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Innovative Teaching Strategies for Computer Hardware: Engaging Students through Technology

Teaching computer hardware presents unique challenges, especially with rapidly evolving technologies. Our approach integrates quizzes, web quests, basic programming, and Raspberry Pi projects to enhance student engagement and understanding. We aim to demystify hardware, build confidence, and foster essential learning skills. By utilizing various teaching methods, we’ve observed improvements in student motivation, participation, and knowledge retention. Our results indicate that this multifaceted strategy not only clarifies concepts but also makes learning enjoyable and relevant, preparing students for future technological landscapes.

martin-kaufman
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Innovative Teaching Strategies for Computer Hardware: Engaging Students through Technology

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  1. Using a Variety of Technologies to Teach Compute Hardware • Background • Approach • Quizzes • Web quests • Basic programming • Raspberry Pi • Results • Conclusions

  2. Background • Difficult to teach computer students about future hardware • Hardware constantly changing • important to understand hardware and learn to learn • Skills required • Work with limited information • Solve problems • Map new information to current knowledge • Computer hardware is a black box • Need to demystify • Build up student’s confidence • Make enjoyable • Show its useful

  3. Background • Modules seem standalone • Need to provide show links • Promote cross-module learning • Feedback problems • Writing skills important • Difficult to provide timely feedback for written texts • Students • IT students (not computer science students) • No prior knowledge assumed • Module • Introduction to Computer Hardware • First year, semester 1 • 12 week semester, labs each week

  4. Background • Module • Concepts: • computer hardware concepts • basic hardware installation • different types and designs of computer hardware • computer hardware deployment and management • Learning outcomes include: • ability to compare computer hardware types and designs • demonstrate basic computer hardware installation skills • interpret computer hardware specifications.

  5. Strategies • Quizzes • Weekly online quiz • Motivation • Check knowledge and learning • Provide timely feedback to students • Student retention • Encourages participation • Get to know lab partner • Format • Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) • Open-book, closed-book, web quests • Difficult to design good distracters

  6. Strategies • Web Quests • Explore and evaluate data from the internet • Components • Introduction • Task description • Description of steps • Pointers to resources (optional) • Motivation • Not feasible nor desirable to provide all information • Need to learn to learn for life • Expose students to wealth of information available

  7. Strategies • Basic programming (Scratch) • No programming module in semester 1 • Javascript: first year, semester 2 • Java: second year (semesters 1 and 2) • Students have to write Scratch program • Motivation • Introduce some programming element • Link to other modules • Learn to learn, minimal guidance provided

  8. Strategies • Raspberry Pi • Low-cost, credit card size computer • No guidance provided – asked to get Raspberry Pi up and running • Install Apache server • Sonic Pi • programming environment to make music • Students had to write tune and review other’s tune • Some guidance provided (due to time constraints)

  9. Results • Labs completed successfully • Difficult to compare with other years • Student anonymous questionnaire • Labs clear and good for learning • Liked working in pairs • Had sufficient time • Link between lecture and lab clear • Disconnect reported by some students

  10. Results • Quizzes • Immediate feedback • Improved attendance/participation • Results spread was normal • => questions not too easy, not too hard • Useful for lecturer • See results in real-time • Problem questions easy to identify

  11. Results • Web Quests • Digital natives, but not necessarily competent or savvy • Able to find info • Understood challenges of web quests • Basic programming • Able to use Scratch without problems • Not exactly like programming but • Used loops and variables • Wrote more complex programmes - good

  12. Results • Raspberry Pi • Able to use without problems • Students enjoyed using Raspberry Pi • Especially Sonic Pi • Some Flow experiences • Lab technicians perspective • 5 lab technicians • Labs worked well • No problems with quizzes, web quests • Raspberry Pi usage beneficial and successful

  13. Discussion • Replacing lab reports with multiple choice quiz worked • Key is setting good questions with good distracters • Difficult for students to think • …. and not just regurgitate information • Need to understand subtle differences • Raspberry Pi computers • Good to learn new hardware • Build up students’ confidence

  14. Conclusions • Difficult to each computer hardware ab initio • Need to foster learning skills • Cannot learn all information on the course • Need to learn how to learn • Combination of strategies worked • Quizzes, web quests, Scratch, Raspberry Pi • Added bonus • Students enjoyed the course … good for learning

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