Online discussions in computer science courses: how to make them an effective learning tool

Kurkovsky, Stan; Bhagyavati,; Summers, Wayne; Whitehead, Christopher

doi:10.1109/itre.2004.1393681

“…A learning community of peers motivates students to seek more sources of information than the recommended sources by the instructor; peers continually challenge and support each other in a community. Timely and open-ended questions are more effective in provoking stimulating debate than questions to which answers can be easily found in the textbook [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using asynchronous discussions to enhance student participation in CS courses

Bhagyavati

¹

,

Kurkovsky

²

,

Whitehead

³

2005

SIGCSE Bull.

9

0

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As Computer Science (CS) educators, we are involved in teaching a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses such as database management systems, networking, software development and web development courses. In addition to the traditional classroom environment, we use online and blended teaching methods to enhance student participation and improve the achievement of learning objectives. Typical online supplements to classroom instruction include posting homework, links to external resources, lecture notes and exams online. Asynchronous discussions and synchronous chat sessions provide additional forums outside the classroom for strengthening interaction and enriching the learning experience for students. This paper focuses on how asynchronous discussions can be used to enhance student participation in CS courses; increased participation leads to learning effectiveness, rich involvement with the course content, and student satisfaction.

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Using asynchronous discussions to enhance student participation in CS courses

Bhagyavati¹,

Kurkovsky²,

Whitehead³

2005

Proceedings of the 36th SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

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As Computer Science (CS) educators, we are involved in teaching a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses such as database management systems, networking, software development and web development courses. In addition to the traditional classroom environment, we use online and blended teaching methods to enhance student participation and improve the achievement of learning objectives. Typical online supplements to classroom instruction include posting homework, links to external resources, lecture notes and exams online. Asynchronous discussions and synchronous chat sessions provide additional forums outside the classroom for strengthening interaction and enriching the learning experience for students. This paper focuses on how asynchronous discussions can be used to enhance student participation in CS courses; increased participation leads to learning effectiveness, rich involvement with the course content, and student satisfaction.

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Laboratory exercises in online information assurance courses

Bhagyavati

¹

2006

J. Educ. Resour. Comput.

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Information assurance courses delivered in an online environment pose challenges to the development of meaningful hands-on exercises for students. This article presents techniques on furnishing laboratory exercises to online students and presents examples of assignments drawn from the author's experiences in teaching online courses for over three years. These assignments have proven successful in enhancing the learning experiences of undergraduate and graduate computer science students in introductory and advanced courses in the area of information assurance. Typical courses include introduction to computer networks, computer and network security, information assurance, network management, wireless networks and applications, computer forensics, and risk assessment.

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Online discussions in computer science courses: how to make them an effective learning tool

Cited by 3 publications

References 3 publications

Using asynchronous discussions to enhance student participation in CS courses

Using asynchronous discussions to enhance student participation in CS courses

Using asynchronous discussions to enhance student participation in CS courses

Laboratory exercises in online information assurance courses

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