On 04/13/2011,
in computer science, ethics, internet, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, platforms, programming, society, sociology,
by Daniel Christian
Berners-Lee calls for higher purpose of Web — from cnet.com by Martin LaMonica
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the underpinnings of the World Wide Web, isn’t just concerned about getting browsers on more mobile devices. Architects of the Web need to consider how it will affect all humanity as it evolves.
…
But even as engineers hammer out the next version of HTML, they have a duty to fulfill a weighty social purpose of the Web, he said. As the way that people connect in society, the Web supports justice, government transparency, and human rights to freedom, he said.
On 04/04/2011,
in business, computer science, corporate / business world, marketing/social marketing, MBA, user experience (UX), user interface design,
by Daniel Christian
Originally saw this at:
BizDeansTalk.net
From DSC:
I appreciated the variety of clever interface elements at play here. Worth checking out just from an interface design standpoint, if not from a standpoint of relaying/processing information in a creative way (as well as discerning the critical business-related items/decisions).
On 03/22/2011,
in computer science, society,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
Based upon an earlier posting that I had sent to him, below are some great resources and reflections per Joel Adams, Professor and Department Chair of Computer Science at Calvin College (in Grand Rapids, MI, USA; by the way, Joel was the originator of the Computer Science Week legislation in the United States). Joel lists some of the misperceptions out there concerning Computer Science/Scientists:
I think there is a misperception out there that computer science grads spend all their time in a cubicle, staring at a computer screen, which is not an attractive way to spend your life. What we need are images that show computing professionals in software design meetings, client meetings, pair programming, and other situations where they are interacting with people.
Another misperception is that computer science is for geeks/nerds. It seems like somehow that “pocket protector” stereotype that used to be for engineers has shifted to computer scientists. Images of people like Marissa Mayer, Steve Jobs, etc. could help dispel this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX5UNiVPRBU&feature=fvwrel
A final [misperception] is that it is only for guys. We need images of female computer scientists to dispel this, including Ada Lovelace, Grace Hopper, the women who worked on ENIAC, as well as more modern women like Marissa Mayer and the women mentioned in this article:
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/15_most_important_women_tech_history
.
.
Also Joel mentioned/see:
- Adele Goldberg, one of the graphical user interface project leaders at Xerox PARC:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adele_Goldberg_(computer_scientist)
Why so few computer science majors? — from voices.washingtonpost.com by Jenna Johnson
The lives of college students revolve around technology — yet not enough are studying computer science to keep up with industry demand.
Computer science programs across the country are scrambling to change this, often by trying to make coursework more relevant to the lives of students. One example, which I wrote about in today’s paper, is a professor at Virginia Tech who helped his students create a mobile application that tracks city buses.
But why the lack of interest in CS in the first place?
Here are just a few reasons, according to several professors and others I interviewed for the piece. (I know there are additional reasons, so please share them with me in the comments section.)
Many don’t realize the world-changing potential of CS.
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Also see:
.
On 03/21/2011,
in computer science, mobile learning, mobile technologies, programming,
by Daniel Christian
Computer science programs use mobile apps to make coursework relevant — from The Washington Post by Jenna Johnson
On 03/15/2011,
in computer science, mobile technologies, programming, project-based learning,
by Daniel Christian
Computer science courses use mobile apps to make coursework relevant — from The Washington Post
The Virginia Tech student’s concern about buses, Tilevich said, offered a chance to show students that coding can be relevant. By the end of the semester, the advanced software engineering class had partnered with the city transit system to obtain data from Global Positioning System devices on dozens of city buses. An algorithm soon was predicting arrival times and beaming the information to a prototype mobile application.
“Sometimes as faculty members, we have to step back. We have to let them run wild,” said Tilevich, a former professional clarinet player who blogs about his teaching experiments.
Originally saw this at GetIdeas.org
On 02/25/2011,
in Apple, computer science, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multi-touch, programming, technologies for your home,
by Daniel Christian
NIST Scientists Make Quantum Computer Breakthroughs — from FastCompany.com by Kit Eaton
.
.
Do you know what quantum computing is? Does the mention of quantum mechanics make your skin go clammy with visions of high school physics classes? If the answer to these questions is “no” and “yes,” then keep reading: Quantum computing is how our computer tech will work in the future, and though it’s highly technical, kinda creepy sounding, and your granny probably won’t believe a word of it, the power it’ll give to computers is mind-boggling. And now scientists at National Institute of Standards and Technology have just made an important breakthrough in the tech.
On 02/23/2011,
in analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, computer science, emerging technologies, programming, universities, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
Learn computer programming in the blogosphere: 10 top computer programming blogs — from Education-Portal.com
From DSC:
I asked a colleague of mine, Mr. Jonathan Wyse, to comment on these blogs as I greatly respect his knowledge, wisdom, and insightful analysis on a variety of topics. An excerpt of his response follows (shared w/ his permission and with emphasis added by DSC):
I use a few of these already…
Will they teach you programming? They’ll help when you’re stuck or if you are looking to start a project. Learning to program is more than learning Java, C#, Perl, or JavaScript. It is learning a frame of mind and a whole new way of thinking. These blogs will help, but it really takes hands on work with a programming language, solving a few problems first. Once you learn to program (as opposed to learning a programming language which is how most schools these days teach computer science) picking up new languages becomes a rather trivial matter.
Probably the best essay on learning to program is Eric Raymond’s “How to be a Hacker”. It is a little intimidating when you think about what he recommends just to get started, but keep in mind he is advocating more than just mastery of one language, he is advocating a way of thinking that goes beyond the specifics of any one language.
On 01/27/2011,
in computer science, future, simulations, trends, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
7 Ways to Spot Tomorrow’s Trends Today — from the World Future Society’s Forecasts for the Next 25 Years
In the more than 40 years since the World Future Society was founded, futurists have developed a range of techniques to study the future. Here are a few techniques futurist use to spot new opportunities and potential problems. These methods give individuals and organizations an edge to help them succeed in a fast-changing world:
- Scan the Media to Identify Trends—Futurists often conduct an ongoing and systematic surveys of news media and research institutes. These surveys help spot significant trends and technology breakthroughs. Futurists call this environmental scanning.
- Analyze and Extrapolate Trends—After the trends are identified, the next step is to plot the trends to show their direction and development into the future. Trend analysis and extrapolation can show the nature, causes, speed, and potential impacts of trends.
- Develop Scenarios—Futurists often describe the future development of a trend, a strategy, or a wild-card event in story form. These scenarios can paint a vivid picture that can help you visualize possible future developments and show how you can prepare effectively for future risks and opportunities. Scenarios help you to blend what you know about the future with imagination about the uncertain. Scenarios help you move from dreaming to planning and then to accomplishment.
- Ask Groups of Experts—Futurists also conduct “Delphi Polls” which are carefully structured surveys of experts. Polling a wide range of experts in a given field can yield accurate forecasts and suggestions for action.
- Use Computer Modeling—Futurists often use computer models to simulate the behavior of a complex system under a variety of conditions. For example, a model of the U.S. economy might show the effects of a 10 percent increase in taxes.
- Explore Possibilities with Simulations—Futurists create simulations of a real-world situations by means of humans playing different roles. For example, in war games, generals test out tactics they may later use on the battlefield, or corporate executives can explore the possible results of competitive strategies.
- Create the Vision—Futurists help organizations and individuals systematically develop visions of a desirable future. Visioning creates the big picture of the possibilities and prepares the way for goal setting and planning.
On 01/24/2011,
in Apple, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, computer science, pace of change, programming, trends,
by Daniel Christian
Also see:
- App Store Beats iTunes to 10 Billion Downloads by 6 Years — gigaom
- Apple’s App Store reaches 10 Billion Downloads — from ComputerWorldUK
The App Store hits another milestone after 2.5 years - Apple Hits New Milestones: 10 Billion Apps Downloaded, 160 Million iOS Users and More — All Things Digital
- Apps appeal: the revolution has only just begun — from The Telegraph
Apple’s first 10 billion downloads will not be its last
On 01/18/2011,
in 21st century, biology, computer science, economics, learning agents, personalized/customized learning,
by Daniel Christian
ALA 2011: Adaptive and Learning Agents Workshop held at AAMAS 2011 — from Intelligent Systems
Adaptive and Learning Agents, particularly those in a multi-agent setting are becoming more and more prominent as the sheer size and complexity of many real world systems grows. How to adaptively control, coordinate and optimize such systems is an emerging multi-disciplinary research area at the intersection of Computer Science, Control theory, Economics, and Biology.