Scaffolded Projects for the Social Good (SPSG) equips computing educators with a low-barrier framework for embedding sustainable, community-partnered software projects into existing software-engineering and capstone courses. In this three-hour, hands-on tutorial participants will step through the full SPSG lifecycle using a realistic nonprofit case study. Interactive segments include rapid feasibility vetting with a partner conversation guide; creation of a Team Agreement to set expectations; simulated client interviews that seed a well-scoped product backlog; application of detailed sprint-evaluation rubrics that deliver formative feedback; and knowledge-transfer techniques that enable seamless hand-off between semesters. Small-group work and whole-room debriefs provide immediate practice and peer feedback. The session culminates in an implementation clinic where facilitators help participants sketch a first-semester adoption plan aligned with local constraints and program learning outcomes. Attendees will leave with an editable toolkit including rubrics, deliverable templates, project-screening checklists, and other adoption aids, ready for use next term. After completing the tutorial, participants will be able to (1) identify feasible, socially impactful projects and build productive relationships with community partners; (2) scaffold student deliverables with meaningful, iterative feedback; and (3) sustain multi-semester projects without adding new courses or staff. The tutorial targets instructors of upper-division software-engineering, capstone, or project-based courses who seek to broaden students' technical competence, professional identity, and civic responsibility through authentic computing-for-social-good experiences.

We describe a lightweight approach to community-engaged service learning, structured as a semester-long hackathon where students explore socially relevant problems through problem definition, ethical analysis, and rapid prototyping. By eliminating the logistical challenges of traditional service-learning projects, this approach provides a scalable way to integrate Computing for the Social Good into the curriculum while retaining key educational benefits.

The work describes a model for graduate-undergraduate mentorship that enhances the learning of both groups, while also enabling more opportunities for students to get real-world experience in a way that benefits the university's greater community.

In this panel, the presenters will discuss their collective experience of teaching software engineering courses and/or running software engineering projects that help students learn about and experience the impact of computing on society and the social good. While the benefits of practical experience in software engineering are generally indisputable, the logistics and management of such projects are often discouraging for faculty, leading many to exclude live clients from software engineering courses. The presenters will demystify and discuss the realities of running client-oriented classes and projects in the contexts of our institutions, which vary greatly in size and student demographics and represent both public and private colleges. In particular, we will discuss various approaches used to identify, design, create, and evaluate software engineering projects for societal and social impact. Project duration ranges from one semester to two or more, and participation in team projects is modeled as pre-professional training, complete with software tools, interpersonal dynamics, and evaluation methods.

Recent publications strongly support refocusing undergraduate CS education toward competency-based learning. This shift places increased responsibility on departments to prepare responsible computing practitioners who appreciate how computing is inextricably intertwined with society. It emphasizes that content coverage is less important than authentic experiences that develop both ethical decision-making and industry-desired technical skills. One timetested successful strategy that helps meet these goals is communitybased service learning (CBSL). However, while CBSL has a strong track record, service learning can be challenging to implement and may not always guarantee successful student experiences.

Successfully implementing service learning presents many challenges. This is particularly true when working with community partners which are frequently small, understaffed non-profits, lacking in technical expertise. Participating faculty not only manage the student end of the partnership, but often need to manage/educate the community partner as well.

A growing number of institutions choose to apply for and maintain ABET accreditation to distinguish their computing programs in terms of curriculum, academic rigor, and overall quality. Such programs need to track ABET accreditation criteria changes to ensure their programs remain continually compliant.

This innovative practice work in progress paper presents a systematic approach for screening and aligning service-learning projects that maximize student learning outcomes. We introduce a feasibility assessment model with criteria evaluated through a standardized rubric that guides instructors to critically assess the project fit to help in proactively identifying risks to student outcomes. The rubric serves a dual purpose: guiding the assessment process and prompting discussions with potential project partners. These discussions elicit crucial details about the project scope, potential challenges, and other critical factors. This not only facilitates effective project selection but also allows for necessary adjustments to project parameters, significantly improving the chances of successful student completion. This work builds on the experience accumulated by CCSU's Software Engineering Studio which connects community project partners with teams of 4–5 seniors working on software development projects spanning one or several semesters. Since 2014, the Software Engineering Studio has facilitated over 65 distinct projects and engaged over 550 students. By capturing the lessons learned across a wide range of successful service-learning projects, we show the value of using a feasibility assessment model to evaluate potential projects based on criteria including alignment with course goals, student skill sets, workload manage-ability, educational engagement, and other considerations. The application of this model is illustrated with a case study, which demonstrates how this model helps instructors align projects with academic goals while considering scope, risks, and other critical elements. This example demonstrates how the model facilitates communication with project partners, identifies potential risks, and guides project adjustments to ensure a successful learning experience for students. The approach is transferable to other disciplines with adaptations for project types and student skills. This work contributes to the field of service learning by offering a practical framework for integrating valuable real-world projects into the curriculum while prioritizing student learning outcomes.

This innovative practice work in progress paper describes an interdisciplinary course, “Industry 4.0 Robotics,” aimed at fostering deep learning and innovation in students across Manufacturing, Robotics, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Networking, Cybersecurity, and Technology Management. The course, jointly taught by faculty from different domains, emphasizes interdisciplinary connections in Industry 4.0 (IN4.0) Robotics through a combination of lectures, real-world insights from industry guest speakers, and hands-on interdisciplinary project-based learning. The contribution of this work lies in its innovative approach that combines proven best practices in education, inspiring deep learning, and an appreciation of interdisciplinary teamwork. The course design builds upon education research on the benefits of leveraging student creativity and requirements engineering practices as learning tools that allow students to develop a deeper understanding. While the benefits of these practices, commonly cited for developing enhanced problem-solving and cognitive flexibility skills, are becoming well understood in many individual disciplines, far less has been published on best practices for achieving this in interdisciplinary thinking. This course design explores this through using hybrid experiential problem based learning and project based learning for students to develop an understanding of interdisciplinary challenges and opportunities. While the benefits of individual educational practices have been studied within specific disciplines, this work extends the understanding of these practices when applied to interdisciplinary challenges, such as those encountered in Industry 4.0 robotics. The course design aims to bridge the gap between the technical aspects of individual disciplines and the social dimensions inherent in interdisciplinary work. This work in progress seeks to share early results showcasing the benefits of interdisciplinary teamwork and problem-solving. By articulating observations of commonalities and differences with prior work within individual disciplines, the paper aims to highlight the unique advantages of this interdisciplinary learning experience, offering insights into the potential impact on student learning. The chosen approach stems from the anticipation of future challenges increasingly necessitating interdisciplinary solutions. The goal of this work is to understand how best practices from individual disciplines can be effectively incorporated into interdisciplinary courses, maximizing student learning, and uncovering unique learning outcomes resulting from this innovative approach. The course design intentionally bridges the gap between the technical aspects of individual disciplines and the social dimensions inherent in interdisciplinary work, to encourage effective communication and collaboration within mixed student teams. While this remains a work in progress, initial observations reveal a heightened interdisciplinary curiosity among students, driving deep learning as they explore the interconnectedness of their own discipline with others within their teams. This curiosity propels self-led exploration and understanding of how their expertise intersects with diverse knowledge areas, creating opportunities for innovative solutions at these disciplinary intersections. This work contributes to the broader landscape of engineering and computing education by offering insights into the practical application of interdisciplinary learning in preparing students for the complex challenges of Industry 4.0.

Software development projects sourced from external organizations can serve as an excellent platform to help build student competencies because they often provide an environment where students can practice applying their knowledge and skills in an authentic context. However, there are many challenges and risks that can jeopardize the successful execution of such projects. In this report, we discuss some of the lessons learned about the pain points encountered by computing faculty with over a decade of experience running a software engineering studio where teams of undergraduate students work on long-term projects sourced from external partners. Our experience is based on working with a mix of project partners with a major emphasis on non-profit and community organizations and non-technical project partners. We focus on a strategy to carefully screen prospective projects to reveal possible challenges in order to avoid or minimize risks that could impact student learning outcomes.

Scaffolded Projects for the Social Good (SPSG) is an adaptable service-learning framework with a low adoption threshold based on the studio model. Its goal is to enable instructors to easily embed externally sourced projects supporting Computing for the Social Good (CSG) concepts into existing software engineering or similar courses and addresses the barriers common to service learning, as well as other frameworks with similar CSG-related objectives. Establishing connections between computing and its societal benefits has proven to be an effective strategy for attracting students, especially those from underrepresented groups within the discipline. Furthermore, this work supports competency-based learning by offering students an opportunity to solve real-world problems in an authentic environment using current industrial practices and tools coupled with strong mentoring support from volunteer professionals and near-peers. Using a studio model helps overcome the timing impedance between the length of a single academic term and the timeframes required to complete real-world projects with student teams.

Community-engaged learning is an emerging term for a wide spectrum of learning activities that bring together students and community partners in a mutually beneficial way. Service learning is a subcategory of community-engaged learning which traditionally involves the students using their skills or expertise on a project that will directly benefit the community partner. In computer science, service learning projects often include a deliverable, such as designing and building an application. Community-based service learning is service learning with a community partner, usually a non-profit, whose mission is to improve the social, environmental, or economic situation for community members.

Free and open source software (FOSS) have become a popular framework for introducing students to professional software development. Despite a great variety of advantages, there is a significant number of barriers to a broader adoption of FOSS projects in computing education. We present a number of techniques forming a scaffolded agile approach to externally-sourced software engineering projects that help address some of the barriers to FOSS adoption.

Service learning projects enable students to work on real-world problems brought by stakeholders that produce real-world benefits. While the value and advantages of involving external stakeholders in student projects have been recognized, very little work has been done about formally assessing the scope of such projects. If the project is not scoped correctly from the outset or if there are factors that can significantly increase the potential of scope creep, a successful project outcome can be in jeopardy. We present work in progress to build a formal model to assess the scope of service learning projects that would help instructors and stakeholders better understand and refine the project requirements.

Professional accreditation in medicine and religious organizations started in the 1800s; business and engineering followed in the early 1900s. Program accreditation in computing commenced in the 1980s after computer science, informatics, and information systems programs had become widespread. In 2008, accrediting bodies in eight countries signed the Seoul Accord to set up mutual recognition of professional computing degrees. Although competency-based learning has existed for centuries, it has only made headway in computing in the last dozen years. Computing Curricula 2020 defined competency as the amalgamation of knowledge, skills, and dispositions. This working group report examines professional accreditation in computing, exploring aspects of professional accreditation criteria that support competency-based learning. The report will help educators understand professional accreditation and competency-based learning worldwide. Finally, it will also guide future efforts contributing to competency-based accreditation.

This Research to Practice Full Paper presents the experiences and lessons learned from five programs that provide financial awards and a holistic student support structure to low-income, academically talented students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). This report synthesizes the experiences of a diverse set of institutions, both public and private, that vary in size and geographic location. We have experience supporting students from a range of disciplines with an emphasis on students studying Computer Science. The goals of this work are to (1) outline the decisions that must be considered when designing a financial award program; (2) describe the interventions we have implemented and underline the institutional contexts that have led to their success; (3) describe the unique challenges posed by the COVID pandemic; and (4) highlight key elements necessary for successful program implementation. We specifically discuss the challenges we have encountered when implementing existing best practices. We report observations and results, some of which buttress those reported in the literature. Our work is intended to serve as a guide for educators who wish to implement programs to support students from financially disadvantaged and/or historically marginalized groups. By sharing our experiences and pain points, we hope to make it easier for them to design and implement effective programs adapted to their institutional needs and contexts.

This Birds-of-a-Feather session is for anyone interested in the NSF Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM) program, including current and former Principal Investigators (PIs) and those planning to apply. The S-STEM program funds scholarships and activities to support low-income, academically talented students in STEM. Any institution of higher education may apply, and the program supports a variety of projects. Designing and implementing a successful S-STEM project is challenging. The goal of this session is to catalyze a community of practice for S-STEM PIs. It will provide an opportunity to discuss lessons learned and best practices for proposal writing, project implementation, and providing student support. Specific topics to be discussed include the following: (1) Understanding the solicitation requirements and common proposal mistakes; (2) Scholar recruitment and data-driven approaches for selection; (3) Cohort building including activities for students from different majors or class years and integration of new students into existing cohorts; and (4) Remediation strategies including proactive interventions and peer support. Session leaders will introduce each topic; participants will then join a breakout group discussion of one topic. Lastly, participants will be invited to join a Slack workspace dedicated to S-STEM best practices and lessons.

It is often very difficult to transition from the waterfall to an agile process. To simplify this transition, we designed a LEGO game to introduce basic Scrum concepts and principles. This game provides students with an opportunity to play different scrum roles and measure the development team velocity in two sprints.

LEGO is a construction toy familiar to many students. Creating software, regardless of scale, is often similar to building with tangible objects, such as houses or bridges--an analogy that is often used in the classroom. In this workshop, we will show how to use LEGO as an engaging medium to introduce students to concepts of iterative development, software interfaces, team velocity, and distributed software projects. LEGO-based analogies and case studies enacted as hands-on exercises for student teams help develop a better understanding of the underlying concepts, while keeping students deeply engaged in the course material. This workshop is intended for faculty teaching undergraduate and graduate courses focusing on software development, software engineering, and related concepts. This workshop will also benefit other educators looking for ways to supplement their courses with engaging and playful hands-on activities aimed to strengthen the teamwork, oral communication, problem solving, and design skills of students. We will practice several hands-on LEGO-based activities during the workshop. Specific topics of these activities will include change management and object-oriented interfaces, as well as activities specific to the phases of software development. Workshop participants will learn about other LEGO-based activities that focus on a broad range of topics including requirements engineering, architectural design, and software dependability. A laptop is not required for this workshop. This work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation Awards 1611905, 1709244 and a 2015 ACM SIGCSE Special Project grant. For more information visit http://www.cs.ccsu.edu/~stan/sigcse2020/

Case studies are one of the best active learning approaches for teaching software engineering in general and requirements engineering in particular. They offer an effective approach to understanding a system or a phenomenon that are too large or too difficult to represent in a lab setting. As a tangible manipulative, LEGO works well to support designing hands-on case studies that mix studying software engineering concepts with the elements of team building and playful creativity. In our project, we study the role that LEGO has in engaging students in software engineering through a set of activities that leverage the case study and play aspects. This paper presents our design approach for requirements engineering activities, as well as current results from classroom testing with a focus on student engagement with the subject matter.

Cloud Computing has gained significant momentum in the last five years and is regarded as a paradigm shift away from traditional 'silo' based computing. It is no longer seen as a niche area of technology, offering a diverse range of scalable and redundant service deployment models, including Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and Containers-as-a-Service (CaaS). These models are applied to areas such as IoT, Cyber-Physical Systems, Social Media, Data Science, Media Streaming, Ecommerce, and Health Informatics. The growth in cloud presents challenges for companies to source expertise that securely supports their business when migrating/deploying services to the Cloud - particularly Small-Medium-Enterprises (SME) with limited resources. The UK Government recently published the Digital Skills Crisis report, identifying skill-set challenges facing industry, with a shortage in cloud skills negatively impacting business. While cloud technologies have evolved at significant pace, the development of contemporary Computer Science curriculum in the further and higher education (HE) sector has lagged behind. The challenges faced in the sector includes the training of educators, institutional gaps (software and hardware policies), regulatory constraints, and access to cloud platforms. Collectively these challenges are significant, but not insurmountable. By embedding fundamental cloud skills throughout the educator and student journey, both stakeholders will be better positioned to understand and practically apply the use of appropriate cloud services, and produce graduates that can support the needs of industry. This working group (WG) aims to: i) assess current cloud computing curricula in CS and similar programs, ii) document industry needs for in-demand cloud skills, iii) identify issues and gaps around cloud curriculum uptake, and iv) develop solutions to meet the skill demands on core Cloud Computing topics, technical skills exercises, and modules for integration with contemporary Computer Science curricula.

Software design is a complex endeavor because it requires mastery of engineering practices, insight into the domain knowledge, exploring of alternative ideas, and, most importantly, plenty of practice. Principles of good software design should be introduced early in the curriculum and practiced whenever possible. This work describes a LEGO-based activity for multiple teams to practice collaborative design, parallel development, and component integration to illustrate the advantages of well-designed component interfaces.

LEGO is a construction toy familiar to many students. Creating software, regardless of scale, is often similar to building with tangible objects, such as houses or bridges--an analogy that is often used in the classroom. In this workshop, we will show how to use LEGO bricks as a surrogate representing the lines of code, software objects, or other artifacts in the process of constructing software systems. LEGO-based analogies and case studies enacted as hands-on exercises for student teams help develop a better understanding of the underlying concepts, while keeping students deeply engaged in the course material. This workshop is intended for faculty teaching undergraduate and graduate courses focusing on software development, software engineering, and related concepts. This workshop will also benefit other educators looking for ways to supplement their courses with engaging and playful hands-on activities aimed to strengthen the teamwork, oral communication, problem solving, and design skills of students. We will practice several hands-on LEGO-based activities during the workshop. Specific topics of these activities will include change management and object-oriented interfaces, as well as activities specific to the phases of software development. Workshop participants will learn about other LEGO-based activities that focus on a broad range of topics including requirements engineering, architectural design, and software dependability. A laptop is not required for this workshop. This work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation Awards 1611905, 1709244 and a 2015 ACM SIGCSE Special Project grant. For more information visit http://www.cs.ccsu.edu/~stan/sigcse2018/

One of the primary goals of computer science education is preparing students to apply what they learn in the classroom to any problem they may encounter in the future. Due to the rapidly changing landscape of technology, regardless of the comprehensiveness of their coursework, at some point students will be required to apply their knowledge to a context they have not encountered before, and understand how what they have learned applies. One of the content areas where this is particularly relevant is helping students recognize the variety of technologies and applications in which object oriented design patterns can produce significant practical benefits. To foster this aptitude, we sought to leverage the students' own creativity with a Raspberry Pi and a multitude of sensors, displays, cameras, and actuators to boost exploration of technologies and student understanding of how course concepts apply outside of constructed examples. This paper presents the experience of using student creativity with the Raspberry Pi to drive their learning in an upper level software design patterns course.

The Internet of Things (IoT) represents a new computing paradigm that may soon add a new dimension to the skillset expected from a well-rounded computing professional. Computer Science education is addressing these demands by adding IoT-centric courses to the curriculum and including relevant content into a broad range of existing courses. This paper presents the experience of incorporating IoT projects into an existing Systems Programming course. We examine several suitable hardware platforms, provide a sampling of student projects implemented using the Raspberry Pi with a variety of sensors, and discuss a number of lessons learned that could benefit other educators planning to incorporate the IoT material into their coursework.

Drawing on Mishra and Koehler's "TPACK" model [1], we recognize that great Computer Science (CS) teaching demands great pedagogy, great technology skills and great subject knowledge. The main challenge facing any jurisdiction in implementing a CS curriculum within schools is the shortage of new teachers being trained in CS1 and to meet the demand many countries have focused on professional development (PD) for existing teachers across a diverse range of subjects. Some initial PD efforts in CS were often brief, with little follow-on support, and supported through external grant funding. As the need for CS at the K-12 level continues to grow, approaches should be sustainable and scalable. This includes preparing teachers at all levels, pre k-12 and some funding initiatives have included preservice teacher support as part of this [2]. Inside the European Union (EU) the Scientix project [3] represents a focus European Commission (EC) funded projects and is a repository for PD with resources for pedagogy, technology and subject knowledge . Besides this effort, spreading CS knowledge has been supported by volunteers led movements like CoderDojo . The panelists will discuss the following main topics: 1) Pre-service vs in-service, where do teachers come from? 2) Interdisciplinary ways of infusing CS. 3) Ways of replicating across countries CS teacher training initiatives aimed at sustaining and growing the number and quality of both in-service and pre-service teachers able to teach CS effectively. 4) Effective approaches to help teachers to build confidence in their ability to teach CS.

Hands-on activities can reinforce a variety of Computer Science concepts covered in class. Active learning techniques that utilize tangible manipulatives such as LEGO or other simple objects provide unique opportunities for students to explore or reinforce topics during class in a playful setting. This kinesthetic learning approach can also provide a platform that has a low learning curve, can facilitate creative thinking, improve student engagement with content and peers while adding gamification elements to the course. Different Computer Science topics lend themselves to such activities to differing degrees and the logistics of conducting these activities in large classrooms requires careful planning and execution, especially where cost is a factor and replication is desired between classes. Some educators may have experience while others may be interested but do not know where to start. BOF attendees will hear from those who have used different types of manipulatives, applied manipulatives to different Computer Science topics, and utilized said activities in different scenarios and contexts (e.g. large vs. small classes, single student vs. team activities). The sharing of ideas, strategies, and resources, as well as potential collaborations is also central to the discussion. The audience is expected to consist of both university faculty/lecturers (especially those who teach lower division courses) and high school teachers of computer science who are interested in engaging students in course content via kinesthetic activities and tangible manipulatives.

Test-driven development (TDD) is an important software engineering technique that requires writing tests before writing the code to be tested. We describe an approach to introduce the main ideas and practices of TDD using an engaging hands-on activity where students write test cases and construct testable tangible objects with LEGO bricks.

No abstract available.

Lego Serious Play (LSP) is an experiential and highly creative process designed to facilitate strategic planning, team building, and problem solving using Lego bricks. In the LSP methodology, team members use their intelligence both as individuals and as a group to build simple models representing various concepts in response to a question posed by the faculty facilitator. Discussing the models helps students communicate valuable aspects of their own understanding and interpretation of the problem at hand, explore the team dynamics, and reduce the complexity of many projects. This workshop is intended for faculty interested in teaching undergraduate and graduate software engineering and related courses. This workshop will also benefit all other faculty (including high school teachers) looking for ways to supplement their course material with engaging and playful hands-on activities aimed to strengthen the teamwork, oral communication, problem solving, and design skills of students. LSP-based hands-on activities discussed during the workshop focus on a single software engineering topic including requirements engineering, architectural design, software testing, software dependability, project planning and management, design patterns, etc.

LEGO Serious Play (LSP) is a methodology that helps people brainstorm and discuss complex ideas through storytelling and metaphors. LSP has been successfully applied in higher education as a mechanism for team building and promoting creativity. In this paper, we discuss using LSP to teach several core software engineering topics through hands-on case studies. Initial results suggest that LSP has a positive impact on student learning, while also improving student engagement with the course material. This paper describes the details of two LSP-based case studies along with many practical aspects of using LSP to teach software engineering.

Applications of mobile computing in education go far beyond being a motivating and engaging tool, introducing fundamental programming concepts, or teaching basic mobile application development. Mobile devices also provide an excellent platform for a broad class of advanced student projects leveraging the real-time data streamed from embedded hardware sensors.

Using robots and mobile devices in education can serve as a foundation for hands-on studies encompassing many different disciplines including computer and electrical engineering, computer science, mathematics, and physics. Educational robots and mobile technology have been shown to be successful in promoting student interest in these and other STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines. This paper describes an experience of using robotics and mobile computing in an upper-level Computer Science course. Our discussion focuses on leveraging the inherent symbiosis of these two topics to explore the connections between computing and other disciplines through experiential learning.

Robotic technology offers an excellent platform providing a hands-on learning environment for reinforcing theoretical topics in computer science, computer and electrical engineering, and mathematics. Robotics has been successfully used to promote student interest in computing and other STEM disciplines. However, students whose interest in computing may have been sparked or sustained by robots may be seeking more experience with robotics in the rest of the computing curriculum. This paper describes an effort to introduce robotics-related material into an existing upper-level course in mobile computing and discusses the rationale for such a pairing.

Many institutions are considering offering a course on mobile application development to harness its popularity to attract new majors, retain those we have, and to motivate learning. The panelists present four experiences in teaching a mobile application development course. They share their experiences in an effort to start a discussion about mobile application development in computing curricula. In the first half of the session, each panelist presents their experience including: an overview of the course; its audience, position in the curriculum, and pre-requisites; the platform, language, and development environment used; positives about the course; and roadblocks and negatives about the course. This provides a foundation for an audience directed discussion in the second half.

Implications of using robotics and mobile computing in the curriculum extend far beyond motivation and engagement because skills in these areas can help students be more successful at the workplace. Our approach to teaching both subjects in one course focuses on using Sphero, a small ball-shaped wireless robot that can be controlled and programmed using an Android or iOS device via a Bluetooth link. Workshop participants will experience several hands-on projects that are offered to student in an Android+Sphero course, which culminates in a robot racing competition. This workshop is intended for high school and college faculty interested in mobile computing and/or robotics courses, projects, or activities. More information is available at http://www.cs.ccsu.edu/~stan/sigcse13/. Laptop recommended.

Computer games have been accepted as an engaging and motivating tool in the CS curriculum. However, designing and implementing a playable game is challenging and is best done in advanced courses. Games for mobile devices offer the advantage of being simpler and, thus, easier to program for lower-level students. By exposing these students to a wide range of advanced topics, we can demonstrate to them that CS can be much more than coding. Here, we discuss our evaluation of a set of learning modules for introductory CS courses that use mobile game development as a motivational learning context.

No abstract available.

The generation of young people who do not remember life before the Internet, who grew up surrounded by computing technology and mobile phones, are often referred to as `digital natives'. This generation has a special affinity to mobile devices - young people often carry their mobile phones with them at all times to keep a constant connection with their friends while also consuming and creating digital media. This paper presents the results of a survey of over 330 young people aged 18 to 25, which attempts to evaluate their use of mobile technology, their attitudes about security and privacy as it relates to mobile phones, as well as their perceptions of different ways how security and privacy could be improved in future mobile devices. Despite a commonly held belief that digital natives are technologically savvy, their self-assessment does not appear to support this statement. Furthermore, despite the respondents' awareness of various threats to security and privacy, very few of them actually take any concrete steps to protect their devices from unauthorized access. This paper discusses these findings and analyzes the views of young people on different authentication technologies.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology has gained a broad popularity in many application areas including supply chain management, retail shopping and access control. This paper explores the use of RFID at the workplace and its implications to employee privacy. In particular, we discuss the use of RFID for continuous authentication in a corporate environment. Continuous authentication provides the benefit of constant or highly periodic verification that the same authorized user accesses the computer system. In a case study presented here, employees use a knowledge- or biometric-based authentication scheme to gain initial entry to a computer system, while RFID is used subsequently to continuously verify the presence of a valid user. This paper studies the relationship between usability of such an authentication scheme and the degree of protection it provides. We also examine the balance between the increased security brought by adopting an RFID-enabled continuous authentication system and the impact that it could have on employee privacy as a result of increased tracking of many aspects of the users' activity.

No abstract available.

This paper describes using mobile game development as a motivational tool to engage students early in the curriculum. Mobile devices have become an integral part of everyday lives of modern students; using these devices as a part of the coursework may help them see the immediate connections between Computer Science and real-world technology. Compared to traditional game development, programming mobile games is less complex, which enables students with limited programming experience to create playable mobile games within the scope of a single course. Experience presented in this paper may be easily duplicated, but it may be especially useful in the first college-level course for students with CS AP credits.

This paper presents a methodology for increasing undergraduate Computer Science (CS) major enrollment at comprehensive public universities, particularly those that have first generation college students or students from underrepresented populations in professional computer science in the United States. While there has been significant prior discussion of undergraduate recruiting to increase major enrollment in CS, this is the first identification of a systematic approach to recruiting distinct undergraduate student populations into the CS major. Nationally, highly selective and selective universities and colleges have worked within their student populations to increase major enrollments, while CS departments at comprehensive public universities primarily focused on regional recruiting have also worked to identify and increase CS major enrollments. The approach outlined here addresses regional recruiting for undergraduate majors in CS and has been used at two public universities. The resulting methodology serves as a template for any department or faculty member seeking to increase undergraduate enrollment in CS.

As a practice-oriented discipline, Software Engineering (SE) is most effectively taught by using a variety of hands-on experiences. Team-based projects where students can practice their technical and soft skills are a key feature of many software engineering courses aimed to prepare students for the realities of industrial software development.

A new class of m-commerce applications is emerging due to the unique features of handheld devices, such as mobility, personalization and location-awareness. We present SMMART, a context-aware, adaptive and personalized m-commerce application designed to deliver targeted promotions to the users of mobile wireless devices. Promotions distributed by SMMART are personalized by matching the user's shopping interests to current promotions available at a retail site. SMMART adapts to changing interests of its user by monitoring his or her shopping habits. We describe a fully functional prototype of SMMART built for Pocket PCs running Windows CE with .NET Compact Framework. The main focus of the proposed demonstration is on the aspects of the user interaction with SMMART and its diverse features.

As Computer Science (CS) educators, we are involved in teaching a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses such as database management systems, networking, software development and web development courses. In addition to the traditional classroom environment, we use online and blended teaching methods to enhance student participation and improve the achievement of learning objectives. Typical online supplements to classroom instruction include posting homework, links to external resources, lecture notes and exams online. Asynchronous discussions and synchronous chat sessions provide additional forums outside the classroom for strengthening interaction and enriching the learning experience for students. This paper focuses on how asynchronous discussions can be used to enhance student participation in CS courses; increased participation leads to learning effectiveness, rich involvement with the course content, and student satisfaction.

The framework of Petri nets is extended with imprecise temporal properties. Possibility theory is applied to model imprecise time by time stamping tokens and assigning durations to firing of the transitions.