Supporter Sessions
The annual SIGCSE symposium is made possible in large part by the generous support of our corporate supporters. We gratefully acknowledge their contributions, and invite all attendees to attend any (or all!) of the following Supporter Sessions.
Supporter Sessions |
Thursday (March 5th) Supporter Sessions
- Microsoft Session 1: Windows Kernel Source in the Classroom: Worldwide Use and New Resource Kit
Time: Thursday, 10:45 - Noon
Location: Ballroom IPresenters: Andreas Polze, Alexander Schmidt, Dave Probert and Arkady Retik
The Windows Academic Program provides universities with Windows kernel source code, curriculum materials, and a project environment for teaching and researching operating system principles. The key program components include the Windows Research Kernel (WRK) and the Windows Operating System Internals Curriculum Resource Kit (CRK) with Instructor Supplement. The WRK current release is a kit with a build environment, VirtualPC, sample projects, documentation and more. This session will review the new additions to the resource kit as well as present several case studies on the material use in teaching OS classes worldwide. There will be an opportunity to discuss with and provide feedback to the Microsoft academic team. The attendees will also receive the latest Faculty Resource Kit with the latest Windows Kernel Source programming projects.
- Microsoft Session 2: Worldwide Telescope
Time: Thursday, 1:45 - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Ballroom IPresenter: Yan Xu
The Microsoft Research WorldWide Telescope (WWT) enables a virtual telescope on your desktop – a one-stop platform for astronomers and science educators. We will show you how WWT can be used to enhance your experience in research, teaching/learning, and entertainment, throughout the international year of astronomy in 2009 (IYA2009) and beyond.
- Google Session 1: Google's New Products and Programs
Time: Thursday, 3:45 - 5:00 p.m.
Location: Marriott Plaza AB
The Android Mobile Platform Presenter: Mark Friedman
Android is an open-source mobile platform, offering a full software stack: an operating system, middleware, and key mobile applications. It also contains a rich set of APIs that allows third-party developers to develop applications. We will be giving a quick intro to the Android architecture, describing the various dimensions of Android's openness (in addition to being open-source) and discussing some of the ways that it can be used in an educational context.
Teaching Programming with App Engine Presenter: Jeff Eddings
In this session, we will present case studies of computer science educators who have taught classes using App Engine. We will discuss how their CS students were able to build compelling apps with enterprise-level scalability in a matter of a few weeks.
Teaching Online Video Using the YouTube APIs Presenter: Kuan Yong
YouTube enables developers to incorporate YouTube videos into their apps using its rich set of player APIs (Javascript and ActionScript) and Data APIs (PHP, .NET, Java, Python, etc.). This talk will cover the key features of the APIs and shows how they can be used to complement any coursework on web development.
Friday (March 6th) Supporter Sessions
- Sun Session 1: Teach the Concepts, Not the Tools!
Time: Friday, 10:30 - 11:45 a.m.
Location: Ballroom IPresenters: Gary Thompson and Brian Leonard
As software development and administration tools such as IDE's (Integrated Development Environments), database monitors, etc., become more powerful, an understanding of their use and operation increasingly becomes a marketable skill in the IT professional and software development workplace. However, this increased power comes with an increase in complexity that carries a steep learning curve that competes for the limited instructional time an educator has to offer his/her class. This talk will provide a platform to discuss the use of open source tools and their associated collateral to enable instructors to spend their time teaching concepts, not tools. Input from OpenSolaris, NetBeans, and MySQL will be presented.
- Google Session 2: Google Applications and Programs for Educators
Time: Friday, 10:30 - 11:45 a.m.
Location: Marriott Plaza AB
Google Summer of Code Presenter: Cat Allman
In this talk, after a brief introduction to Google's Open Source Team and how we contribute to the wider community, we will describe the Google Summer of Code program and our global initiative to get college and university students involved in Open Source development. We will cover the program's inception, lessons learned over time and tips for success in the program for both mentors and students. Google Summer of Code participants in the audience are welcome and encouraged to chime in with their own insights. We will also touch on the Google Highly Open Participation Contest, a similar program we run for students ages 13-18.
NSF in the Cloud: Cluster Exploratory (CLuE) and Data Intensive Computing (DC) Presenter: Jim French (NSF, University of Virginia)
This talk will cover the Cluster Exploratory program, it's history and status to date. It will also relate these programs to the other programs that NSF/CISE.
(Jim French is a faculty member at the University of Virginia on rotation as a Program Director at the National Science Foundation. The main responsibilities are in the following three programs: (1) Information Integration and Informatics (III); (2) Cluster Exploratory (CluE); and Data-intensive Computing (DC). III is in the Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS) while the latter two programs cross all division within CISE.)
- Sun Session 2: Case Studies in Using Open Source Collateral
Time: Friday, 1:30 - 2:45 p.m.
Location: Ballroom IPresenter: Harry Foxwell
Open source software is of great value in CS instruction, not just for its minimal cost and utility, but also for the visibility and educational opportunities it provides into the workings of operating systems, Web software, and development tools. This session will describe how professors from several universities have used Sun's open source tools like OpenSolaris to teach operating system concepts, MySQL to teach database concepts, and NetBeans to teach Java and Web programming. This session will also discuss how Sun's open source VirtualBox software has been used both to teach virtualization concepts and to host environments students use to explore networking, Web architectures, and computer security.
- Intel Session 1: Merging onto the Parallel Programming Highways
Time: Friday, 3:30 - 4:45 p.m.
Location: Ballroom IPresenters: Zander Sprague (Intel) and Matt Wolf (Georgia Tech)
With Multi-Core architecture becoming the norm in computing hardware, institutions of higher education are having to reevaluate their curricula. There are many daunting questions, such as, when do I start to introduce Parallel Programming concepts? How do I teach Parallel Programming, and many more. Zander Sprague will provide insight into how Intel is helping colleges and universities prepare the next generation of programmers for the new work environment. Matt Wolf will share Georgia Tech’s innovative model to bring Parallel Programming into their curriculum. Attend this session to learn what you can do today to merge onto the Parallel Programming highway.
Saturday (March 7th) Supporter Sessions
- Microsoft Session 3: Kodu
Time: Saturday, 8:30 - 10:10 a.m.
Location: Ballroom IPresenter: Matt MacLaurin
Project Kodu allows kids to make their own 3D games using a unique visual programming language and an ordinary game controller. Kodu provides an immersive introduction to the analytic and creative processes employed by programmers while prioritizing the learner’s natural goals of exploration and enjoyment. Using Kodu, kids can create 3d terrains, populate them with objects, and give the objects unique behaviors through a highly visual iconic programming language. Kodu’s programming paradigm is novel; it centers on a concurrent rule model in which rules are expressed as high-level senses (vision, touch) and verbs (move, eat). A simple example program in Kodu is "[when] see – green – apple : [do] move – towards." Programming elements are presented as three-dimensional tiles that are placed on racks to form rules. Program control flow is effected by rule priority, implicit looping of rules, and explicit page-switching. Program state is primarily achieved through changes to physical world state, such as object color and character emotion. The user interface only allows legal syntax and encourages exploration by dynamically adjusting menus to show only options that are legal within the program context. The "pseudo-physical" level of abstraction employed by the programming language serves two goals: it provides an intuitive scaffolding for the exploration of more abstract behaviors, and it allows users to focus on higher-level design goals because the basic physics of the system can be assumed.
Kodu (formerly known as Boku) is a project of Microsoft Research. We have been working with educators in early pilot programs throughout Kodu’s development and SIGSCE is an important forum for us to invite participation in broader academic evaluation and deployment of Kodu. In this session we will provide an overview of Kodu, discuss its design goals, demonstrate end-user creations, and present the program for academic availability of Kodu.
- Sun Session 3: Bring Java + Friends to Life -- Computer Club on a Memory Stick
Time: Saturday, 10:40 - 11:55 a.m.
Location: Ballroom IPresenter: Daniel Green
Students in the current K-12 environment often are exposed to computer science in this manner: "Learn to type, learn Microsoft Word, learn Microsoft Powerpoint." This approach teaches basic computer appreciation or computer operation and does not equip students with the powerful ideas that underly computer science.
Computer Club is a series of local workshops, open to the public, focusing on improving digital literacy of students by empowering them to create projects involving computer graphics, animation, video, sound, gaming, and programming in a monthly instructor-led setting. The target age range for Computer Club workshops is 9-16 years old. The goal of computer club outreach is to volunteer and work with students on creating interesting projects that teach them the underlying computer science concepts, and equip them with tools they can continue to use at home, work, and school.
This session will cover project approaches and ideas for integrating programming concepts using Alice, Java, JavaFX, Greenfoot and BlueJ. Programming project concepts include sequence, iteration, and conditionals all the way through threads and synchronization. Resources for inclusion on memory sticks ("Computer Club on a Stick") will be covered during the session.
If you have general questions about supporter sessions, please contact:
Sue Fitzgerald and Mark GuzdialSIGCSE 2009 Symposium Co-Chairs
sue.fitzgerald@metrostate.edu
guzdial@cc.gatech.edu
