The C3 initiative: an overview

Computing is one toolset and technology that expands the set of problems students can tackle in any disciplinary framework.

Committee on Collaborative Computing

Why computing?

HMC

the 5Cs the world

Following the students…

by year, class, and 5C college

by major

C3's committee

C3's question

Rachel Levy, math.

In its approach to computing, can HMC be distinct enough to •  build upon our students' and community's interest? •  inspire and lead other colleges and universities? •  succeed in fundraising for its vision and programs?

Theresa Lynn, phys.

Deb Mashek, hsa

Liz Orwin, eng.

Bob Cave, chem. Melissa O'Neill, cs

Eliot Bush, bio.

C3's opportunity statement

HMC

the 5Cs

the world

C3's draft vision / executive summary

C3's draft vision / executive summary

HMC is uniquely-positioned, as it's already innovating in this area

Both a big-picture vision … & per-department buy-in have been articulated from all

disciplines

There are concerns, as well…

Faculty concerns

Faculty concerns

Per-department highlights

Physics:

Chemistry:

HSA

CS:

Engineering:

Computing != CS

Student + alum survey of spring '16

Comp. track since '73 & Mechanics, Animated!

Computing track and focused research

Math

Mindset  Skillset  

HMC Biology In Biology 52, all HMC students use computing to gain insight into the processes that direct and define life.

Each week, students submit programs they write:

note that Bio52 does not teach computing, just as Physics51 does not teach math.

In this problem you will implement the neighbor-joining algorithm for phylogenetic reconstruction and use it to reconstruct the relationships between a set of HIV/SIV sequences. wk4

Here you will create a simple evolutionary simulator with drift, natural selection and mutation.

To find genes in a novel genome sequence, we must find all the open reading frames, and then determine which of these are really genes. In this assignment, you will write a series of short Python functions to find open reading frames in a bacterial genome sequence.

Some bacteria cause disease, and others don't. In fact, closely related strains often differ greatly in this respect. What separates a pathogenic bacterium from a harmless one? Often it is just a handful of protein coding genes. In this assignment you will identify how proteins differ in closely related pathogenic (N16961) and non-pathogenic (PS15, 2740_80) strains of Vibrio cholerae.

wk2

wk6

wk8

h#ps://sites.google.com/a/g.hmc.edu/bio52/  

Comparing HMC's Bio1 with…

Matrix of computing engagement

Matrix of computing engagement

Verdict

A. Students at HMC and the 5Cs are enthusiastic and integrative.

B. HMC has structural advantages others do not: 1. Every student takes CS1 in their first semester 2. A pride in pedagogy stronger than in content particulars 3. Student-centric values and student-led pressures 4. Few places realize, institutionally, that computing != cs 5. "…so that they may assume leadership in their fields…"

and, via partnerships, both our students and we could lead…

C. These efforts are in their early stages…

In its approach to computing, can HMC be distinct enough to A.  build upon our students' and community's interest? B.  inspire and lead other colleges and universities? C.  succeed in fundraising for its vision and programs?

Additional slides…

For def'n buffs: Computing is the set of capabilities made possible only by today's algorithmic mindset, ubiquitous internet connectivity, and processing-and-storage-driven devices.

•  some new communication and collaboration possibilities •  some creativity that was not previously possible •  some expectations for hands-on/minds-on engagement •  some expectations for depth of understanding •  some appreciation of what can't be device-delegated

Today, our students incorporate computing to their advantage across all of their personal and social endeavors.

This is far less true in their professional experiences, except as they overlap the personal and social.

For def'n buffs: Computing is the set of capabilities made possible only by today's algorithmic mindset, ubiquitous internet connectivity, and processing-and-storage-driven devices.

•  some new communication and collaboration possibilities •  some creativity that was not previously possible •  some expectations for hands-on/minds-on engagement •  some expectations for depth of understanding •  some appreciation of what can't be device-delegated

Today, our students incorporate computing to their advantage across all of their personal and social endeavors.

This is far less true in their professional experiences, except as they overlap the personal and social.

In spring 2016 Zach Dodds and Julie Medero offered cs35, a pilot computing course targeting non-CS majors and, more pointedly, non-CS skills. 41 students took the course, completing a final project and 11 one-week assignments that askedthem to use a variety of libraries to solve or investigate problems in

•  Data analysis, transformation, structuring, and visualization •  Web-content retrieval and data-extraction from that content •  Machine learning and statistical analysis •  Natural language analysis •  Pixel processing

The 25 final projects spanned the social sciences, natural sciences, personal interests, and engineering applications. On April 13 we asked the class to reflect on what topics from cs35 they considered useful in their major discipline; we also asked what topics they might have liked to see - or see more of - in cs35 and where they would imagine those topics taught, e.g., by a CS department, their own department, or through other channels.

Overview of offered topics considered useful in their discipline: (out of the 37 reponses we received)

Machine Learning (10) Web technologies (7) Data Science (7) Data visualizion (6) Pixel processing (6) Natural-language processing (5)

Overview of topics students sought -- or sought to a greater extent:

Web technologies (more/more output) (7) Matlab/CAD (3) More machine learning (3) Creating one's own simulations (e.g., physics) to understand the phenomena (2) Hardware/Arduino/Maker skills (2) Data storage/Database skills (2) GIS/Mapping visualizations and systems (2) Time-series analysis (1) More social-science examples (1) More on the ethics of computing (1) More readings on the applications and context of computing (1) More on the tradeoffs/skills of using multiple languages (1) "How to use CS meaningfully (to make the world better)" (1)

Student voices

Student voices

Student voices

Seats filled… HMC

Who's in?

by year, class, and 5C college

by major

HMC Biology In Biology 52, all HMC students use computing to gain insight into the processes that direct and define life.

Each week, students submit programs they write:

note that Bio52 does not teach computing, just as Physics51 does not teach math.

In this problem you will implement the neighbor-joining algorithm for phylogenetic reconstruction and use it to reconstruct the relationships between a set of HIV/SIV sequences. wk4

Here you will create a simple evolutionary simulator with drift, natural selection and mutation.

To find genes in a novel genome sequence, we must find all the open reading frames, and then determine which of these are really genes. In this assignment, you will write a series of short Python functions to find open reading frames in a bacterial genome sequence.

Some bacteria cause disease, and others don't. In fact, closely related strains often differ greatly in this respect. What separates a pathogenic bacterium from a harmless one? Often it is just a handful of protein coding genes. In this assignment you will identify how proteins differ in closely related pathogenic (N16961) and non-pathogenic (PS15, 2740_80) strains of Vibrio cholerae.

wk2

wk6

wk8

h#ps://sites.google.com/a/g.hmc.edu/bio52/  

Verdict

A. Students at HMC and the 5Cs are enthusiastic and integrative.

B. HMC has structural advantages others do not: 1. Every student takes CS1 in their first semester 2. A pride in pedagogy stronger than in content particulars 3. Student-centric values and student-led pressures 4. Few places realize, institutionally, that computing != cs 5. "…so that they may assume leadership in their fields…"

and, via partnerships, both our students and we could lead…

C. These efforts are in their early stages…

In its approach to computing, can HMC be distinct enough to A.  build upon our students' and community's interest? B.  inspire and lead other colleges and universities? C.  succeed in fundraising for its vision and programs?