Machine Learning (ML) is becoming increasingly present in our lives. Thus, it is important to introduce ML already in High School, enabling young people to become conscious users and creators of intelligent solutions. Yet, as typically ML is taught only in higher education, there is still a lack of knowledge on how to properly teach younger students. Therefore, in this systematic literature review, we analyze findings on teaching ML in High School with regard to content, pedagogical strategy, and technology. Results show that High School students were able to understand and apply basic ML concepts, algorithms and tasks. Pedagogical strategies focusing on active problem/project-based hands-on approaches were successful in engaging students and demonstrated positive learning effects. Visual as well as text-based programming environments supported students to build ML models in an effective way. Yet, the review also identified the need for more rigorous evaluations on how to teach ML.
Mark Weiser coined the term Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp) describing a future in which everyday life-objects would have embedded computers providing services anytime and anywhere. This paradigm is theme recurrent in many graduate courses of Computer Science around the world. To better understand the challenge of teaching Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp), we surveyed 15 professors and 60 graduate and undergraduate students from 16 universities. According to this survey, the two most challenging Ubicomp concepts to explain in a lecture are context-awareness and middleware platforms. Results also showed professors’ difficulty in finding tools to assist the practical teaching of UbiComp’s concepts. Current UbiComp tools require high programming skills or they are not designed for educational purposes. Therefore, this work presents the design, development, and evaluation of LUCy (Learning Ubiquitous Computing Easily), a Virtual Learning Environment which aids UbiComp practical classes. LUCy has two main elements: a Web tool and an Android mobile app. The former provides UbiComp theory materials, videos, practices, and simulations. The latter uses smartphones features and sensors to run simulations of UbiComp concepts. We evaluated LUCy during Context-Awareness classes in UbiComp courses, at the same university, along with three distinct semesters. In different three sessions, we gathered information about LUCy’s pedagogical and usability issues. Then, we performed a quasi-experiment using a pretest and posttest design methodology with twenty-seven students. Results showed LUCy practices significantly improves students reasoning about Context-Aware concepts.
The current study investigates the attitudes of teachers towards Computer-Assisted Education (CAE) and their knowledge of technology, pedagogy and content via TPACK model that assesses the competencies for developing and implementing successful teaching. There were 280 participants in the study. The results of the study indicate that teachers' attitudes towards CAE scores are much higher than their TPACK scores. There is a low level positive correlation between their TPACK competencies and their attitudes towards CAE. Particularly, teachers' competencies of Technology Knowledge (TK) and Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK) have much higher relationship with their attitude towards CAE when compared to other competencies. Attitude toward CAE is observed to differ by gender. As for TPACK competencies, TK and Technological Content Knowledge (TCK) differ by gender. The TPACK framework explains 20% of attitudes towards CAE. TK is the construct having the highest effect in explaining the attitude towards using CAE.
The paper analyses the problems in selecting and integrating tools for delivering basic programming knowledge at the university level. Discussion and analysis of teaching the programming disciplines, the main principles of study programme design, requirements for teaching tools, methods and corresponding languages is presented, based on literature overview and author`s experience. A pressure from labor market, students and other sources to emphasize practical skills over deeper, long-term programming concepts is described. A model of teaching introductory programming disciplines at a higher logical level, using C#, is presented as a summary of the accomplished analysis, and also taking into account the recommendations of the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) association for typical teaching programs. Also, design principles for building introductory programming courses, aligned with such teaching approach, are presented. This model has already been trialed at Vytautas Magnus University.