Lifetime Achievement
Innovative Partnership
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Tech joins state to target high school computer literacy
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Georgia Tech's College of Computing and the Georgia Department of Education have joined forces to make high school students more computer literate.
By strengthening the technology skills of computer science teachers, Tech and the Department of Education hope to boost the skills of students. The partnership blossomed from a new introductory computer science course developed at Tech by associate computing professor Mark Guzdial that has drastically improved student performance. Training courses for high school teachers were developed by computing instructor Barb Ericson.
"We need to have a much more computer and information technology-literate student body when they come to us," says College of Computing Dean Rich DeMillo, PhD 72. "We've been giving people vocational training in computer programming masquerading as university-level work. We want to assume an incoming student is computer literate so we can give them something that adds value to their education. That is why this partnership is so important."
State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox says only 44 of the 376 high schools in Georgia currently offer advanced placement computer science classes. Through this partnership Cox hopes all of the state's high schools will soon offer those courses.
In June, the College of Computing began teaching workshops designed to upgrade high school computer science teachers' curriculums and improve their knowledge of computer technology and programming. An interactive programming and systems management workshop used a media-centered approach — using programming to manipulate photos, video and audio samples — to explain the computer science concepts needed to solve programming tasks.
The approach was pioneered by Guzdial through the introductory programming course he designed for non-computer science and non-engineering majors at Tech that has had amazing results.
In 2001-02, when all freshmen on campus were required to take the same introduction to computer science class, the drop, withdrawal or failure rate was 28 percent. This spring, the third semester introduction to media computation was offered, the rate was 9.5 percent, Guzdial says.
Lifetime Achievement
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Clough cited for contribution to engineering education
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Georgia Tech President Wayne Clough has been recognized for his lifetime contribution to education by the nation's oldest engineering society.
Clough was presented the 2004 Outstanding Projects and Leaders award from the American Society of Civil Engineers during the organization's fifth-annual awards gala May 12 in Washington, D.C.
ASCE President Patricia D. Galloway says Clough's "teaching, research, administrative and professional leadership has touched an astounding number of people."
Clough, CE 64, MS CE 65, says he was flattered by the honor.
"It's very meaningful to me and I'm deeply appreciative to ASCE for selecting me to receive this. But in doing so, they are also selecting Georgia Tech and recognizing our excellence here.
"This institution has evolved so impressively since my days here as a student, and it has been a real privilege to work with our faculty, our students and staff to reach our current status," Clough says. "They have been partners in my leadership and I'm happy to accept this as a recognition of that."
Clough began his career 40 years ago as an assistant professor at Duke University. From there he moved to Stanford University, where he became a full professor. In 1982 he transferred to Virginia Polytechnic and State University as a professor of civil engineering and coordinator of its geo-technical programs. Clough began his career in administration at Virginia Tech in 1990 as dean of the College of Engineering. He was named provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Washington in 1993. In September 1994 Clough became Georgia Tech's 10th president and the Institute's first alumnus in that office.
©2004 Georgia Tech Alumni Association
