Social discussion of CS in K-12

["Pitt, Leonard B" <pitt AT illinois.edu>]

Thanks, George.

I should point out that we were not so excited with the title of the article, nor the context, in which it is suggested that CS+X is replacing “ailing” majors.  Most (but not all) of the Xs we’ve partnered with had stable or increasing enrollments.   

I also think that having CS+X majors brings new opportunities and foci, to X departments.  For example, we’ve got a new CS+Philosophy degree just hatched.  There are many interesting questions motivated by recent events in the tech space that make philosophy even more relevant today...   Ethics, fake news bots, privacy, who owns information,  learning algorithms that discriminate,...  how do we think about these issues critically, and what policies (or laws) will help guide us towards a better good realized by CS, while avoiding the potential harm.

-Lenny

On Jun 20, 2018, at Jun 20,10:25 AM, Reese, George Clifford <reese AT illinois.edu> wrote:

https://www.chronicle.com/article/Should-Colleges-Let-Ailing/243447

 

So there’s Lenny! The story of the CS+X program is very interesting. A creative way to grow by combining a disciplines.

 

“Students in CS-plus majors do not have to take as many physics or chemistry classes as traditional computer-science majors do. The degrees are generally close to half computer-science classes and half classes in the combined field. Illinois wanted to make sure that the students in these programs "don’t get a watered-down computer-science degree along with an X degree," says Pitt. "We want students who will excel in both areas."”

The second part of the story is also interesting. It has nothing to do with CS, but rather with a college that is making cuts to different programs to try an cure fiscal problems. Quite a study in contrasts.

 

Hope everyone is having a good summer. 

 

-George

 

 

George Reese

Office for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education (MSTE)

505 East Green St. 
Suite 102

Champaign, IL 61820

217-333-6604

 

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