Date: 2006.3.8 (Wed) 14:30-15:00
Speaker: Maria Gini
Author: Maria Gini, Jan Pearce, and Karen Sutherland
Title: Using the Sony AIBOs to increase diversity in Undergraduate CS programs
Keywords: Undergraduate CS curriculum, Sony AIBO, women in CS
Type: Organized Session

Affiliation: AIRVL, University of Minnesota
Position: Professor
Collaborators: Jan Pearce, Berea College; Karen Sutherland, Augsburg College
Disciplines: Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Multi-Agent Systems
Societies and Conferences: ACM, AAAI, IEEE Robotics Society, Intelligent Autonomous Systems Society

Bibliography: Maria Gini, Jane Pearce, and Karen Sutherland, “Using the Sony AIBOs to increase diversity in Undergraduate CS programs”, Intelligent Autonomous Systems 9 T. Arai et al. (Eds.), IOS Press, pp.1033--1040, 2006.

Abstract:
We describe a proposed approach to increase diversity in undergraduate Computer Science programs and to encourage undergraduates majoring in fields such as health professions, business, art, and education to take more computer science courses. The approach is centered around using the Sony robot dogs AIBO in the classroom, starting at the very beginning of the computer science curriculum, as a tool to attract a diverse population of students to Computer Science, to introduce them to fundamental concepts in computing, and to give them an appreciation of the importance of becoming competent with technology.

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