Location: Bennington College
Term(s): Spring 2012
Class size: 4
In this course, we will apply computing methods in order to develop solutions to real world problems. We will focus on problems that require computing in order to create, collect, process, or visualize data and that offer opportunities to hone our coding and software development skills. Students are invited to bring their project ideas or existing projects in need of development into the class.
| Prerequisite: |
Permission of Instructor |
| Credits: |
2 |
| Time: |
F 2:10 – 6:00 pm
(This class meets during the first seven weeks of the term) |
Location: Bennington College
Term(s): Spring 2012
Class size: 13
Alan Turing is a central figure in the history and theory of computing. Turing gave the first precise definition of algorithms and computability and a guideline for understanding artificial intelligence: the Turing Test. Turing played a role in the cracking of German military encryption during World War II and in the post-war development of the first digital computers. Turing lost his security clearance and was largely forgotten for the last half of the 20th century because he was homosexual. We will explore the man, his ideas, and his lasting contributions to modern computing.
| Prerequisite: |
None |
| Credits: |
2 |
| Time: |
T/F 2:10 – 4:00 pm
(This class meets during the second seven weeks of the term) |
Location: Bennington College
Term(s): Spring 2012
Class size: 16
What is information? How do you measure it? Is information perishable? Is it scarce? Understanding what information is and how (and whether) it can be created, shared, manipulated, or destroyed is increasingly critical in understanding science, public policy, and civic engagement. This course will explore how our understanding of information has changed over the past 100 years and how that understanding changes how we behave individually and collectively.
| Prerequisite: |
None |
| Credits: |
4 |
| Time: |
T/Th 10:10 – 12:00 noon |
Location: Bennington College
Term(s): Spring 2012
Class size: 9
Most of us use free/open source software (the Web, Open Office, R, Linux) or services that rely upon FOSS (Yahoo!, Facebook, Google). In this course we will explore how these software projects are managed, the community of developers working to improve these projects, and the tools and languages they use. We will learn how to read, understand, and contribute to these projects.
| Prerequisite: |
Permission of Instructor |
| Credits: |
4 |
| Time: |
W 2:00 – 6:00 pm |
My job is not to deliver information, but rather it is to design learning experiences.
– Frederick P. Brooks at SIGCSE 2012
What will you improve today?