Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

Qualified search for information in the internet is considered to be a fundamental capability of pupils to be educated for the information society. The theory of planned formation of intellectual actions is assumed as a basis of learning of internet search systems. The paper reports on the computer teaching program “Poshuk-META” (Retrieval Aim), a system to get acquainted with searching the internet even without an internet-access.

Introductory computing courses emerged during the sixties, under a variety of designations such as “programming” or “automatic computing”, offered to university students in a broad range of disciplines. Whereas the concept of a “first course in computer science” survived four decades, and even moved to the high school level, its goals and contents have been changing excessively, and have not as yet reached a stable state. We review the historical development of typical introductory CS courses and analyze the forces that shaped them. Inspired by more mature sciences, and the way their introductory courses evolved over centuries to simultaneously meet distinct expectations, we argue that an introductory CS course should address three goals: the development of skills in programming some simple system, appreciation of intellectual achievements, and the role of information technology in society. Although this requirement may be considered overly ambitious, we aim to show that it can be achieved if issues are presented in terms of well-chosen examples rather than in a general, abstract manner.

The importance of the historical and human aspects of the didactics of informatics is discussed. The threefold human aspects of teaching: by, for and about people is explored. Using the example of the notion of the procedure, the potential of the historical discussion is investigated. A strengthening of the historical and human view is required both in university research and in the curricula of the informatics education at both secondary and university levels.

In the recent past a number of concepts have achieved prominence in the quest for basic principles of informatics with long-term validity. Particularly at schools providing an all-round education, it makes sense – and is necessary – to concentrate on basic concepts. The fact is that strictly product-related knowledge is inadequate, and in some cases already obsolete before pupils leave school. A more systematic grasp of these concepts and their interrelations is therefore not just desirable, but essential. Some of these “unchanging values” in informatics are briefly introduced here, and it is shown how they can be, first, made more comprehensible by means of applets, and second, put to work in teaching right now, in conjunction with eLearning.

Spreadsheets are part of the educational syllabus of instruction for secondary schools in Austria. They are mainly taught using applications, disregarding the fact that building spreadsheets is programming. But the programming nature of spreadsheets is undeniable. Data in cells is interconnected with a rather sophisticated formula language. Since the spreadsheet paradigm differs from common procedural or object-oriented paradigms that students may already be aware of, teaching spreadsheets is a complex task. Moreover, the data flow paradigm is a concept foreign to students or trainees.

Lack of proper paradigms or computational models even complicates the situation. Is there a so called spreadsheet didactics – and if not, how should it look like? Should teachers train spreadsheet applications or insist on building models before implementing? How should they consider the spreadsheet programming viewpoint – without students scaring away and without loosing the spreadsheet’s charm since they are said to be easy to use? This paper presents the main problem fields, presents a didactical model, and finally presents some rather pragmatic advice on how to teach spreadsheets.

Having analyzed standard applications by use of object oriented modeling in the 6 and 7 grade functional data modeling is the first topic to be discussed in the 8 grade of the mandatory subject informatics at the Bavarian Gymnasium. First, the data flow modeling technique is introduced and the resulting data flow models are implemented on spreadsheets maintaining the geometrical structure of the diagrams. Yet the first data flow models show the necessity to introduce the concept of functions in full strength. In contrast to the mathematical way the concept of functions is introduced informally using graphical concepts. In a second phase the data flow models are transformed to one complex term. Exemplarily an appropriate algorithm to perform this transformation is presented. Boolean functions and conditional expressions deepen the modeling technique and introduce further central concepts of informatics. Conditional expressions are discussed as functions of arity 3 modeling again commonly known structures. Finally iterative calculations are simulated using a step by step strategy.

Users of current software are faced with ever rising requirements as these tools are subject to more and more changes. These tools, which are getting more and more complex, can only be used efficiently, if users are capable of an abstract and structured approach. In further education, it is necessary to sustainibly develop training-concepts that will give them skills irrespective of special software.

Informatic models have proven to be suitable to teach document structures which will be of long-term use. So users will no longer be dependent on the knowledge of the ever-changing surface they will rather help them to understand the working of modern software-systems.

Based on didactics of informatics the following text will present approaches for assorted contents in the context of training Microsoft®Word and gives information on two courses conducted in companies and the experiences made.

During the last decade a new computer science curriculum has been taught in Israeli high schools. The curriculum introduces CS concepts and problem-solving methods and combines both theoretical and practical issues. The Logic Programming elective module of the curriculum was designed to introduce to students a second programming paradigm. In this paper we describe how we used , when teaching abstract data types (ADTs), to introduce the interweaving declarative and procedural aspects of logic programming. The following types of evolving boxes were used: (a) black boxes that could be used transparently, (b) white boxes that could be modified to suit specific needs, and (c) grey boxes that reveal parts of their internal workings.

We conducted a study aimed at assessing students’ use of ADTs. The findings indicated that the students demonstrated an integrative knowledge of ADT boxes as programming tools, and employed unique autonomous problem-solving strategies when using ADTs in programming.

Secondary academic schools in Austria provide students with a broad and extended general education. That is their mission. But although these schools consider it as one of their foremost tasks to impart knowledge, they also aim at providing students with other qualifications and skills. This paper describes the special and important role of Informatics and ICT on the lower and upper secondary level. Here an attempt is made to constitute the claim for the subject Informatics as part of general education from a scientific point of view. The recent and still ongoing shift of this subject from the upper level to the lower level secondary education caused some confusion about the allegedely different subjects such as introduction into Informatics, IT or ICT. In the perception of a broad public and even of teachers these terms mean almost the same thing. In this paper I suggest the acceptance of a broader view of the subject Informatics. Moreover an evaluation of all ongoing informatical activities at the secondary academic schools in Austria and subsequently the building of a framework of informatical competence for the whole scope of these particular schools is desirable.

We discuss the role of computers and informatics in school education in Poland; ‘informatics’ generally stands for ‘computer science’. Although, our investigations are based on the situation in Polish schools, the conclusions may apply to other countries. The main attention is paid here to didactical approaches in teaching and learning informatics and its applications with the emphasis on preparation for living and lifelong learning in the information society (knowledge-based society). In recent years one can observe many changes in schools regarding the role of computers and informatics education. On the other hand we still have to address fundamental questions:

In answering these and other questions we discuss some of the solutions we proposed and which have been introduced to Polish schools and to the system of teacher training. In particular, we focus our attention on the didactical approach to teaching IT-relevant subjects and the integration of IT with other subjects and to teaching informatics (as a process of designing a computer solution of a problem). With regard to teacher preparation, we present the preparation standards and discuss the role of school IT co-ordinators.

We plan to demonstrate also an , an implementation of a new approach to teaching and learning of new technology with the help of technology.