Hypertextbooks
Next Generation Education
The Integration of Dynamic, Active-Learning Models into
Comprehensive Web-Based Teaching and Learning Resources
A short course to be presented in the
Computer Science Department
at the Helsinki University of Technology
August 16-20, 2004
Updated Tuesday, August 17, 14:15
Rockford J. Ross,
Professor Computer Science Department
Montana State University
Bozeman, Montana, USA
ross@cs.montana.edu
Abstract
Much effort has been expended over the past ten to fifteen years on the development of software systems that are intended to help students visualize important and challenging concepts in computer science. These range from passive-learning systems that simply give a dynamic presentation of some concept or algorithm (e.g. sorting) to comprehensive systems that actively engage students in the learning process (e.g., by having students provide input to the system or change the presentation model itself). Although it is generally reported that students enjoy learning with such systems, their use in the computer science curriculum is much less than might be expected.
In this short course we will briefly examine the history and development of software visualizations systems to provide historical context. We will then examine the reasons why even very good systems are not widely used. The focus will then turn to ways to encourage the use of effective active-learning visualization systems in the curriculum. Our emphasis will be an investigation of ways to seamlessly integrate active learning models into educational resources (e.g., hypertextbooks) that can augment, or even supplant, traditional textbooks as the primary teaching and learning resource for a course. We will also examine the Web as the means of delivery to ensure that hypertextbooks are widely available.
We anticipate that this will be a fun - yet informative - "hands on" course. Students will actively participate and have opportunity to develop some simple visualization modules while contemplating how these modules might be incorporated into a hypertextbook.
If you have any questions about the course, please feel free to contact me at ross@cs.montana.edu.
Topics
 | history of visualization systems for education |
| algorithm animation visualization systems |
| concept animation visualization systems |
| incorporation of active learning into visualization systems |
| “traditional” educational tools adapted for the Web (e.g., slide shows, video clips, audio tracks, and so forth) |
| the seamless integration of all of these features into hypertextbooks for the Web |
| classroom evaluation of visualization systems |
| towards a hypertextbook authoring system |
Prerequisites
Students desiring to take this course should have the following background:
| strong programming skills in Java or a similar language |
| an understanding of computer science including program design and analysis, data structures, algorithms, and a number of the main subject areas, such as operating systems, theoretical computer science, and so forth (this knowledge helps one recognize topics that lend themselves to visualization and how one might go about the visualization). |
Helpful, but not required, is exposure to
| graphical user interface design |
| XML |
| HTML and web publishing systems |
Course Details
Follow the links in the left margin to learn more about the course. Please note that at this point the course is still under construction. Details about assignments, the course resources, and assignments will be updated regularly, so please visit again!