not even be attempted. I examined how student…

This newsletter focuses on the importance of reading and writing skills in all educational and career pathways. It includes a variety of strategies for integrating reading and writing skills across the curriculum--in academic, career/technical and fine arts courses--in ways that improve student achievement in reading and writing and in the content…

Web-based, e-learning classes, or online classes that use a proprietary course management system such as Blackboard, are an increasingly prominent part of higher education, particularly in community colleges. In fact, more than three-quarters of community colleges now offer the same course in face-to-face and online modes. And community colleges…

In keeping with the outcome-based assessment outlined by ABET's Education Criteria 2000, the School of Engineering at the University of Bridgeport has defined fifteen general student outcomes for its computer engineering program. These outcomes form the basis of its instructional program and assessment activities. In assessing and monitoring the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the use of a non-expensive dynamic computing resource, consisting of a Beowulf class cluster and a NoW, as an educational and research infrastructure. Design/methodology/approach: Clusters, built using commodity-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware components and free, or commonly used, software, provide…

The under-representation and poor retention of women in computing courses at Victoria University is a concern that has continued to defy all attempts to resolve it. Despite a range of initiatives created to encourage participation and improve retention of females in the courses, the percentage of female enrolments has declined significantly in…

This article tells the story of the design, development and presentation of eighteen months of coursework for a Master's degree programme in Computer-Integrated education at the Sudan University of Science and Technology in Khartoum from 2002 to 2004. The focus is on what was learnt in adapting a programme presented at the University of Pretoria…

Teachers' perceptions are critical to the success or failure of integrating computer games with educational features into classrooms. Consequently, it is essential to gather information about concerns they might have in regard to using these games in the classroom. This study was conducted to investigate the perceptions and future plans of a group…

In March 1994, Quebec's Commission on the Evaluation of Collegiate Teaching initiated an evaluation of computer science programs in province colleges. This report describes the evaluation process and presents results. The first section describes the following four stages of the evaluation: the formation of a consulting committee and evaluation…

Central State University (Ohio), under a contract with Nichols Research Corporation, has developed a World Wide web based workshop on high performance computing entitled "IBN SP2 Parallel Programming Workshop." The research is part of the DoD (Department of Defense) High Performance Computing Modernization Program. The research…

This research project brings a critical perspective to the examination of computer literacy as an ideological form through a study of the reactions of high school teachers and students. On-site interviews with teachers and students found both acceptance of and resistance to the message of adjustment to an inevitable future of vocational and…