Joseph Wajsberg’s Post

"I used to think computing education might be stuck in a nesting-doll version of the engineer’s fallacy, in which CS departments have been asked to train more software engineers without considering whether more software engineers are really what the world needs. Now I worry that they have a bigger problem to address: how to make computer people care about everything else as much as they care about computers." This could be said about software engineering in general. https://lnkd.in/e9kH2AdS

An argument that applies to lawyers and medical doctors, too... "Their vision does not reflect the idea that computing can or should be a superordinate realm of scholarship, on the order of the arts or engineering. Rather, they are proceeding as though it were a technical school for producing a certain variety of very well-paid professionals. A computing college deserving of the name wouldn’t just provide deeper coursework in CS and its closely adjacent fields; it would expand and reinvent other, seemingly remote disciplines for the age of computation. Near the end of our conversation, Isbell mentioned the engineering fallacy, which he summarized like this: Someone asks you to solve a problem, and you solve it without asking if it’s a problem worth solving. I used to think computing education might be stuck in a nesting-doll version of the engineer’s fallacy, in which CS departments have been asked to train more software engineers without considering whether more software engineers are really what the world needs. Now I worry that they have a bigger problem to address: how to make computer people care about everything else as much as they care about computers."

Fascinating read about the past and current state of many computer science programs. My own educational background is not in a pure computer science field and instead included a fair bit of business, philosophy and history courses which I think resulted in a net positive for my educational outcome and my career as software engineer. What was your own experience? Do you come from a school of engineering or computing or maybe an entirely different educational background? #softwareengineer #highered #computerscience

Check out this thought-provoking piece by Prof Ian Bogost in The Atlantic. As I read it, I wonder if Computer Science is really more like Law or Medicine than Engineering! What if we eliminated CS as a major and integrated courses in programming languages, data analysis, and cybersecurity into other degree programs? This could lead to creation of professional schools in higher level CS. After all, the majority of CS practitioners use what they learn as CS majors as tools and must understand the domain in which they work. https://lnkd.in/ehKvtFjb

Do you have a high school student interested in pursuing a Computer Science major? If so, please have them read a few thoughts from our Collegewise blog about how to be successful. Then let me know if you have thoughts and ideas about this!

Interesting piece about how colleges might think about CS education for a society that needs more than just software engineers. "The struggle to figure out the best organizational structure for computing education is, in a way, a microcosm of the struggle under way in the computing sector at large." #studentsfirst #collegeadvising #computerscience #liberalarts

As a first-year Computer Science student, I’ve adopted an approach to deepen my learning: tackling simple problems without immediately relying on existing libraries or pre-built solutions. While this may not always be the most practical approach in a real-world setting, it forces me to engage with the problem at a fundamental level. By allowing myself to get “stuck” on these challenges, I’m building my troubleshooting skills and gaining a deeper understanding of how things work under the hood. In the long run, I believe this will make me a stronger developer.

What advantages do asynchronous exams offer in computer science courses? "Measuring the Score Advantage on Asynchronous Exams in an Undergraduate CS Course" delves into the impact of flexible exam timing on student performance. Gain insights into the findings and implications for teaching strategies. https://hubs.la/Q02DpMKM0 #HigherEducation #ComputerScience #ExamFlexibility

Children's Day Reflections from a Final-Year Computer Science Engineer: We have came a long way From ABCD to DBMS From 𝜋 to .py From oops! to OOPS From essay to DSA Today is Children's Day, a reminder of the innocence, curiosity, and boundless imagination that we all had as kids. As final-year Computer Science engineering students, we are so close to stepping into the professional world, but it's important to remember the childlike wonder that first sparked our love for technology. 💡 Remember the joy of our first lines of code? Back when "Hello World!" felt like magic. It's that same curiosity and eagerness to learn that will carry us forward in our careers. 👶 The child in us was never afraid to ask 'Why?' or to explore new things. Let’s hold on to that spirit, even as we become seasoned engineers. ✨ To all the young dreamers out there: Embrace your creativity, stay curious, and never lose that spark. You are the future of innovation! Happy Children's Day to the little ones and to the child within us all! 🎉 #ChildrensDay #FinalYearEngineer #StayCurious #KeepLearning #SoftwareEngineering

In the last 10 years, many schools have benefitted from embedding computing in their timetables. The interest for studying computer science is also increasing with a leap in entries at both A level and GCSE. However, much work is still ahead of us to ensure young people of all backgrounds benefit from studying this important subject and go on to fill the skills shortage present in computing-related industries. Read the latest blog from Dave Gibbs, our Education Strategy Lead showcasing the work of the National Centre for Computing Education and the ambition behind the I Belong programme 👉 https://bit.ly/3VZp39J #computing #education #comuterscience