The College of
Computing has announced that it has been awarded
a grant from the National Science Foundation’s
(NSF) Broadening Participation in Computing Initiative
to expand the pipeline of quality students and faculty
at all educational levels and increase the participation
of historically underrepresented minorities in undergraduate
and graduate computer science programs. The College
will receive approximately $2 million over the next
three years and will use the money to develop these
programs in Georgia, with the long-term goal of creating
scalable initiatives for the entire United States.
“The core computer science curriculum first established
in the 1960’s has become too narrow in focus and
too antiquated in application to satisfy the educational
objectives of a technology-driven world,” said
Professor Mark Guzdial. “In anticipation of the
expansive and extensive impact that technology will
continue to have on our culture and society, it is imperative
that educators engage a broader base of potential computer
science students, particularly women and minorities,
through more contextualized and appealing methods and
practices. With this grant, the College has an exciting
opportunity to integrate a new and highly creative approach
to computer science education across the learning spectrum
— from kindergarten to college, and beyond.”
Potential projects include partnerships with state
and local youth-oriented organizations to increase participation
computer science programs at the K-12 level; involvement
of computer science undergraduate and graduate level
students as mentors; workshops for faculty at other
institutions to teach vanguard educational approaches;
support in disseminating curriculum ideas; and the development
of streamlined methods of communicating results to peer
institutions.
Guzdial based the winning proposal on his experience
in helping create the Bachelor of Science in Computational
Media degree program in 2003, and rebuilding the
computer science curriculum on the Threads
platform in 2006. Developed in recognition of the field’s
significant and increasing impact in non-traditional
subject areas, these highly-contextualized and transformational
approaches have proven successful in engaging a wider
spectrum of computer science students. Presently, 23
percent of computational media students are women, and
the total number of enrolled students has increased
77 percent from 2005 to 2006.
“The computing industry can only achieve its
full potential when it best resembles and reflects the
users and communities whose lives we are trying to impact,”
said Richard DeMillo, dean of the College of Computing.
“At the College of Computing, we are defining
the new face of computing by expanding the horizons
of traditional computer science students through lifelong,
relevant education focused on real-world issues. The
model for broadening computing participation here in
Georgia will serve as a model for our industry, and
the entire United States.”
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