CS 4944: Senior Seminar
Spring 2017

Task 1. Attend one technical talk or seminar. Write a two-paragraph response to the presentation---one paragraph summarizing the content and one paragraph politely critiquing the presentation. The quality of your writing will be assessed for this assignment. Upload your response to the class Canvas site by May 8.

Task 2. Attend class on February 21 to participate in a panel discussion with CSRC representatives.

Task 3.

• Read this recent CACM article by Peter Denning.
• Watch these videos:
  • Salman Khan, Education in 2060
  • Daphne Koller, What we're learning from online education
• Attend class on January 31 or February 7 to participate in a discussion of these videos, MOOCs, classroom-flipping, the future of education, etc.
• One outcome the CS program wants its graduates to achieve is "a recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in lifelong learning." Reflecting on this outcome, these videos, the classroom discussion, and your experience in CS at VT, write a thoughtful one or two paragraphs in response to these questions:
  • Are you prepared/equipped to pursue lifelong learning as a computer scientist?
  • Would you have been better prepared for lifelong learning if the ideas presented in these references had revolutionized college education before you entered college?
  Upload your response to the class Canvas site by February 14.

Task 4. Write a two-paragraph essay in which you self-assess the extent to which you have achieved or experienced the horizontal and diagonal characteristics of a "VT-shaped Student". This is a term that the university has been using recently to describe our goals for VT graduates. Note that the "horizontal" aspect has to do with breadth and transdisciplinary knowledge; and the "diagonal" aspects have to do with informal, communal, and experiential learning. Give yourself an A-F grade for each of the two aspects, along with a few sentences justifying each grade. Upload your response to the class Canvas site by April 3.

Task 5.

• Read "Why software engineering courses should include ethics coverage" by Narayanan and Vallor, which appeared in the March 2014 issue of CACM [pdf]
• Attend class on March 28 or April 11 and participate in a discussion of this article.
• Another outcome that the CS program wants to see its graduates achieve is "an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility." Reflecting on this article, your experience in CS at VT, and this program outcome, write a thoughtful one-paragraph response to this question:
  • "Do you believe achieving this outcome is more difficult in computer science than it is for most other science and engineering fields? Why or why not?"
  Upload your response to the class Canvas site by April 18.

Task 6. Complete by May 8 the simple "PEO Survey" available (under Quizzes) in the class Canvas site.

Task 7. Write a 4-5 paragraph essay on the topic described here. The quality of your writing will be assessed for this assignment. Upload your response to the class Canvas site by May 8.

Task 8. Prepare and give an exit presentation, as described here. These presentations will be scheduled in 15 minute slots in April and May (schedule TBA). The quality of your presentation will be assessed for this assignment. Presentations will be held in McBryde 114.