Media Computation as a Motivation and Structure for a Non-Majors CS1 Class: "Data-First" Computing

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The problem addressed by this proposal is the disinterest in computer science exhibited by large groups of students, especially non CS majors and women. This is a particular problem at institutions like Georgia Tech where an introductory computing course is required. A prototype course in Introduction to Media Computation aimed at non CS majors will be utilized. The argument is that these audiences are most interested in computing to manipulate data of interest to them. A data first approach where computing in terms of creation, manipulation, and transformation of data of interest to students is implemented in this course. At GIT, non CS majors are often manipulating multimedia in English and other communications classes. Literature on gender issues in computing suggests that women seek an applications oriented focus to computer science and assignments that lend themselves to creativity. The media computation approach addresses these needs. The base premises for the course are: all media are moving to a digital format; digital media are manipulated using software; and learning to control computation, including programming, then becomes a communications skill. The products of this project will include: A course structure, lecture slides, and course notes in support of such a class; technology to support such a course, including a student development environment, media manipulation tools, and a cross-platform multimedia API appropriate for novice programmers; and evaluation results, focusing on retention, motivation, and learning.