Capstone, Dickinson, Braught
From Foss2Serve
Contents |
0. Overview
| Course Name | Computer Science Senior Seminar (COMP491/492) |
|---|---|
| Course Overview | A two-semester required senior capstone including perspective on and experience with H/FOSS projects. In the first semester students will complete readings, exercises and activities that familiarize them with H/F/OSS philosophy/community/tools, select a project in which to participate and produce a plan for their second semester. During the second semester students will work on their selected H/F/OSS project according to their plans while also completing readings on contemporary and ethical issues in computing. |
| Instructor Contact Info | Grant Braught, Dickinson College |
| Student Characteristics | Typically offered to 10-15 senior computer science majors per year. |
| Prerequisites | This course was designed for use in the final year of a Computer Science major at a small liberal arts college. Students having completed the first three years of an undergraduate CS curriculum should be well prepared for this course. Our students typically have completed the core courses and are competent in: Object Oriented Programming (2 courses in Java), Data Structures (in Java), Analysis of Algorithms, Programming Languages (including C/C++, Python, Scheme, Prolog), Organization and Architecture. They may also have completed additional electives (e.g. Operating Systems, Networking, AI, Databases) and other core courses (e.g. Theory of Computation). |
| Infrastructure | The course outlined below assumes 14 2-hour course meetings (1 per week) per semester, plus a 3-hour final exam period. Students are expected to average between 8 and 12 hours of work outside of class per week.
Many of the activities and assignments rely on the use of particular technologies. These can be substituted with equivalent technologies but are currently:
|
| Offerings | To be offered AY 2016-17 at Dickinson College |
1. Learning Objectives
- Students will:
- 1. Recognize the ethical, legal and social implications of computing.
- 2. Be exposed to H/F/OSS and Software Engineering topics.
- 3. Improve their ability to work (reading/modifying/testing) within a substantial existing code base.
- 4. Interact with a community of developers and users.
- 5. Deepen their ability to write clearly and develop their mastery of specific forms of disciplinary writing.
- 6. Be prepared for graduate study or a professional career in computing.
2. Methods of Assessment
The following assessment mechanisms will be used:
- Forum Postings: Students will post (in Moodle) discussion questions based on reading assignments to guide the subsequent in-class discussion. [LO: 1,2,6]
- Wiki Reflections: Students will complete reflective writings on a wiki (in Moodle):
- Following each discussion; clarifying and/or expanding their understanding of the material. [LO: 1,2,5,6]
- Each week of project work; summarizing actions, accomplishments, existing challenges and proposing work for the following week. [LO: 3,4,5,6]
- Live-Texting: Students will live-text (using Slack) while working on the projects as documentation of their efforts. [LO: 3,4]
- Standup Meetings: During project work, each class meeting will begin with each group giving 1-2 minute summary of their work from the prior week and highlighting current challenges. [LO: 5,6]
- Homework: Early course meetings (during project selection) specific homework assignments are given, each with its own deliverable. [LO: 2,3,4]
- Project Checkpoint Presentations: Project teams will schedule presentations for each of the project check points. These will be 10 minute, in-class presentations with content dependent upon the specific check point. [LO: 2,3,4,5,6]
3. Course Outline
4. Notes to Instructor
- Will fill in as first course offering progresses
5. Moving Forward
- Will fill in as first course offering progresses
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Materials linked to by this page may be governed by other licenses.
