How do people understand computing, and how can we improve that understanding?
My last update on the University of Michigan’s Program in Computing for the Arts and Sciences (PCAS) was in March 2024 (see post here). I did give some updates when I wrote about our SIGCSE 2025 papers (see that post here). So much has changed since 2024, and I wanted to plug our search for [ ]
This is policy wonk stuff, but I find policy fascinating. As a researcher, it s hard to figure out How are most people (students, faculty, whatever) in this field thinking about X? Policy-makers have to figure that out, too, and then have to respond. A change in policy is like a research paper that says, We [ ]
Some of you may remember the Apple ads that emphasized the computer as a “bicycle for the mind.” (From https://folklore.org/Bicycle.html) GenAI is not like a bicycle for the mind. Instead, it’s more like an automobile. I’m finding that comparison to be useful in thinking about how GenAI may impact our world. A bicycle extends our [ ]
I have written several blog posts about the different ways to implement Media Computation in introductory programming courses. We built JES at Georgia Tech in 2002 and the final release was in 2020. Our introductory course in PCAS that uses Media Computation, COMPFOR 121: Computing for Creative Expression, uses Snap! and Pixel Equations (as described [ ]
I’ve reached the stage in my career where I’m attending conferences not because I’m presenting a paper but because I’ve agreed to take on a service role.. That’s not a bad progression. I won’t be at ACM SIGCSE 2026 because I have neither a paper not a service role — I’ll miss seeing everyone, and [ ]
My planned activity during my sabbatical was to revise my 2015 book “Learner-Centered Design of Computing Education.” One of the fixes I wanted to make was a better definition of what “learner-centered design” was. In the new edition, I wrote some formal defining stuff, and then I wrote the below an extended metaphor to [ ]
During our sabbatical, Barb and I spent a week in Auckland. We gave talks at the Auckland University of Technology and University of Auckland. Alison Clear (past Chair of the SIGCSE Board) and Tony Clear hosted us in their home, which was made even more delightful by Cary Laxer and his wife visiting. Alison organized [ ]
You can observe a lot by just watching. Yogi Berra I had a couple of amazing experiences that made me think about how little we see each other teach and how much can be gained from doing it more. Having a teacher watch me We’re challenged to scale PCAS when we don’t have an [ ]
In May, Tamara Nelson-Fromm defended her dissertation “A Qualitative Exploration of Programming Instruction for Alternative Endpoints in Post-Secondary Computing Education.” I’ve talked about Tamara’s work a few times in this blog. One of her early projects was a teaspoon language to help history teachers to build history timelines (blog post). At PLATEAU 2024, she presented [ ]
I stopped blogging while I was on sabbatical because I had to focus on finishing the second edition of Learner-Centered Design of Computing Education. And then we came back from sabbatical. I’d heard that it was tough getting back to normal work after sabbatical, and it was. I had it easier than most (e.g., I [ ]