Education
ACM’s educational activities, conducted primarily through our Education Board and Advisory Committee, range from the K-12 space (CSTA) and two-year programs to undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral-level education, and professional development for computing practitioners at every stage of their career...
Seismic Shifts: Challenges and Opportunities in the 'Post-ISA' Era of Computer Systems Design
Register now for the for the next free ACM TechTalk, "Seismic Shifts: Challenges and Opportunities in the 'Post-ISA' Era of Computer Systems Design", presented on Wednesday, July 27 at 2:00 PM ET/18:00 UTC by Margaret Martonosi, the Hugh Trumbull Adams '35 Professor of Computer Science at Princeton University. Will Tracz, former chair of ACM SIGSOFT and member of the ACM Professional Development Committee, will moderate the questions and answers session following the talk. Continue the discussion on ACM's Discourse Page.
Secure Computation in Practice
View the recent ACM TechTalk, "Secure Computation in Practice"," presented by Raluca Ada Popa, Robert E. and Beverly A. Brooks Associate Professor at UC Berkeley and recipient of the 2021 ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award. Natacha Crooks, Associate Professor at UC Berkeley, moderated the questions and answers session following the talk. Continue the discussion on ACM's Discourse Page.
Webinar on Language Matters: DEI and the Question of URM
Watch the webinar “Language Matters: DEI and the Question of URM,” featuring Nicki Washington of Duke University and Tiffani L. Williams of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in discussion on the importance of language to promote inclusive environments for work and study. The webinar was organized by the ACM Education Board’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Computing Education Task Force and ACM’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, and was moderated by DEI-CE co-chair Fay Cobb Payton.
Research Publication on Integrating Computational Thinking at the PreK-5 Level
Although research on computational thinking (CT) within K-12 has been emerging over the past few years, few studies have investigated the teaching of CT at the younger ages. The ACM and the Robin Hood Learning + Technology Fund co-funded this special research publication to examine empirically-based studies that focused on the integration of computational thinking at the elementary levels into a variety of learning disciplines including math, ELA, science, and computer science.
ACM and IEEE-CS Release Computing Curricula 2020, Global Guidelines for Baccalaureate Degrees in Computing
ACM and IEEE Computer Society have issued "Computing Curricula 2020 (CC2020): Paradigms for Global Computing Education." Developed by a 50-member task force drawn from 20 countries, CC2020 outlines global recommendations for baccalaureate degrees in computing. Designed to be comprehensive, CC2020 delineates the latest curricula for computer engineering, computer science, information systems, information technology, and software engineering, as well building on the CC2005 document with newer disciplines such as cybersecurity and data science.
First-Ever Computing Competencies for Undergraduate Data Science Curricula
A new report from the ACM Data Science Task Force, convened by ACM’s Education Board, seeks to define what the computing/computational contributions are to this new field, as well as to provide guidance on computing-specific competencies in data science for departments offering such programs of study at the undergraduate level. The document, “Computing Competencies for Undergraduate Data Science Curricula,” also invites collaborations with statisticians, mathematicians, and others in this interdisciplinary field.
ACM-W's Webinar Series Celebrates Women in Computing
By highlighting successful technical women who are leading diverse careers in the technology industry, ACM-W’s webinar series, “Celebrating Technology Leaders,” aims to inform students and early-career professionals about the multitude of career options open to them. Visit https://women.acm.org/celebrating-technology-leaders/ to view on-demand.
CRA Surveys Computer Science Faculty, Department Heads on COVID-19's Impacts
The Computing Research Association (CRA) conducted two surveys about the COVID-19 disruption in summer 2020. One surveyed computer science faculty members about their experiences transitioning from teaching in person to teaching online as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The other surveyed department chairs, asking them about the impact of COVID-19 on their faculty, department operations, student job searches, and budgets, and their concerns going into fall 2020.
Education Board Retention Committee Report on CS Undergraduate Student Retention
The ACM Education Board's Retention Committee has released "Retention in Computer Science Undergraduate Programs in the U.S.: Data Challenges and Promising Interventions." The report calls for additional research to provide a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of attrition and retention, and encourages higher education institutions to provide proactive counseling to undergraduate students about career opportunities in CS.
Report Aims to Smooth Transition between Community College and Computing Career
A report by the ACM Education Policy Committee analyzes various initiatives being implemented throughout the US that aim to increase the pipeline of students pursuing computing degrees; identify programs that have had the most success; and describe aspects of these programs that could be emulated elsewhere.
ACM Europe and IE Release Informatics Education Strategy
The ACM Europe Council and Informatics Europe have collaborated on a report that builds on an earlier document, "Informatics Education in Europe: Are We All in the Same Boat?". The report, "Informatics for All: The Strategy," aims to establish Informatics as an essential discipline for all, a subject available at all levels throughout the educational system. The strategy is also summarized in a one-page document.
Listen to ACM ByteCast!
In this episode of ACM ByteCast, our special guest host Scott Hanselman (of The Hanselminutes Podcast) welcomes Charu Thomas, Founder and CEO of Ox. Charu is an entrepreneur, researcher, and hacker. Her honors and recognitions include the ACM International Symposium on Wearable Computers (ISWC) 2018 Best Paper award, Forbes 30 Under 30, TechCrunch’s SF Disrupt Top Pick in Retail/E-commerce, winner of the Atlanta Startup Battle 3.0, and Collegiate Inventors Competition Finalist.
Charu shares how she got interested in wearable computing while pursuing a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech. She explains how her research with Thad Starner, the inventor of Google Glass, led her to develop an augmented reality platform for order picking, and a vision to build the tools retailers need to transform their brick-and-mortar stores into micro-distribution centers. Charu highlights some people who have been instrumental in her journey from student to CEO, and some of the tools and tricks she’s learned along the way.
Links:
Charu Thomas' award-winning paper in ACM Digital Library.
Charu's blog on order picking.
Elizabeth Hawthorne Named Co-Chair of ACM Education Board
Elizabeth Hawthorne joins Chris Stephenson as Co-Chair of ACM's Education Board and Advisory Committee, to serve for the two-year term ending June 30, 2022. Hawthorne recently joined the computer science and cybersecurity faculty at Rider University and is Professor Emeritus at Union County College. Stephenson is Head of Computer Science Education Strategy at Google and is the Founder and former Executive Director of the Computer Science Teachers Association.
ACM Education Board and Advisory Committee
ACM education activity has been reorganized into two entities: the Education Board and the Education Advisory Committee (EAC). The Board wields the final executive and decision-making power to facilitate the work of the Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee is a task-force-based, networking-oriented environment whose aim is to promote ACM's educational mission to as wide a range of constituencies as possible: universities, community colleges, high schools, corporations, and the U.S. government.
Curricula Recommendations
ACM works with leading professional and scientific computing societies to develop curriculum recommendations for the rapidly changing landscape of computer technology. As the computing field continues to evolve, and new computing-related disciplines emerge, existing curriculum reports are updated, and additional reports for new computing disciplines drafted.
CCDS2021: Computing Competencies for Undergraduate Data Science Curricula
CC2020: Computing Curricula 2020 Paradigms for Global Computing Education now available in Chinese (Mandarin).
CC2020: Computing Curricula 2020 Paradigms for Global Computing Education (encompassing undergraduate programs in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Information Systems, Information Technology, Software Engineering; with Data Science)
IS2020: A Competency Model for Undergraduate Programs in Information Systems
IT 2017: Curriculum Guidelines now available in Chinese (Mandarin).
IT 2017: Curriculum Guidelines for Baccalaureate Degree Programs in Information Technology
Lifelong Learning
ACM offers lifelong learning resources including online books and courses from Skillsoft, TechTalks on the hottest topics in computing and IT, and more.
Bringing You the World’s Computing Literature
The most comprehensive collection of full-text articles and bibliographic records covering computing and information technology includes the complete collection of ACM's publications.
