Letters to the Editor: A misunderstood science

By SD Times News Team

February 15, 2009 —

In regards to Zeichick’s Take (“Rebooting Computer Science”), I think that Computer Science has always been misunderstood. When I was in college in the late 1970s, Lehigh University had a Computer Engineering degree, but no Computer Science until my last year there. Via the rumor mill, I understood the reason was that three departments wanted it to be part of their department: Math, Philosophy and Electrical Engineering. EE has changed to Electrical and Computer Engineering, and now includes Computer Science.

Another thing about Computer Science is that what you learn today is almost always outdated the next year. And depending on what a person is interested in, there are so many areas to explore. Only some of these areas lead to real jobs. There are only so many compiler designing jobs around.

Companies also need to be more involved with the college community and to inform them of what the company is really looking for when they're hiring new grads. Although, I think neither the ones doing the hiring nor HR really know what they need. What good is a Computer Science degree if you can't get a job?

I have taken some courses at my local technical college. From my experience with the programming courses, I would never hire a graduate of my college for a programming job, because they really didn't do any actual programming in the courses I took. One thing that might be of use to those wanting to learn more about what they can do with Computer Science is what Lehigh had for their engineering students.

The first engineering course was a programming course, with a weekly lab that included a visitor from one of the Engineering departments to explain what his or her field of engineering could do. Sometimes we even visited the classrooms for those departments. Because everyone needs to understand computer technology, this idea could be part of an “intro to computers” course that is required for all students. Also, there may be a way of relating some courses within other majors that require some Computer Science understanding, such as how to really make use of MS Access (with advanced VBA programming), or advanced Macro programming for MS Excel.

My degree is in Computer Engineering. I had a hard time fitting into the IT mold when all the computer programming was plugged into IT. My first jobs were in the electrical engineering departments. It was kind of interesting because the old-time EEs had a hard time understanding where computers fit (in the early 1980s). But there is only so much you could do with electronic relays.

Charlene Wroblewski
WebWise Wardens

The FIRST suggestion for computer science
I think that the computer science world should take a page from Dean Kaman's FIRST, although I'm not exactly sure where to start. FIRST is a program that starts in the lower grades with the Jr. FIRST Lego League, and it runs all the way to the FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition).

Again, I don't know exactly where to start with computer science, but FIRST makes engineering fun. One aspect of the program that I find interesting is that it relies heavily on mentors, adults who contribute knowledge and who guide the students that are involved. FIRST is very hands-on, even for the adults, and the participating students get to see a multi-discipline approach to engineering a solution in action. The competition is intense and compressed into a rather short period of time, but the game and the provided kit gives the opportunity to succeed.

Back to computer science, it would be great to create some form of competition that would introduce children to "computing" at an early age and increase the scope of the competition as they grow older, without presenting an insurmountable challenge. It is essential that it involve adult mentors, as that is an invaluable transfer of knowledge. I am at a loss as to where to start, but I might come up with some ideas. I have some kids that I need to ask...

Randy Zeitvogel
Beverly Hills, MI

Getting the girls involved, too
It's clear that the Rebooting Summit group identified the issues well. There are many groups around the country who are taking action and demonstrating positive results. The challenge is taking these tactics that are known to work and leveraging them on a broader scale.

I am part of an organization focused on getting more girls into computer careers: the Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation. We have learned that you can inspire girls by showing them they CAN DO IT (letting them get hands on technology); showing them that it's fun (letting them build computer games and robots); showing them the social relevance (learning what the CIO of Leader Dogs for the Blind does, for example); and doing it all with their peers (so it's cool). You get them hooked for life!

We do this with summer camps and robotics for middle schoolers, and clubs with various activities for high school girls. There are other programs like this that have demonstrated the same positive results. The challenge is to go national: connect them up or leverage them in a repeatable way.

Rosemary Bayer
Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation

Related Search Term(s): computer science, professional development

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