Human-Centred Computing News
Department of Computer Science Launches MOOC to Support Computing Teachers
The Deparment of Computer Science has launched a free online Computer Sciences course to assist teachers delivering new computing curricula. The MOOC – a Massively Open Online Course – will allow teachers to support the ongoing drive to enable school children to be active creators of computing technology rather than passive users of technology.
The course has received funding from Google and is aimed at teachers working with UK Key stages three and four. Building on material developed through Warwick’s existing work with school teachers across the UK, the MOOC will cover fundamental computing concepts and computational thinking, the Python programming language as well as the development of teaching resources.
As well as independent study, the MOOC will offer a community forum to share experiences and resources and expert real-time support on the course content.
Further information on how the Department of Computer Science is engaging with UK schools, including details of the new MOOC, can be found at http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/dcs/schools/.
Big Data in the Mathematical Sciences
There are a number of upcoming events and seminars at Warwick that highlight the contribution that the mathematical sciences (Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics) can make to the understanding of "big data". These include seminars from a number of influential researchers in this area, and one-day events bringing together speakers and researchers from around the world. The potential of "big data" to improve business, healthcare, and government has been greatly discussed in the popular media. These events will focus on new computational and mathematical insights to achieve these goals.
Steven Wright commended for teaching
Steven Wright has been commended for teaching in DCS by the WATEPGR (Warwick Awards for Teaching Excellence for Postgraduate Research students).
Steven is a seminar tutor and teaches laboratory classes in the Department of Computer Science. It is testament to his abilities that he was given the responsibility for organising three sets of lab classes and also entrusted to design and set course assignments. He even took it upon himself to develop additional coursework assignments to further develop the students’ skills after reflecting on his own experiences of the taught courses. As his nominator points out “Steven has invariably won the praise of staff and students for his contributions to teaching, particularly for his exceptional ability to create engaging coursework assignments and software projects”
Steven’s focus for his teaching is on concept discovery and the sharing of ideas in order for students to develop a rigorous understanding of the subject. He firmly believes that by creating a relaxed environment where there is a sense of equality between students and teachers, the students are empowered to ask and answer question and discuss problems in depth.
Steven has had a major impact on the department’s activities with his technical innovations in laboratory teaching. He wrote the software required for students to develop hardware projects using the latest ARM microprocessor technology. This meant that students with no experience in microprogramming were able to engage with the latest technology and gain an understanding of systems engineering principles, whilst those who were more confident could stretch themselves against the challenging projects that Steven has personally designed.