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Pages
- Contributor(s)
- Katrin Becker
- Date issued
- 1983
- Description
- All introductory programming students must learn the syntax of the language they are to use. The problems that students have learning syntax are described, and a teaching methodology is suggested. Two types of exercises are explained which will help the students learn syntax, and the reactions of the students who have used them are outlined.
- Type
- conference publication
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- J. R. Parker; Katrin Becker
- Date issued
- 1983
- Description
- The teaching of computer architecture at a low level is made difficult by the complexity of the real systems which are used as examples and tools. This paper describes a processor simulation system which is intended for use at the second and third year undergraduate level for teaching techniques and concepts in the implementation of instruction sets and microprogramming. The important features of this system are in the user interface, and not necessarily in the actual processor which is simulated.
- Type
- technical report
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Michael S. Quinn; Geoffrey L. Holroyd
- Date issued
- 1989
- Type
- article
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Michael S. Quinn; Geoffrey L. Holroyd
- Date issued
- 1992
- Description
- The mating status of house wrens was defined by social behavior and not strictly sexual relations. The incidence of polygyny was estimated by comparing the number of polygynous matings to the total number of nest attempts.
- Type
- article
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Dorothy P. Hill
- Date issued
- 1998
- Description
- I report observations consistent with the interpretation that a Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus) fledgling from a first brood begged for and received food from its parents at a their second brood nest. All five nestlings in the second brood subsequently died and starvation appeared to be the major factor contributing to their deaths. This is the first reported case of apparent between-brood sibling competition in a passerine species and it fits the criteria of a parent-offspring conflict.
- Type
- article
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Katrin Becker; Melissa Beacham
- Date issued
- 2000
- Description
- In order to design and write effective, robust code using advanced data structures, it is crucial to achieve a thorough understanding of the algorithms used to manipulate these structures. One means of accomplishing the task is to provide students with a graphical, animated system that allows users to observe changes that the structure undergoes while it is being used. One such system has been developed which demonstrates B-Trees. Some preliminary testing is complete and some initial reactions of the students who have tried the system are outlined.
- Type
- conference publication
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Katrin Becker
- Date issued
- 2000
- Description
- Most courses taught in Computer Science still use the traditional lecture plus lab format, usually with one or more required texts as reference. While many instructors now also use the web to augment this, many if not most use it simply as a convenient place to put materials they would normally hand out on paper in class. Some keep all their lecture notes and slides on their laptops or on the web and then display them during class as the basis for their lectures. Students do find it useful to have access to lecture notes and many appreciate being able to print out lecture notes before a class so they can follow along during lectures. Since access to computers and skill in their use is...
- Type
- offprint
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Katrin Becker
- Date issued
- 2001
- Description
- The value of games as a vehicle for teaching concepts while inspiring students is now well accepted at almost all levels of education. Video games, arcade and computer games are rarely given the same kind of attention. This paper will describe the value of computer games as a motivator and some of the benefits that can be realized by using known computer games as programming applications, even in the first year of a CS program. The use of two such games as assignments in CS1 and CS2 is outlined and some feedback on the experience is offered.
- Type
- article
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Katrin Becker; J. R. Parker
- Date issued
- 2003
- Description
- Two approaches to teaching Computer Science are compared, using two sets of assignments given to distinct CS102 lecture sections during the same semester. The complexity and effort represented by the solutions is compared using software engineering metrics, giving a measure of the effectiveness of the two assignment sets.
- Type
- conference publication
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Katrin Becker
- Date issued
- 2003
- Description
- The Theory of Multiple Intelligences has become quite widely accepted and it has been shown that learning can be improved by addressing the various intelligences.
- Type
- conference publication
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Katrin Becker
- Date issued
- 2003
- Description
- Students in first year often begin with dramatically different backgrounds and abilities. In an effort to address the needs of all, varying levels of completion (stages) can be described in the assignment specifications.
- Type
- presentations (communicative events)
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Katrin Becker
- Date issued
- 2003
- Description
- Rubrics are a relatively well understood assessment instrument, although it doesn't appear to be heavily used in CSE. "Learning increases, even in its serendipitous aspects, when learners have a sense of what they are setting out to learn, a statement of explicit standards they must meet, and a way of seeing what they have learned." [Loac86] "Assessment requires [faculty] to articulate... explicit and public statements of criteria of performance. By doing so, faculty refine their own understanding of expected abilities, clarify for their colleagues the basis of their judgment, and enable students to understand what performance is required."
- Type
- posters
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Katrin Becker
- Date issued
- 2004
- Description
- This paper outlines a new approach that permits the use of an inquiry-based style of learning while still meeting the requirements typical of a more traditional lecture and content-based format. The students are informed of the overall course objectives and given the freedom to choose how they will meet these goals. The goals and outcomes of the course or unit are described in detail using a rubric; a large set of problems to solve is collected or created, and the solutions to the problems are analyzed and mapped onto the course rubric. By providing students with this very large set of pre-analyzed problems from which to choose, it is possible to permit learners a great deal of freedom....
- Type
- conference publication
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Katrin Becker
- Date issued
- 2004
- Type
- presentations (communicative events)
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- J. R. Parker; Ryan Heavy Head; Katrin Becker
- Date issued
- 2005
- Description
- Aboriginal languages all over the world are threatened with extinction. Aboriginal youth from Canada to New Zealand are not becoming fluent in their language and culture, and the number of fluent speakers is declining severely. The use of computer games in general, and portable platforms in particular, is proposed here as a partial solution to the problem.
- Type
- conference publication
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Katrin Becker
- Date issued
- 2005
- Description
- 1. Explain Online Games. 2. Explain why they should not be ignored. 3. Look at some related communities. 4. Look at what happens in and around games.
- Type
- presentations (communicative events)
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Katrin Becker
- Date issued
- 2005
- Description
- Several ways to address learning are: 1) through learning theories, 2) through learning styles (treated as distinct from learning theories here), and 3) through instructional design theories and models. This paper looks at the second approach to examine how modern games support various learning styles in their design and gameplay. Four well-known learning style models are examined in the context of computer game design. These are: the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, the Gregory Style Delineator, Felder’s Index of Learning Styles, and Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory. Good, i.e. top-rated games can be shown to incorporate aspects of most, if not all of these, and in this way actively support...
- Type
- presentations (communicative events)
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Katrin Becker
- Date issued
- 2005
- Description
- Through the combined efforts of many dedicated researchers across the globe, the “message” of the value of games for learning is starting to be heard in formal education, but there remains considerable resistance. One way to help overcome this resistance and influence the acceptance and integration of games as educational technology is through the connection of existing game design with scholarly and widely accepted pedagogy. This paper outlines the theories of Robert Gagné, and Howard Gardner to demonstrate how good games, even purely commercial ones, already embody the fundamental elements of these learning and instructional theories. In this way, it can be shown that good games...
- Type
- conference publication
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Katrin Becker; J. R. Parker
- Date issued
- 2005
- Description
- The quest for interesting, engaging, yet doable programming assignments is an ongoing one. Authentic, realistic examples have often been drawn from business, and games have often been overlooked as being too narrow in scope. This paper explains why computer games, especially classic arcade games are ideal vehicles for learning to program.
- Type
- conference publication
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology
- Contributor(s)
- Katrin Becker
- Date issued
- 2005
- Description
- When looking at how the different forms of modern media have been used for educative purposes and which particular instances have been chosen, one notion stands out – the majority of the most remarkable and effective “lessons” taught to us have been created by extraordinarily talented writers, directors, and producers together with their teams. They have, by and large, not been created by professional educators or instructional designers. Far from trying to sell educators and instructional designers short, we should recognize the opportunities afforded us in studying these outstanding examples of “educational” objects, and try to learn why they have the impact they do. By “studying the...
- Type
- posters
- Appears in collection(s)
- Science and Technology