Date post: | 22-Dec-2015 |
Category: |
Documents |
View: | 220 times |
Download: | 0 times |
Thinklets
Integrating Java into the Curriculum
Bert G. WachsmuthSeton Hall University
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
Seton Hall University
Catholic University in New Jersey, next to New York City
10,000 students total 4,500 Undergraduate students Mission: “…to prepare students to be servant
leaders who will make a difference in the world …”
In short: mid-size, private college with high degree of Information Technology
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
Information Technology at SHU
On of the top 30 Most Wired Campuses nationwide Mobile Computing Program (5,000 laptops on 2-year
leases for UG students and faculty) Wireless Campus State-of-the-Art Gigabit backbone Reasonable Internet, (soon) Internet 2 connectivity Extensive buy-in by upper administration 5 year strategic plan implemented, second strategic plan
approved Approximately 10% of University Budget
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
Support for Teaching/Learning
Extensive Blackboard use (every class automatically available and populated)
Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center (also Telecom, Media Center, Networking, PC Support)
(almost) 24 x 7 Help Desk and Laptop repair Reasonable technology Assessment
implementation Extensive Software Package (Office, FrontPage
+ Server Extensions, SPSS, Maple, Notes, etc.)
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
Pilot Projects and Grants
CDI: Curriculum Development Initiative(Multi-year technology grants to maximize impact on students)
FIG: Faculty Innovation Grants(Small grants to support individual faculty projects)
Lila: Linux Laptops(Dual-Boot Windows and Linux Laptop with functionally equivalent software for both OS)
SHUTAP: SHU Tablet PC’s(Investigate potential impact of Tablet PC’s on Teaching and Learning)
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
So, what’s missing?
JAXP? WSDL? WSRP? BPEL? JSR? WS-I? MEP?Certainly - but I want to focus on …
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
Thinklets
A Thinklet is a small, focused program that runs inside a web browser and helps visualize or utilize concepts in areas useful for academic disciplines
Thinklets are developed "in house" as cooperation between a content specialist (faculty), one or more student programmer(s), and a coordinator.
Thinklets are available for free for educational institutions; source code is available upon request
What was missing: create not only consume
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
Stand-alone Thinklets
PopDynamics: illustrates predator-prey relationships (biology, dynamical systems)
Sorting: illustrates/compares many sorting algorithms (computer science)
FFT: shows how analog signals are decomposed as Fourier Series (math, networking)
HypoTester: illustrates how hypothesis testing works (statistics)
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
General Purpose Thinklets
SyncStream: lets you create slideshows that are synchronized with a Real video stream. Comes with a stand-alone editor and an (independent) SyncStream applet. Does not require special server software
Jadis: A dictionary program that can help translate web pages and lets you upload “translated” web pages. Several dictionaries available (of varying quality)
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
Integrated Thinklets
IRA: An online text book on Real Analysis (Advanced Calculus) that integrates several Thinklets into a coherent, large-scale project
PsychoQuiz: An applet that uses JDBC technology to test student’s knowledge of standard terminology in experiment design and hypothesis testing. It is integrated into a large-scale course re-design project in Psychology.
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
Thinklets with Servers
Asset: A Servlets-based project to create, deliver, and evaluate web-based surveys. Can also be used as a voting tool with LDAP-verified voter lists.
ChatterBox: A complete client/server chat solution with features such as password protected rooms, auditorium mode, web page pushing, etc.
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
Thinklets with Maple
(supported by a grant from Waterloo Maple) JCalc: Maple with a custom-made user
interface for mathematics up to Calc 3 JGJ: Learn how to solve a system of Linear
Equations or to invert a square matrix ZMap: Visualize the (4-dimensional) graph of
a complex function
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
Thinklets Framework Student Programmer:
Most Thinklets are created by, or with the help of, one or more student.
Content Specialist: Most Thinklets are created with the help of, or with ideas from, a
faculty member. Coordinator:
Analyzes faculty suggestions for feasibility, moderates content/programmer interaction, and helps with programming aspects
Resources Required: Supported by TLTC money and external grants Close cooperation with Comp. Sci. department to find student
programmers Requires 1 Intel-based multi-processor Linux server and some
cooperation from IT professional department
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
Thinklet Advantages “Low-tech” and focused: can create a “small” Thinklet in about 2
months No competition with “professional” IT developers Benefit for Student Programmer:
interesting on-campus job portfolio piece integrating software into larger project
Benefit for Faculty: relatively quick turn-around time cheap easy “presentation material”
Benefit for Coordinator: Gets to travel to Florida in the Winter
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
Thinklet Successes Asset – widely used at Seton Hall and other institutions
(and presented at JA-SIG 2002) ChatterBox – frequently requested by small web site
operators Jadis – presented at Russian Language Conference SyncStream – written up in the “Chronicle” PopDynamics – presented at “Biology and IT” conference IRA Thinklets – several thousand people signed
guestbook
Jobs – all programmers who worked on Thinklets and graduated got decent jobs.
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
Thinklet Failures
Unclear Concept: Trig FunctionsIf it is not immediately clear how a Thinklet works and what it is supposed to illustrate, it fails.
Too Simplistic: Projectile MotionIf the concept a Thinklet illustrates is so simple that students understand it already, it fails.
No support: PsychoQuizIf a Thinklet requires extensive user support but the original collaborators are not committed or unavailable, it fails.
External Reliance: SyncStream Support to maintain Thinklets is minimal. If a Thinklet relies on external technology that is too complex or changes too quickly, it fails.
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
Thinklet Web Site
For additional information, please visit
http://www.cs.shu.edu/thinklets/
You can view, download, and optionally register for our Thinklets
Source code is available upon request (for most Thinklets)
JA-SIG – December 2003Bert G. Wachsmuth
http://pirate.shu.edu/~wachsmut
Thinklet Contributors Brian Borowski Michael Bosco William Daly Patrick Fineza Paul Ladny Brad Lepre Rehan Malik Robert Moore Steve O'Brien Joseph P. Ptaszynski Sam Shiffmann Bert G. Wachsmuth Huang Shon Wen (Sam)
(Thinklets existed from about 2000 – now)