An inexpensive device to assist in teaching the main ideas of Public Key encryption and its use in class to illustrate the operation of public key encryption is described. It illustrates that there are two keys, and is particularly useful for illustrating that privacy is achieved by using the public key. Initial data from in class use seem to…

Information systems educators must balance the need to protect the stability, availability, and security of computer laboratories with the learning objectives of various courses. In advanced courses where students need to install, configure, and otherwise manipulate application and operating system settings, this is especially problematic as these…

Functions are all around us, disguised as actions on concrete objects. Composition of functions, too, is all around us, because these actions can be performed in succession, the output of one serving as the input for the next. In terms of Gray and Tall's (2001) "embodied objects" or Lakoff and Nunez's (2000) "mathematical idea…

This article presents how the fast expansion of information technology industry in eastern Slovakia is putting a strain on its labor supply. Suddenly, computer-science graduates have become one of the former Eastern Bloc's greatest assets, attracting multinational technology companies hungry for skilled programmers, technicians, and engineers.…

This paper investigates students' perceptions of their acquisition of knowledge management skills, namely thinking and team-building skills, resulting from the integration of various resources and technologies into an entirely team-based, online upper level distributed computing (DC) information systems (IS) course. Results seem to indicate that…

SystemC is a system-level design and simulation language based on C++. We've been using SystemC for computer organization and design projects for the past several years. Because SystemC is embedded in C++ it contains the powerful abstraction mechanisms of C++ not found in traditional hardware description languages, such as support for…

A program at Bowling Green State University which combines a broad computer science background with teaching experiences and education courses is described. (Author)

A description of a regional network of five small colleges supported by a university timesharing computer system which provided the experimental setting for a teacher education program in educational applications of computers. (Author)

The paper discusses factors contributing to the problem of preparing present and future teachers to accept and become skilled in the use of computers in the instructional process, and the obstacles to achieving a solution. (Author)

Learning to program involves developing an understanding of two hierarchies of concepts. One hierarchy consists of data and extends from very literal data (which represents only itself) to very abstract data incorporating variable values in complex interrelationships. The other hierarchy consists of the operations performed on the data and extends…

Several major universities are not granting academic credit to students who pass the College Board's Advanced Placement Test in Computer Science. Issues related to this trend and to the teaching of computer science in high schools and in colleges are explored. (JN)

This study identified computer objectives based on recommendations of the authoritative accounting bodies, determined whether the typical introductory computer course has these same objectives, and examined the influence of the academic department responsible for teaching the course. Relationships between department and course objectives,…

A pair of abacuses is used to illustrate addition, subtraction (by adding complements), multiplication, and division, with simplified examples given to illustrate the various features of each operation. Also indicates how this information can help students understand computer operations. (JN)

Mandates related to computer education have made their presence felt nationwide. Provided are ideas about and suggestions for computer training in schools and teacher education to help determine the content behind these mandates. These include making computers tools in all curricula and continued teacher retraining without mandates. (JN)

The Web, the Internet, the intranet and associated resources, campus computer labs, smart classrooms, course management systems, and a plethora of software packages all offer opportunities for every classroom instructor to enrich in-class and out-of-class activities. Why should an instructor consider the integration of technology into their…