Future of CS

Tentative Agenda

12 January 2006
location TBD

Time
9 am	breakfast and opening discussion of department identity
10:15	break
10:45	small group discussions of identity subtopics
11:30	presentations
12 noon	lunch
1 pm	undergraduate curriculum
3	commitment hour
4	reception

Evolving list of information that needs to be gathered before retreat

Readings

Identity	Curriculum
x		Computer Science and Technology Board's Computer Science: Reflections on the Field, Reflections from the Field Pretty recent (2004) thoughts from our colleagues. Can be (tediously) read online for free or you can buy a paper copy or a pdf.
x		Fortune Article Can America Compete Globalization, info tech, and what to do about it.
x		Friedman's The World is Flat No, he's no scholar and the writing is somewhat verbose and breathless, but he is a three time Pullitzer prize winner and is only slightly behind Harry Potter in sales with this one. More on globalization and a refreshingly positive and proactive prescription for what we should do about it. For something less popular but more erudite (argument by evidence and logic rather than by anecdote), try Martin Wolf's, Why Globalization Works.
	x	National Academies Press, Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century From 2005. Can also be (tediously) read online for free or you can buy a paper copy or a pdf. My favorite notion: the MS is the new professional terminal degree in technology. Personally, I would add that there should be a shift around the senior year from residential education to a mix of internships/residential/distance education, and that this should continue at some level indefinitely.
	x	Cohen, Updating Computer Science Education Urges changes in what we teach to reflect better what professionals actually do as CS has matured.
	x	Berghel and Sallach, A Paradigm Shift in Computing and IT Education The shift towards colleges and schools of computing and information technology.
	x	Rosenbloom, A New Framework for Computer Science and Engineering USC experience with something that looks suspiciously like CS+X.
	x	ACM Curricula Recommendations Includes 2005 draft curricula for Information Techonology and for Computing, both of which have musings on the future context for education.
	x	Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, Innovations in U.S. Doctoral Education Released October 7, 2005, "...calls for public scholarship that applies academic expertise to social challenges, vigorous efforts to open the doctorate to new populations, frequent dialogue with alumni of doctoral programs and leaders outside the academy, and clearer professional paths for Ph.D.s both within and beyond research universities."
x		Butz et al., Is There a Shortage of Scientists and Engineers? How Would We Know?, RAND Issue Paper From 2003, a concise and pretty balanced look at the different things people argue about when saying there is or isn't a shortage and it is or isn't a crisis. For more statistics on employment and salary trends in STEM disciplines, see this 2005 GAO Report: Higher Education: Federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Programs and Related Trends (GAO-060-114) (with details on federal programs to enhance the STEM pool and their effectiveness).
x	x	Cornell's Brave New Digital World, Communique, Summer 2005 Cornell keeps coming up. Robert Constable interview on what they're doing there. Warning: big file (7 MB).
	x	Denning and McGettrick, Recentering Computer Science Suggests that we shift from an exclusive focus on programming to a particular empahsis on innovation.
x		Behind 'Shortage' of Engineers: Employers Grow More Choosy Finer grained analysis on the shortage question (covers computer scientists).
x		A Techie, Absolutely, and More, New York Times, August 23, 2005 Article on how students are going broad as a strategy to enhance their careers and protect against outsourcing.
x	x	Stories from ASEE Prism Expanding the Mind: teaching creativity in engineering. My Job Lies Over the Ocean: globalization, outsourcing, and the engineering educator. Putting it Into Perspective: more on the above. Can Distance Education be Unlocked?: what does and doesn't work. Opening a New Book: teaching engineers communication, teamwork, societal skills.
x	x	Education andTraining for the Information Technology Workforce, Department of Commerce, 2003 Detailed report, note especially the sections on what employers are looking for.
x	x	IT Skills in a Tough Job Market Current and narrow version of "what employers want" by looking at frequencies of key terms in job descriptions. Note the primacy of web programming skills!
x	x	Globalization of US Business: Challenges and Opportunities for (Engineering) Education, John Anderson, Provost, Case Western Slides by someone who's been vocal on globalization: note the calls for team and communication skills, business exposure, and international experience. (I personally buy all of that.)
x		Outsourcing: Devising a Game Plan What if we taught our students how to take advantage of outsourcing?
	x	The Educational Productivity Paradox Investments in information technology do not seem to have a statistical correlation to improved test scores. (This reminds me of the situation in the 80's and early 90's when companies could not see how investments in information technology were actually helping business productivity. They did, and in spades, but not until the institutions themselves had undergone wrenching changes - changes that are still continuing.)
	x	Education Goes Digital: The Evolution of Online Learning and the Revolution in Higher Education Good when paired with the previous article. If technology can (or as this article suggests will) revolutionize education, but we are seeing no real payback currently, what does the future hold? Feels like a fault line getting loaded.
x		Rick Meritt, Computer R&D Rocks On, EE Times, 11/21/05 and Computer science R&D goes begging for funds, EE Times, 11/28/05 Trade press but an interesting read.
	x	Document from a focus group on curriculum conducted by the Communications department.
	x	Maria Klawe, Blue Skies Ahead for IT Jobs, CIO Magazine Optimistic about jobs but recommends changes to education so we can fill them, spcifically more required CS, better first computing courses, more connections to other disciplines, and more partnerships with K-12 and internships.

University of Colorado at Boulder : Tom Lookabaugh

Tentative Agenda

Readings

Computer Science and Technology Board's Computer Science: Reflections on the Field, Reflections from the Field

Fortune Article Can America Compete

Friedman's The World is Flat

National Academies Press, Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century

Cohen, Updating Computer Science Education

Berghel and Sallach, A Paradigm Shift in Computing and IT Education

Rosenbloom, A New Framework for Computer Science and Engineering

ACM Curricula Recommendations

Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, Innovations in U.S. Doctoral Education

Butz et al., Is There a Shortage of Scientists and Engineers? How Would We Know?, RAND Issue Paper

Cornell's Brave New Digital World, Communique, Summer 2005

Denning and McGettrick, Recentering Computer Science

Behind 'Shortage' of Engineers: Employers Grow More Choosy

A Techie, Absolutely, and More, New York Times, August 23, 2005

Stories from ASEE Prism

Education andTraining for the Information Technology Workforce, Department of Commerce, 2003

IT Skills in a Tough Job Market

Globalization of US Business: Challenges and Opportunities for (Engineering) Education, John Anderson, Provost, Case Western

Outsourcing: Devising a Game Plan

The Educational Productivity Paradox

Education Goes Digital: The Evolution of Online Learning and the Revolution in Higher Education

Rick Meritt, Computer R&D Rocks On, EE Times, 11/21/05 and Computer science R&D goes begging for funds, EE Times, 11/28/05

Document from a focus group on curriculum conducted by the Communications department.

Maria Klawe, Blue Skies Ahead for IT Jobs, CIO Magazine