Transcript Document 7215253

Rediscovering the Passion, Beauty, Joy, and Awe:
Making Computing Fun Again
Eric Roberts
Professor of Computer Science, Stanford University
Past Chair of the ACM Education Board
9th Annual Conference
Liverpool Hope University
August 26, 2008
The Etymology of the Title
Grady Booch at SIGCSE 2007
The Crisis in Computing Education
That there is currently a crisis in computing education is not in doubt.
— McGettrick et al., SIGCSE 2007
• Computing and information technology underlie much of the
world economy and offer the best employment opportunities
for college graduates throughout the world today.
• Despite high industrial demand for graduates with computing
skills, student interest in the these specialties has plummeted
throughout the developed world.
• Declining student interest in technical fields represents a
serious threat to economic competitiveness at a critical time.
The actions that developed countries take in response to this
challenge will have a profound effect on the health of the
world economy.
The Need for Greater Understanding
I have not seen a compelling narrative for the decline in student interest.
— Bill Gates, Stanford University,
February 19, 2008
• The failure of universities to produce a sufficient number of
graduates with the necessary computing skills is now widely
recognized as a crisis in both academia and industry.
• Unfortunately, the underlying causes for the decline in student
interest are not well understood. Although several theories
seek to explain the decline in student interest, they do not
provide a comprehensive explanation of student behavior.
• These slides represent an early attempt toward developing a
“compelling narrative” of the sort Bill Gates described during
his visit to Stanford. That narrative is as yet incomplete, and I
welcome any comments and criticism.
The Paradox of Computing Employment
• The computing industry offers some of the best employment
opportunities for college graduates in the United States today:
– The number of jobs in the domestic software industry are at an all-time
high and are projected to grow dramatically over the next decade.
– Salaries for newly minted B.S. graduates in Computer
Employment Science are
high, sometimes exceeding the $100,000 mark. (thousands)
Growth
Top 10 job growth categories (2006-2016)
2006
2016
– In
2005,systems
Money
rated software
1.
Network
andmagazine
data communications
analysts engineer
262as the
402number
53.4 one
job in America.
2. Personal and home care aides
767
1,156
50.6
–
Employment
in
this
area
is
vital
for
national
competitiveness.
3. Home health aides
787
1,171
48.7
4.
Computer software engineers, applications
507
733
44.6
• At
same
time, and
student
interest in these71 disciplines
5. the
Veterinary
technologists
technicians
100
41.0has
plummeted.
The
Computing Research Association
(CRA)
6. Personal financial
advisors
176
248
41.0
Google and Facebook are fighting hard to hire this year’s
estimates
that computing
enrollments
by3almost
7. Makeup
theatrical
and performance
2
39.8 50
crop of artists,
computer
science graduates,
we’ve heard, andhave fallen
ground zero is Stanford. Most of the class of 2008 already
percent
since
their
peak
in is2000.
8. Medical
assistants
465
148
35.4
have job
offers even
though
graduation
months away.
•
Last year, salaries of up to $70,000 were common for the
9. Veterinarians
best students. This year, Facebook is said to be offering
ThisSubstance
decline
has
been
more
rapid
$92,000,
and
Google
increasedeven
some
offers
to $95,000
10.
abuse
andhas
behavioral
disorder
counselors
62
84
35.0
among
women
83
112
34.3and
to get their share of graduates. Students with a Master’s
minority
students,
reducing
diversity
as theProjections:
pool shrinks.
in
Computer
Science
are of
being
offered
as much
as
Source: U.S.degree
Department
of Labor,
Bureau
Labor
Statistics,
Employment
2006-16, December 2007.
$130,000 for associate product manager jobs at Google.
Degree Production vs. Job Openings
160,000
140,000
120,000
100,000
Ph.D.
Master’s
Bachelor’s
Projected job openings
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
Engineering
Physical Sciences
Biological Sciences
Computer Science
Sources: Adapted from a presentation by John Sargent, Senior Policy Analyst, Department of Commerce, at the
CRA Computing Research Summit, February 23, 2004. Original sources listed as National Science
Foundation/Division of Science Resources Statistics; degree data from Department of Education/National
Center for Education Statistics: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Completions Survey;
and NSF/SRS; Survey of Earned Doctorates; and Projected Annual Average Job Openings derived from
Department of Commerce (Office of Technology Policy) analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics 2002-2012
projections. See http://www.cra.org/govaffairs/content.php?cid=22.
Why this Paradox?
1. Fears about the long-term economic stability of
employment in the computing industry continue to have a
profound effect on student interest in our discipline.
2. The kind of exposure students get to computing at the
elementary and secondary level tends to push people
away from the discipline long before they reach the
university.
3. The image of work in the field—and, more importantly,
all too much of the reality of work in the field—is
unattractive to most students and no longer seems fun,
particularly in comparison to other opportunities that
bright students might pursue.
4. The university curriculum is somehow broken and needs
a radical overhaul.
The Curriculum Has a Second-Order Effect
• The computing curriculum as traditionally implemented has
deficiencies and can always be improved.
• As an explanation for declining enrollments, however, the
“curriculum is broken” theory has serious shortcomings:
1. It cannot explain why enrollments have varied so much over time.
2. It fails to account for the fact that institutions saw a similar loss of
enrollment even when their curricula were different. Most of the
proposed curriculum improvements were in place somewhere in
2000-01, but declines occurred everywhere. The resurgence of
enrollment in the last year also seems independent of curriculum.
3. Students decide to avoid computing long before they have any
idea what the university curriculum is.
The Curriculum Has a Second-Order Effect
3. Students decide to avoid computing long before they have any
idea what the university curriculum is.
Source: Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, 2005
The Curriculum Has a Second-Order Effect
• The computing curriculum as traditionally implemented has
deficiencies and can always be improved.
• As an explanation for declining enrollments, however, the
“curriculum is broken” theory has serious shortcomings:
1. It cannot explain why enrollments have varied so much over time.
2. It fails to account for the fact that institutions saw a similar loss of
enrollment even when their curricula were different. Most of the
proposed curriculum improvements were in place somewhere in
2000-01, but declines occurred everywhere. The resurgence of
enrollment in the last year also seems independent of curriculum.
3. Students decide to avoid computing long before they have any
idea what the university curriculum is.
4. Students who take our courses tend to like them but still shy away
from the computer science major.
Students Like Our Courses But Go Elsewhere
Gateway Gateway
Course for
Course
Management
for Computer
ScienceScience
& Engineering
Computer Science
Management Science & Engineering
student
flow
How Students Choose Their Majors
For the most part, students do not base their
decisions on what they want to study, but
instead on what they want to do.

If students are not majoring in computer
science, the problem is likely to be that they
don’t want to work in the field.
The Vilification of Programming
• Those who argue most strongly for the broken curriculum
theory often blame programming for the woes of the discipline,
decrying the widely held view among students that
computer science = programming
This view is indeed too narrow.
• Unfortunately, however, some have started to argue for the far
less defensible proposition that
programming  computer science
Adopting this position throws the baby out with the bathwater.
Dangerous Trends
We have met the enemy and he is us.
— Walt Kelly
• As an illustration of this trend, consider the following post that
appeared on SIGCSE-MEMBERS on August 14, 2006:
I have an idea for a panel that I’d like to organize for SIGCSE’07. I’m asking for
volunteers (or nominations of others) to serve on the panel. The panel I’d like to
organize would have a title something like:
“Alternative Models for a Programming-lite Computer Science Curriculum”
The theme of the panel would be to share ideas and thoughts on how we might
reduce (or eliminate) the emphasis on programming within a computer science
curriculum. The basic idea is to cause discussion centered on the knowledge and
skills students of tomorrow will need in the global economic workspace and the
implications for the CS curriculum. As more and more aspects of software
development of “offshored”, what kind of curriculum would allow a student to be
successful in the IT field?
Industry Is Not Amused
• Every technical person in the industry with whom I’ve spoken
is horrified by the prospect of reducing the emphasis on
programming in the undergraduate curriculum.
• At the ACM Education Council meeting in September, a panel
of technical people from companies like Microsoft, Google,
Amazon, and Boeing were united in their concern about the
scarcity of competent software developers. I have summarized
their position as “the computing curriculum is not nearly as
broken as it seems likely to become.”
• Employers in developed countries with high-tech sectors are
desperate for more people with programming talent. In his
keynote at ITiCSE 2007 in Dundee, Scottish entrepreneur Chris
van der Kuyl said that the lack of programming talent was the
greatest limiting factor in the industry. He called it coding.
Programming Remains Central
• As with many of the popular theories for declining enrollments,
the call to “reduce or eliminate” programming from computing
curricula arises from some undeniable assumptions:
– There are more jobs in IT that don’t require programming.
– Programming is not particularly popular with students today.
– Offshoring of programming jobs has increased.
• Unfortunately, this analysis ignores the following equally valid
propositions:
–
–
–
–
There are more jobs in IT that do require programming.
Programming has historically been what attracts students the most.
Globalization has created more IT jobs in India/China and the U.S.
Offshoring exists largely because of a shortfall of skilled employees.
A Thought Experiment about Offshoring
• Suppose that you are Microsoft and that you can hire a
software developer from Stanford whose loaded costs will be
$200,000 per year. Over in Bangalore, however, you can hire a
software developer for $75,000 per year. Both are equally
talented and will create $1,000,000 annually in value. What do
you do?
• Although the developer in Bangalore has a higher return, the
optimal strategy is to hire them both. After all, why throw away
$800,000 a year?
• Any elementary economics textbook will explain that one hires
as long as the marginal value of the new employee is greater
than the marginal cost. The essential point is that companies
seek to maximize return, and not simply to minimize cost.
Analysis of the Factors
1. Fears about the long-term economic stability of
employment in the computing industry continue to have a
profound effect on student interest in our discipline.
2. The kind of exposure students get to computing at the
elementary and secondary level tends to push people
away from the discipline long before they reach the
university.
3. The image of work in the field—and, more importantly,
all too much of the reality of work in the field—is
unattractive to most students and no longer seems fun,
particularly in comparison to other opportunities that
bright students might pursue.
Industry Reports a Labor Shortage
— April 28, 2005
Gates Cites Hiring Woes, Criticizes Visa Restrictions
By David A. Vise
Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said yesterday the software giant is having
enormous difficulty filling computer jobs in the United States as a result of tight visa
restrictions on foreign workers and a declining interest among U._S. students in computer
science.
<tab>Speaking on a technology panel at the Library of Congress, Gates said a decline in the
number of U._S. students pursuing careers in science and technology is hurting Microsoft
in the short run, and could have serious long-term consequences for the U._S. economy if
the problem is not addressed.
<tab>“We are very concerned that the U._S. will lose its competitive position. For
Microsoft, it means we are having a tougher time hiring,” Gates said. “The jobs are there,
and they are good-paying jobs, but we don’t have the same pipeline.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/27/AR2005042702241.html
Both Sides of the Atlantic Feel the Pinch
— August 18, 2008
Thousands of jobs ‘lost’ as courses snubbed
Slump in technology graduates fuels fear for future of economy
By Katherine Donnelly and John Walshe
Thousands of highly paid jobs are going abegging because colleges can’t get enough
students for courses that are key to the country’s economic future. . . .
<tab>There is deepening concern about the poor uptake in science, engineering and
technology—all of which are regarded as a cornerstone for future growth.
<tab>Despite the economic downturn, there are 10,000 vacancies in the computing and
the IT sector, and 5,000 jobs available in engineering.
<tab>A graphic example of the crisis was revealed last night showing that numbers
graduating in computer applications from Dublin City University dropped from 224 in
2005 to 70 this year.
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/thousands-of-jobs-lost-as-courses-snubbed-1457757.html
Even So, Many People Remain Unconvinced
— August 18, 2008
So where are these ‘lost’ jobs?
Concerning the report ‘Thousands of jobs lost as courses snubbed’ (Irish Independent,
August 18), I would love to know where the 5,000 engineering jobs are going abegging.
<tab>My son has just finished his Masters and has a 2.1 in mechanical engineering. Very
few jobs are advertised, never mind available. Most graduate positions that he has
applied for have been filled by people with experience, because experienced
engineers are finding it difficult to get work.
<tab>He has, like generations before him, gone to England for work, and not because he
wants to. . . .
<tab>Please, when you find out where all the marvellous positions are can you let me
know, my son would be delighted to hear.
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/letters/so-where-are-these-lost-jobs-1460165.html
Myths of a Jobs Crisis Persist
There is no shortage of evidence that people believe the myths
about the lack of jobs and the danger of outsourcing.
December 1, 2005
Blue Skies Ahead for IT Jobs
All this talk about “Blue Skies” ahead just
can’t hide the stark fact that Americans
who don’t wish to migrate to India and/or
some other off-shore haven are going to
have a difficult career.
By Maria Klawe
Contrary to popular belief, career
opportunities in computer science
are at an all-time high. We’ve got to
spread that message among students
from a rainbow of backgrounds, or
risk becoming a technological
backwater.
Why would any smart American undergrad
go into IT when companies like IBM and
HP are talking of stepping up their offshoring efforts in the coming years? They
want cheap labor, no matter the real cost.
I have been very successful in IT, but I
certainly wouldn’t recommend it today to
anyone except people
are geeks. . . .
Mariawho
Klawe
Harvey
Mudd
College
I thinkPresident,
the latest
figures
from
the U.S.
(at
the
time,
Dean
at
Princeton)
Department of Labor are not correct.
There Are Also Contrary Arguments
— January 26, 1998
Now Hiring! If You’re Young
By Norman Matloff
DAVIS, Calif—Readers of recent reports about a shortage of computer programmers
would be baffled if they also knew that Microsoft hires only 2 percent of its
applicants for software positions. Even among those applicants whom Microsoft
invites to its headquarters for interviews, according to David Pritchard, the director of
recruiting, the company makes offers to only one in four.
<tab>You don’t have to be a “techie” to see that such a low ratio, typical for the
industry, contradicts the claims of a software labor shortage. If companies were that
desperate, they simply could not be so picky.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE6DF123BF935A15752C0A96E958260
Matloff argues that there is no programmer shortage. The only
clear conclusion one can draw from the data is that companies
perceive a shortage in applicants who pass their quality threshold.
The Microsoft Programming Personae
Microsoft’s cultural lore defines three types of programmers:
Mort is your most common developer, who doesn’t have a CS
background, may even be a recent newcomer, and doesn’t quite
understand what the computer is doing under the covers, but who
writes the dinky IT programs that make businesses run. Elvis, more
knowledgeable, cares about code quality, but has a life too. Einstein
writes some serious-ass piece of code like device drivers, wants to
get things done, needs to be able to go low level and high level,
needs a language without restrictions to get his job done.
— Wesner Moise, “Who are you? Mort, Elvis or Einstein,” September 25, 2003
http://wesnerm.blogs.com/net_undocumented/2003/09/who_are_you_mor.html
For the most part, Microsoft (along with
Google and other first-rank companies)
are seeking to hire the Einsteins, which
explains the low hiring ratio.
Variations in Programmer Productivity
• In 1968, a study by Sackman, Erikson, and Grant1 revealed that
programmers with the same level of experience exhibit variations
of more than 20 to 1 in the time required to solve particular
programming problems.
• More recent studies2, 3, 4 confirm this high variability.
• Most industry insiders believe that the productivity variance is
even higher today. In 2005, Google’s VP for Engineering, Alan
Eustace, told The Wall Street Journal that one top-notch engineer
is worth 300 times or more than the average.5
1
2
3
4
5
H. Sackman, W. J. Erikson, and E. E. Grant. Exploratory experimental studies comparing on-line and off-line programming
performance. Communications of the ACM, January 1968.
W. Curtis. Substantiating programmer variability. Proceedings of the IEEE, July 1981.
T. DeMarco and T. Lister. Programmer performance and the effects of the workplace. Proceedings of the 8th International
Conference on Software Engineering. IEEE Computing Society Press, August 1985.
G. E. Bryan. Not all programmers are created equal. In Richard Thayer, Software Engineering Project Management (second
edition), IEEE Computer Society, 1997.
T. Pui-Wing and K. Delaney. Google’s growth helps ignite Silicon Valley hiring frenzy. Wall Street Journal, November 23, 2005.
Analysis of the Factors
1. Fears about the long-term economic stability of
employment in the computing industry continue to have a
profound effect on student interest in our discipline.
2. The kind of exposure students get to computing at the
elementary and secondary level tends to push people
away from the discipline long before they reach the
university.
3. The image of work in the field—and, more importantly,
all too much of the reality of work in the field—is
unattractive to most students and no longer seems fun,
particularly in comparison to other opportunities that
bright students might pursue.
CS is Losing Ground in the Schools
• In the United States, the Computer Science exam is the only
Advanced Placement exam that has shown declining student
numbers in recent years.
Eliminated in 2009
• Similar problems exist in the UK in terms of declining student
interest in relevant A-levels in science and maths.
Computing Faces Huge Challenges in Schools
• People who have software development skills command high salaries
and tend not to teach in schools.
• In many schools, computing courses are seen as vocational and not as
academic. In the U.S., the National Collegiate Athletic Association
no longer offers academic credit for most computing courses.
• Students who are heading toward top universities are advised to take
non-CS courses to bolster their admissions chances.
• Because schools are evaluated on how well their students perform in
math and science, many schools are shifting teachers away from
computer science toward these disciplines. Those disciplines,
moreover, actively oppose expanding high-school computer science.
• Administrators find tools like PowerPoint more sexy and exciting. J
• Computing skills in general—and programming in particular—have
become much harder to teach.
• Teachers have few resources to keep abreast of changes in the field.
Analysis of the Factors
1. Fears about the long-term economic stability of
employment in the computing industry continue to have a
profound effect on student interest in our discipline.
2. The kind of exposure students get to computing at the
elementary and secondary level tends to push people
away from the discipline long before they reach the
university.
3. The image of work in the field—and, more importantly,
all too much of the reality of work in the field—is
unattractive to most students and no longer seems fun,
particularly in comparison to other opportunities that
bright students might pursue.
The Real Image Problem
Dilbert
“The Knack”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmYDgncMhXw
The Reality Is Also a Problem
Has anyone considered the possibility that it’s just not fun anymore?
—Don Knuth, October 11, 2006
• Students at Stanford have expressed the following concerns:
– Long hours with little chance for a balanced life
– A less pleasant social milieu than other occupations
– A sense that success in programming is possible only for those
who are much brighter than they see themselves to be
– Work that is often repetitive and unchallenging, particularly
when it involves maintaining legacy technology
– Programming has become more difficult than it used to be
– No chance for a lasting impact because of rapid obsolescence
– Fears that employment with an individual company is dicey even
though opportunities are good in the industry as a whole
– Frustration at being managed by nontechnical people who make
more money but are not as bright (Dilbert’s boss)
Dilbert’s Boss Has More Appeal than Dilbert
Everyone knows who the pointy-haired boss is, right? I think most people
in the technology world not only recognize this cartoon character, but
know the actual person in their company that he is modelled upon.
— Paul Graham, May 2002
But the Reality Is Also a Problem
Has anyone considered the possibility that it’s just not fun anymore?
—Don Knuth, October 11, 2006
• Students at Stanford have expressed the following concerns:
– Long hours with little chance for a balanced life
– A less pleasant social milieu than other occupations
– A sense that success in programming is possible only for those
who are much brighter than they see themselves to be
– Work that is often repetitive and unchallenging, particularly
when it involves maintaining legacy technology
– Programming has become more difficult than it used to be
– No chance for a lasting impact because of rapid obsolescence
– Fears that employment with an individual company is dicey even
though opportunities are good in the industry as a whole
– Frustration at being managed by nontechnical people who make
more money but are not as bright
– A perception that programmers are definitely on the labor side of
the labor/capital divide
The Capital-Labor Divide
Capital
Labor
What We Need To Do
• Recognize that the problems extend well beyond the university.
• Press government and industry to improve computing education
at the K-12 level, possibly through public-private partnerships.
• Take creative steps to bolster both the image and the reality of
work in the profession.
• Make it clear to students (as well as faculty) that programming
remains essential to much of the work in the field.
• Emphasize the “beauty” of programming by focusing more
attention on software as an art.
• Explore new styles of pedagogy that are more finely attuned to
artistic domains.
Knuth’s Turing Award Lecture (1974)
Implicit
in these remarks
is began
the notion
that there
is
When
Communications
of the ACM
publication
in 1959,
something
undesirable
an area
of human
that is
the members
of ACM’sabout
Editorial
Board
made activity
the following
classified
andescribed
“art”; it has
be a Science
before
it has any
remark as as
they
the to
purposes
of ACM’s
periodicals:
real stature. On the other hand, I have been working for more
“If 12
computer
programming
to become
important
than
years on
a series ofis books
calledan “The
Art of
part of computer
researchPeople
and development,
a transition
Computer
Programming.”
frequently ask
me why I
of programming
fromin an
to apeople
disciplined
science
picked
such a title; and
factartsome
apparently
don’t
must be
believe
thateffected.”
I really did so, since I’ve seen at least one
bibliographic reference to some books called “The Act of
<tab>Such a goal has been a continually recurring theme during
Computer Programming.”
the
ensuing years; for example, we read in 1970 of the “first
<tab>In this talk I shall try to explain why I think “Art” is the
steps
towardword.
transforming
the art
into a
appropriate
I will discuss
whatofit programming
means for something
science.”
we have
actually
succeeded
in making
to be an Meanwhile
art, in contrast
to being
a science;
I will
try to
our
discipline
a
science,
and
in
a
remarkably
simple
examine whether arts are good things or bad things; and Iway:
will
merely
by
deciding
to
call
it
“computer
science.”
try to show that a proper viewpoint of the subject will help us
all to improve the quality of what we are now doing.
<tab>
http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/361604.361612
Don Knuth
ACM Turing Award
1974
Paul Graham’s Hackers and Painters
When I finished grad school in computer science I went to
art school to study painting. A lot of people seemed surprised
that someone interested in computers would also be
interested in painting. They seemed to think that hacking and
painting were very different kinds of work—that hacking
was cold, precise, and methodical, and that painting was the
frenzied expression of some primal urge.
<tab>Both of these images are wrong. Hacking and painting
have a lot in common. In fact, of all the different types of
people I’ve known, hackers and painters are among the most
alike.
<tab>What hackers and painters have in common is that
they’re both makers. Along with composers, architects, and
writers, what hackers and painters are trying to do is make
good things.
http://www.paulgraham.com/hp.html
Paul Graham
(photo by Niall Kennedy)
Dick Gabriel’s Proposal for a Software MFA
Softwareapt
education
todaycan
is be
embodied
Computer
Another
comparison
found ininthe
creative Science
writing
and ItSoftware
programs,
supplemented
by
arts.
is entirelyEngineering
possible to become
an extraordinary
writer
informal
mentoring
on the
job. and
I find
this and
approach
by
one’s self,
by simply
writing
reading,
many
unsatisfactory.
development
is a way
performance
excellent
writers Software
progress this
way. A faster
to gain
exhibiting skills
developed
an individual—often
in
competence
is through
a Masterbyof Fine
Arts program, which
groups
of teams
in order
to achieve
is
designed
to rapidly
increase
one’s the
skillsscale
and ofto software
get one
required. toInbring
this way,
software
is like
putting
prepared
to bear
criticaldevelopment
thinking to the
process
of
on a play, which
requires Some
the skills
and that
performances
continuing
improvement.
believe
all aspectsofofa
number of
people
in tandem
on stage
and behind
software
design
andworking
development
are really
engineering
or
the scenes.disciplines
Such skillswhere
can bethe
developed
in isolation
through
scientific
models of
engineering
and
practice apply,
with other
even by
putting
in
science
and Iamateurs
will notorquarrel
with
themon
norplays
try to
public without
any training
convince
them otherwise.
. . . at all. But how much faster
could
be is
developed
educational
that
<tab>
Thistalent
proposal
predicatedinona the
belief that program
being a good
recognizeddesigner
that writing
software has
enoughtalent,
of an and
arts-like
software
and developer
requires
that
performance
programliken
was the
tailored
to it?of
talent
can be component
developed. that
We the
explicitly
practice
software to the practice of fine art.
http://www.dreamsongs.com/MFASoftware.html
Dick Gabriel
software wizard
prizewinning poet
Alternative Models of Software Education
Although Dick Gabriel’s model of an MFA
in software is worth investigating, it may be
more appropriate to create “conservatories”
for the teaching of software arts, similar to
music conservatories. One possibility might
be some sort of New England Conservatory
of Coding. (Or
Or perhaps
perhaps a Hogwarts School
for Software Wizardry.)
Wizardry.
SEMESTER AT C++
SEA
Another model might be to create intensive
programs that encourage students to focus on
the art of software development, in much the
same way that programs like the University
of Virginia’s Semester at Sea program offers
a concentrated immersion in oceanography,
geography, and cultural anthropology.
Three Student Personae
Taking a cue from Microsoft’s classification of programmers, it
is interesting to think about different students that computer
science attracts:
• In the boom years, we tended to attract the entrepreneur, lured by
the dream of start-up riches. That student now heads for finance.
• Most academic programs tend to focus on creating the engineer,
but that lifestyle strikes today’s students as boring.
• We need to attract the artist—someone who can appreciate the
passion, beauty, joy, and awe that make our field exciting.
And consider not only how much easier
it is to find female artists to serve as
role models but also how much easier it
is to convince women that the lifestyle
of an artist might be attractive.
Georgie
Dora
Mary
Frida
Emily
Carrington
Cassatt
O’Keeffe
Kahlo
Carr
Artists Have a More Positive Image
In 1998, sixth-graders in selected California schools were asked to
draw their image of a computer professional. The drawings are
for the most part aligned with traditional stereotypes, as follows:
Images of Computing (Bermuda)
In Bermuda, we performed the same exercise after students had
taken several Stanford-designed courses:
Beauty is truth, truth beauty, that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
— John Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” 1819
The End