1 developing outreach activities in the school of computing sciences dr ben milner director of...
Post on 28-Mar-2015
213 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
1
Developing Outreach Activities in the School of Computing Sciences
Dr Ben Milner
Director of Learning and Teaching
2
Overview
• Motivation
• Methods of outreach developed– Visits by schools
– Visits to schools
– CMP ambassadors
• Activities
• Funding
• Feedback and benefits
• Future activities
3
Motivation for outreach in CMP
• Outreach activities began in 2003
• Stimulation of applications – Applications to computing have fallen by 50% from 2001
• Inspire and educate children about computing science– Content of computing/IT subjects in schools is uninspiring
– Show children more interesting aspects of computing science
– Use facilities not available in schools - hardware and software
• Raise aspirations– Show children what they can do - at university
– Benefits of going to university
4
Methods of outreach developed
• Visits by schools to CMP
• Organised centrally or locally• Between 20 and 60 children visit• Duration from 1 hour to 4 days• Range of activities
– Lab-based
– Short lectures
– Campus tours
5
Methods of outreach developed
• Visits to schools– Take practical activities into schools
– Lectures on computing/HE
– School science days
• CMP ambassadors– Encourage our own students visit previous school/college
– Give presentation on UEA/CMP
– Invite school back to UEA
– Difficult to recruit ambassadors
6
Aims of activities
• Activities are selected based on several criteria
– Should be fun
– Quick to start and make progress on
– Work independently
– Arouse curiosity
– Experience new technology
– Achieve an end goal
– Often culminate in a competition
7
Types of activities
• Robotics• Computer graphics• Speech• Artificial intelligence• Motion capture
• Talks on computing science and higher education• Campus tour• Campus lunch
8
Example programme (day long)
Welcome and introduction 5 minutes
Robotics 90 minutes
Break 15 minutes
Motion capture 30 minutes
HE talk 30 minutes
Lunch and campus tour 90 minutes
Computer graphics 90 minutes
Conclusion 5 minutes
9
“Robot Wars”• TV programme Robot Wars is very
popular with children
• School of Computing Science has 18 Lego Mindstorm robots
• Start with simple programs to move robot forwards and backwards
• Extends to develop use of touch sensors and light sensor
• Variable lab sessions depending on age and duration
• Robot Wars world champion (Ed Hoppitt) lectures on our longer courses
10
• Final competition based on navigating through an obstacle course
• Students enjoy challenge and competitive aspects
• Certificates for winners
QuickTime™ and aYUV420 codec decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
“Robot Wars”
11
“Robot Wars” champions
12
• Updated robots with 18 new Lego NXTs
• Need to keep ahead of schools
Next generation robots
13
• Most children are familiar with computer graphics - – Computer games
– Simulation
– Movies (Toy Story)
– Special effects
• Activities again based on quickly producing something with a clear end goal
Computer graphics
14
• Younger children use 3-D studio max to create a simple moving scene
• Example was for 11-12 year old children in about 90 minutes
• 3-D studio max is not generally used in schools
• Industry-standard modelling and animation software
Computer graphics - animation
QuickTime™ and aCinepak decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
15
• Recently purchased several Microsoft Xbox 360 games consoles for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching
• These have now been included in work with schools, mainly for older children - 16-18 year olds
• Write prototype code on PCs in C# and upload to Xbox to play
Computer graphics - games consoles
16
• Simple space shooting game coded
• Aimed at older students - produced in about 2 hours
• Runs on Xbox 360
• Students gain real sense of achievement
• Very different to studies in schools
Computer graphics - games consoles
QuickTime™ and aH.264 decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
17
• Activity requires students to connect phonemes together to form speech
• Students learn about phonemes and context
• Refinement to improve realism
• Computer synthesises speech from phoneme sequence
Computer speech
QuickTime™ and aYUV420 codec decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
18
• State-of-the-art motion capture lab - funded by the BBC
• Used for research into animation
• Same equipment used for motion capture in games and film/TV
• Involve students by capturing their motion and playing it back
• Students can relate to this through experiences with computer games and films
Motion capture
19
Funding
• Funding has come from a variety of sources
• Aimhigher• Gifted and Talented Students• Smallpeice Trust• SCI Faculty• CMP
20
Aimhigher Norfolk
• Aimhigher Norfolk arranged into five areas:
– Central
– East
– North
– South
– West
21
Activity costs
• Centrally organised events– Charge for faculty time, laboratory demonstrators and equipment
– Approximately £60 per hour
• Locally organised events– Daily rate of £280 for a single group, rising for parallel and multiple groups
– Covers lab activities, tour guides, refreshments, equipment, etc
– May offer reduced rates in special circumstances
22
Developing links
• Outreach website• Aimhigher reps• STEM network• Word of mouth
23
Established school links
• Close links with 14 local schools and colleges
• Hosted about 50 sessions in the last year
24
Feedback and benefits
• Stimulation of applications – Difficult to measure - have recognised faces at CMP Visit Days
• Inspire and educate children about computing science– Experience outside of classroom - more advanced CS
– Students are exposed to a range of areas in computing science
– See large computing labs and hardware not seen in schools
• Raise aspirations– Students get better idea of what university education in like
– Benefits of going to university are explained/discussed
25
Feedback and benefits
• Teachers– “Thank you very much for organising such an interesting day for my
students! I would love to bring another group next year.”– “Thanks. Excellent day. Our students were full of it. More like this please.”– “Brilliant day thanks.”
• Students– “Thanks you for making the day really enjoyable. Programming was really
fun and I learnt a lot.”– “The day was very enjoyable and I learnt a lot about AI and robots.”– “Thanks for the wonderful experience you gave us at the University of
East Anglia.”– “Thanks for a fun experience.”
26
Feedback and benefits
• Several articles in local newspapers
• Generates publicity for UEA/CMP
• Advertises our outreach activities
27
Future activities
• Faculty Outreach Officers (FOOs)– Each faculty now has an FOO to arrange outreach
– Budget of £10,000 - expected to seek further funding
• Careers advisors workshop for computing
• Computing/IT teachers workshop
• A-level computing advanced classes (cf further maths)
• CMP ambassadors
28
End
top related