This innovative practice paper presents an approach to make computer science (CS) in general and programming in particular more approachable for college students. Introductory programming classes can be difficult for learners; especially those without any programming background. Beginners must learn a new way of thinking, made more difficult by issues learning syntax. It's especially hard for students who lack a strong mathematics background. Observations across 3 editions of a CS0 pre-intro-programming course show that students consistently overestimate difficulties, and, come away with a stronger motivation for studying programming in the future as well as considering computer science (CS) and data science (DS) majors, minors, and certificates as options for future study after completion. A wider variety of students consider CS-adjacent college programs, and this can have an appreciable impact on the diversity of the student body entering CS/DS programs. We have found that long term success in CS/DS is predicted by strong motivational factors. While many high school students bring a strong motivation for pursuing CS/DS due to socioeconomic factors (exposure through people they know) and availability of coursework in high school; for other students, some may not have considered CS/DS as an option due to perceived difficulty as well as steep math requirements that function as barriers-to-entry. A CS0 pre-programming course like ours explicitly centers itself as “coding-is-fun” and encourages creativity. Students engage strongly with and are motivated to put in extra outside-of-class work required for mastery of material. We have limited evidence due to the fact that the data we have is from our small liberal arts college, however, 2 key factors make our observations and analysis valuable: 1) being a Hispanic-Serving-Institution (HSI) and an Asian-American and Native-American Pacific-Islander Serving-Institution (AANAPISI) we have a diverse student body, and 2) we are not a highly selective college which brings in a wide variety of students in terms of prior preparation. Having a CS0 pre-programming” coding-is-fun” allows this diverse student body to “test-the-waters” and, if interested, to pursue further CS/DS education by reducing the barrier-to-entry. We present data on: student perceptions before/after taking the course; the numbers of students considering further study including the breakdown of course-based vs self-study; and the tremendous numbers of students who find coding easier and therefore something they will use in their future life regardless of whether they formally plan to study CS/DS. The final point is critical in terms of adjusting to life in the 21st century as many fields/professions continue to increasingly be influenced by information and data technologies.

There continues to be growing interest in including ethics in undergraduate computer science and engineering education. While this impulse is greatly welcome, the subject of ethics and how it relates to the profession and professional practice can be somewhat abstract. The style of teaching and learning about ethics varies from theoretical philosophy courses to courses that carefully examine the harms and impacts of systems and technologies. Students do not necessarily leave with models of how to continue thinking about ethics in the profession or a framework that they can easily apply in the future. This poster presents a question directed framework that is used in teaching of a tech ethics course. The questions are easy to understand and repeat instruction makes it natural for students to always use the questions to guide their thinking towards ethical matters throughout the course. The questions are memorable, and it is expected that students will continue applying this ethical framework in the future as they step into a profession in which they will inevitably have to grapple with ethical questions due to how closely our profession is tied to human life now and in the future. The framework also specifically addresses the how of ethical professional practice which teaches students about how to build community and social capital in the workplace and thus make it easier to advocate for ethical behavior.

Introductory programming has evolved in many places to become a CS0 course, enabling students to get their feet wet with programming without completing significant math coursework. A scan of CS programs shows that a majority of CS1 programming courses that count towards an undergraduate CS degree continue to have a math or CS0 prerequisite. This experience report discusses the impact of removing the math prerequisite at an R2 university and a small liberal arts college. Having minimal prerequisites has beneficial effects in terms of diversifying the CS student body as well as enabling students to begin CS coursework early, often in the first semester, potentially impacting persistence, but also enabling students to decide, early, if CS is right for them. The high success rate of students of various backgrounds taking CS certificates and pursuing graduate school also shows that aggressive prerequisites in the past may have been functioning as barriers to entering CS programs. If we are serious about supporting diversity, we need to acknowledge the wide disparity in high school education nationwide and that prerequisites are perhaps functioning as a needless barrier. Where the CS0 course doesn't count towards a degree, or there isn't space for that requirement in the program, it is also worth considering whether the CS0 prerequisite is necessary.

Spectrum is a public resource; yet understanding how spectrum is allocated and used is a daunting task. Usable spectrum is already fully allocated, but the demand for spectrum continues to grow and there are opportunities for utilizing spectrum in more efficient ways. Understanding how spectrum is allocated and its utilization in time and space is necessary to take advantage of these emerging opportunities. A combination of fragmented information from varied information sources, a complex regulatory environment, variability of regulations and physics by band, real-time spectrum usage dynamics, and a status quo with knowledge concentration among a few, makes understanding spectrum a considerable challenge for all stakeholders including researchers, students, policymakers, and new telecom operators. After considerable study of spectrum, its allocation, regulation, and usage, we have developed a system architecture that is a significant step towards easing the burden of understanding spectrum information. Our system architecture connects information from disparate sources and leads to a richer understanding of spectrum usage, how it is governed, and its potential for future use. Classes of information are modeled as knowledge graphs, and the interplay of knowledge graphs produces a richer set of insight and can lead to more informed decision-making. Further, we show mechanisms for connecting spectrum information with real-time observations to get a comprehensive view of spectrum usage dynamics. While focused on the United States, this work should be applicable to other spectrum contexts worldwide. This work, of considerable technical value, also has democratic value in making complex information accessible and allowing the public to determine whether spectrum, a natural resource, is being used for the public good.