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Proceedings ArticleDOI

Computer science olympiad: exploring computer science through competition

12 Mar 2008-Vol. 40, Iss: 1, pp 92-96
TL;DR: The implementation, results, and future directions of the Spelman College Computer Science Olympiad are presented.
Abstract: Generating interest in specialized areas of Computer Science (CS) is one of the goals of the department of Computer and Information Science at Spelman College as with most departments. Achieving this goal in a new, exciting, and innovative manner provided the inspiration to establish the Spelman College Computer Science Olympiad (SC CS Olympiad). The SC CS Olympiad is patterned after the Olympics athletic event. Students participate in the Olympiad as a part of a team as with the Olympics. In addition, there are several events for competition as there are in the Olympics. The events are designed to expose students to the interesting breadth of CS over several days. In this paper, the events are in the following categories: Cryptography, Robotics, Website Design, Hardware and Software Integration, and Programming. Teams use their CS knowledge and problem-solving skills to complete hands-on exercises in each area. Each teams receives points based on the quality of their results from the exercise. In this paper, we present the implementation, results, and future directions of the Spelman College Computer Science Olympiad.
Citations
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01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: 2012 [AS13b, Wal12a], 2013 [Alv13, Bar13, Cam13, Car13, CCS13, Cut13, Edi14, Swe13].
Abstract: 2012 [AS13b, Wal12a]. 2013 [Alv13, Bar13, Cam13, Car13, CCS13, Cut13, Edi14, Swe13]. 2014 [CDS13, DN14, ND14, Rod14, Tym14a]. 2015 [DeL14a, DeL14b, She15b]. 2016 [AT16a, CCV16, CCV17, MR15, SDCT16a, SDCT16c, She16a]. 2017 [DG17, EC17, Fit18b, MJ18, TCSM17, TCM17]. 2018 [BG18b, DD17, Dec19b, Gol18, JI18, MKMP18, MMK18, PQH17, She18]. 2019 [Cut19, FI19, HPQ19, MP19a, MPRM19, MP19b, MS19, Rod18, She19a]. 2020 [DH19].

169 citations

Proceedings ArticleDOI
24 Feb 2015
TL;DR: The theme was designed to focus on "Wear & Care" and collaborative arrangements in a hardware hackathon, called StitchFest, in which 33 undergraduate and graduate students used the LilyPad Arduino to design wearables.
Abstract: While coding competitions and hackathons have steadily increased in number, few women participate. Because these public events present viable opportunities to broaden participation in computing, we designed the theme to focus on "Wear & Care" and collaborative arrangements in a hardware hackathon, called StitchFest, in which 33 undergraduate and graduate students used the LilyPad Arduino to design wearables. Our analysis focused on the interviews conducted with eight female and seven male college participants to understand how targeted recruitment, thematic framing, space arrangements, kinds of materials and material distribution impacted participation and perception. We discuss what we learned about setting a thematic focus and fostering collaborative learning in coding competitions for broadening participation in computing.

82 citations

Book ChapterDOI
03 Dec 2009
TL;DR: The current paper discusses the contests and olympiads in informatics arranged internationally and continuously and the main attention is paid to the model of International Olympiad in Informatics and International Contest on Informatic and Computer Fluency.
Abstract: Three decades ago high school computing was highly consistent with academic and professional world. This consistency was destroyed when school curricula began to emphasize information and communication technology skills at the expense of computer science. Recently many countries began to think how to re-establish informatics education in schools and how to attract pupils to choose optional modules related to computer science. Although informatics is not taught as a discipline in many countries, pupils are invited to participate in different contests on informatics organized all over the world. When pupils get interested in programming contests, they are looking for training and gain some informatics education. Contests are exceptionally valuable for motivating and involving pupils in computer science. The current paper discusses the contests and olympiads in informatics arranged internationally and continuously. The main attention is paid to the model of International Olympiad in Informatics and International Contest on Informatics and Computer Fluency (named Bebras in Lithuanian, or Beaver in English).

47 citations


Cites background from "Computer science olympiad: explorin..."

  • ...The most famous informal way to introduce informatics are contests and olympiads on programming [13, 14]....

    [...]

Proceedings ArticleDOI
27 Jun 2011
TL;DR: This working group report, based on practice in Europe, Australasia and North America, provides an updated and revised literature review, analyses a larger collection of survey data and has sought to triangulate earlier findings with qualitative data from practitioner interviews.
Abstract: Academics expend a large amount of time and effort to sustain and enhance the motivation of undergraduate students. Typically based on a desire to ensure that all students achieve their full potential, approaches are based on an understanding that students who are highly motivated will learn more. Furthermore, institutional rewards accrue from effective use of academics' time, along with financial benefits associated with high levels of retention and progression. This working group report, based on practice in Europe, Australasia and North America, builds on previous work. It provides an updated and revised literature review, analyses a larger collection of survey data and has sought to triangulate earlier findings with qualitative data from practitioner interviews. The report covers established approaches in teaching, support and extra-curricular activities. It tracks emerging practice such as streamed and differentiated teaching, and research based and authentic learning. It also considers contemporary innovations in student activities. Finally it reports on a repository of tips and techniques which has been established to support faculty wishing to change or review current methods.

28 citations


Cites background from "Computer science olympiad: explorin..."

  • ...Key reasons why university teachers use competitions when they are teaching students to program include: testing students’ ability, design, understanding and implementation [24]; students strengthening their basic programming skills and insight into practical problems [60, 86]; learning effective teamwork and communication [18, 24, 60]; and stimulating student enthusiasm....

    [...]

Proceedings ArticleDOI
28 Jun 2010
TL;DR: The aim of this working group was to explore the ways in which academics around the world enthuse their high achieving students; seeking things that work and things that don't.
Abstract: It would be unlikely for any first year programming class to be solely composed of novices with the same aptitude for learning. We all have students who arrive with a range of abilities and backgrounds. We have students who barely know their way around a keyboard and those who have programmed professionally; this starting knowledge is also no indicator of learning ability. We need to support struggling students with little knowledge whilst maintaining the enthusiasm of those who are quick to learn, and trying not to de-motivate the ones in the middleThe aim of this working group was to explore the ways in which academics around the world enthuse their high achieving students; seeking things that work and things that don't. This has been achieved by a mixture of literature review and survey of current practice. The synthesis of these forms the basis for the recommendations we make.

24 citations


Cites background from "Computer science olympiad: explorin..."

  • ...Much has been written about helping the students who struggle with learning to program [6, 19, 20, 40, 55, 61, 81 , 85, 117, 118, 124, 125]....

    [...]

  • ...Competition can also be the spur that pushes a very ordinary student to achieve much more and it is a fact that a competition win will greatly enhance a new graduates’ CV. The role and value of competitions as a component of student learning has been recognized in a variety of contexts [18, 81 , 94, 140]....

    [...]

References
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Proceedings ArticleDOI
Wendy E. Mackay1
01 May 1995
TL;DR: This paper presents actual examples of questionable videotaping practices, and explains why one cannot simply borrow ethical guidelines from other professions, and proposes a proposal for developing usable ethical guidelines for the capture, analysis and presentation of video.
Abstract: Videotape has become one of the CHI community's most useful technologies: it allows us to analyze users' interactions with computers, prototype new interfaces, and present the results of our research and technical innovations to others. But video is a double-edged sword. It is often misused, however unintentionally. How can we use it well, without compromising our integrity? This paper presents actual examples of questionable videotaping practices. Next, it explains why we cannot simply borrow ethical guidelines from other professions. It concludes with a proposal for developing usable ethical guidelines for the capture, analysis and presentation of video.

122 citations