A Visual and Interactive Approach to the Foundations of Computer Science

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9354791 Rodger Theoretical concepts provide the fundamental basis for computer science, yet many undergraduates obtain a superficial understanding of these concepts due to the pencil and paper environment in which these concepts are currently taught. Our main objective is to provide an environment for presenting and communicating abstract computer science concepts in a more efficient, visual and interactive manner. We plan to redesign the sophomore formal languages and automata theory course at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to use interactive and visual software tools we have developed and will continue to develop. These tools allow students to experiment with concepts in formal languages and automata, receiving immediate feedback. We will evaluate the usage of these tools in two ways: in a lecture format with computer demonstrations, and in a lecture/lab format. The material to be developed includes manuscripts for the lecture and lab presentation formats, problem sets, and software tools. This material will be disseminated through computer science education conferences, journals, and newsgroups on the Internet. In addition, a one day workshop will be held during the second year for evaluation and dissemination of our methods and tools. ***