Informatik Be-Greifen
(Understanding Computer Science Structures)
The current collection is open for comments!
This is a research project that was funded by the
Technische Fachhochschule Berlin in the area of
"Frauenförderung", a research program which has
as its goal an increase in the number of women
teaching and studying in technical and engineering
fields.
This project is in the area of computer science, and
is trying to put together a collection of everyday
objects, metaphors and similies that could be useful
for visualizing the abstract structures of computer science.
For example, I can use containers of different sizes
to make explicit one of the properties of a variable -
objects that are not of the correct size (values that
are not of the correct type) will not fit in a container.
The only way I can put an apple into a CD-cover is to
make applesauce out of it (type conversion).
This sort of concrete idea helps in understanding
(in German: Begreifen, and greifen means to grab with
one's hand) as it offers a bridge from a known world to the
abstract world of computer science structures. It is our
hopes that this will help more women come to understand
and enjoy computer science. Men are often happy to
manipulate abstract structures without needing to
understand what they actually represent. Women tend to
want to understand what it is and why it is needed before
they proceed to use it.
Many women have been taught to
believe that they cannot understand abstract structures,
and thus tend to give up when they don't immediately see
what a concept is about. We want to offer possibilities
for introducing and remembering these structures, and show
how to transfer these concrete ideas to useful abstract
level.
We are looking for good ideas that teachers of computer
science might have! For example, a knitting pattern is
a wonderful example of a generic template - just instantiate
with colors and types of yarn and knitting needle sizes,
and you can create a whole set of sweaters!
The woman working on the project decided to quit and go into
industry before the project was completed, so the funds had
to be returned. I have a lot of material here, gathering dust,
so I began putting some on the net as I have time.
I will continue to collect such teaching
visualizations. Please contact me (Debora Weber-Wulff) at
weberwu@htw-berlin.de.
Debora Weber-Wulff (weberwu@htw-berlin.de)