Computer Science | Grinnell College

On Monday, February 27, at 7:00 pm, April O'Neill, Erik Opavsky, Dilan Ustek, and Henry Walker (representing himself and David Cowden) will discuss their work from summer and fall 2012 in developing the robot-based structure and materials to support CSC 161.

Using robots in introductory computer science classes has recently become a popular method of increasing student interest in computer science. With faculty member, Henry M. Walker, we developed a new curriculum for CSC 161, Imperative Problem Solving and Data Structures, based upon Scribbler 2 robots with standard C.

We look forward to your feedback on our presentation because this will be presented at SIGCSE 2012 on Thursday!

The talk will take place in Science 3821 with cookies provided. Everyone is welcome to attend!

On Thursday, September 15, David Cowden, April O'Neill, Erik Opavsky, and Dilan Ustek will give a talk in the "Thursday Extra" series:

Using robots in introductory computer science classes has recently become a popular method of increasing student interest in computer science. With faculty member, Henry M. Walker, we developed a new curriculum for CSC 161, Imperative Problem Solving and Data Structures, based upon Scribbler 2 robots with standard C. Come hear about

• creation of a modular course structure
• focus on imperative problem solving and C
• wrapping of commands from C++ to C
• inclusion of innovative pedagogy
• sharing of software with the international community

Refreshments will be served at 4:15 p.m. in the Computer Science Commons (Noyce 3817). The group's talk, "A C-based introductory course using robots" will follow at 4:30 p.m. in Noyce 3821. Everyone is welcome to attend.