Benefits of using socially-relevant projects in computer science and engineering education

ABSTRACT

In an attempt to bridge a local technology gap, potentially provide software to health care organizations serving the needs of handicapped clients in the Western NY area, and provide innovative and interesting projects for our capstone design classes, the Computer Science and Engineering department at the University at Buffalo (SUNY) began soliciting projects from local organizations in need. The projects have been integrated into required senior-level undergraduate courses. The practical benefits of project experience on student education, and the benefits of providing useful software to the target organizations, were anticipated, but the experiences have proven to be much more. Students have responded with intensity and philanthropy. The clients have participated in the classroom experience as both recipients and teachers. The program has rescued students at academic risk, and the school is enjoying an enhanced reputation in the community. This paper explores positive and cautionary issues regarding the effort.

REFERENCES

• 1: Engineering~Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Program Self-Study Instructions for EC2000 Visits, 2000-01.
• 2: Eric Allen , Robert Cartwright , Charles Reis, Production programming in the classroom, Proceedings of the 34th SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education, February 19-23, 2003, Reno, Navada, USA
• 3: Tony Clear , Michael Goldweber , Frank H. Young , Paul M. Leidig , Kirk Scott, Resources for instructors of capstone courses in computing, ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, v.33 n.4, December 2001 [doi>10.1145/572139.572179]
• 4: R. Stephen Dannelly , Carl W. Steidley, A student laboratory environment for real-time software systems development, Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, v.16 n.3, p.132-137, March 2001
• 5: Matthias Gehrke , Holger Giese , Ulrich A. Nickel , Jörg Niere , Matthias Tichy , Jörg P. Wadsack , Albert Zündorf, Reporting about industrial strength software engineering courses for undergraduates, Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Software Engineering, May 19-25, 2002, Orlando, Florida [doi>10.1145/581339.581389]
• 6: M. Horenstein and M. Ruane. Teaching Social Awareness through the Senior Design Experience. In Proceedings of the 32nd Frontiers in Education Conference. ASEE/IEEE, March 2002.
• 7: Charles P. Howerton, “Cactus Systems”: a computer science practicum that is more than a capstone, ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, v.20 n.1, p.176-180, Feb. 1988
• 8: J. E. Jorgensen, A. M. Mescher, and J. L. Fridley. Industry Collaborative Capstone Design Projects. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Education, 2001.
• 9: D. T. Rover and P. D. Fisher. Cross-functional Teaming in a Capstone Engineering Design Course. In Proceedings of the 27th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference. ASEE/IEEE, 1997.
• 10: C.O. Ruud, V.J. Deleveaux. Developing and Conducting an Industry Based Capstone Design Course. In Proceedings of the 27th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference. ASEE/IEEE, 1997.
• 11: Klaas Sikkel , Ton A. M. Spil , Rob L. W. van de Weg, Replacing a Hospital Information System: An Example of a Real-World Case Study, Proceedings of the 12th Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training, p.6, March 22-24, 1999
• 12: P. Voell. With one Voice. In The Buffalo News, September 2, 2003. www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20030902/1038861.asp

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.3 COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION
      K.3.2 Computer and Information Science Education
          Subjects: Computer science education

General Terms:
Design

Keywords:
socially-relevant projects, software engineering