I found this article as I was perusing the gaming techniques in programming. It was very insightful and is exactly where we are:
Georgia Tech is gaining national recognition as a university that is coming to the rescue of computer science.
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, as enrollment numbers in college computer science departments especially among women continue to dwindle, "professors are contemplating ever-more-elaborate strategies to keep the United States from slipping further in the international engineering sweepstakes." One particular strategy is to revamp and rebrand computer science programs to broaden its appeal.
More than a dozen universities have created "media computation" programs, which hope to introduce students to computer science through digital art and Web design, not traditional programming, according to the Associated Press.
Tucker Balch, an associate professor at Georgia Tech, told the AP that the course is an attempt to combat "prime number" syndrome. That disease, he said, afflicts computer science departments that typically ask newcomers to write dull programs performing mathematical algorithms.
Tech's approach, the Chronicle said, "may also save computer science in America."
My sentiments exactly. It will be interesting to follow this and see where it lands.
Reference:
http://gtalumni.org/buzzwords/jun07/article228.html
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Hi Debbie -- It's interesting that Georgia Tech was sited in this article. They must be very innovative. I remember about 8 years ago when I was pushing to have adjuncts get more than just a fancy title, I learned that Georgia Tech has what they call Fulltime Adjuncts -- in return for getting crummy adjunct pay, they get medical insurance, are guaranteed a certain number of sections per semester, and some other perks. Why would anyone pick this alternative (with poor pay)? No required meetings, fewer office hours, no stress to publish or join committees -- a perfect alternative to a single parent or a grad student. Which is neither here nor there as far as your topic goes but it shows that Georgia Tech is quite a forward-looking place!
ReplyDeleteAlso, from my time at the SIGCSE conference in Chattanooga this month, I can definitely say that every computer science program is getting on board with gaming.
Looks like this is where I need to go with Internet Programming -- funny, because when I first designed the course (8 years ago) I made up my own projects and they were all little games. Then a lot of texts were published so I thought the texts could do a better job than I could and we gave up programming games in favor of the textbook assignments. Shoulda trusted my own instincts!
Thanks for the excellent post -- gives me a lot to think about! --> Liz