| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/R79944/01 |
| Title: |
PPA: An Integrative Curriculum Supplement for Public Awareness of Software Engineering |
| Principal Investigator: |
Dickman, Dr P |
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| Department: |
School of Computing Science |
| Organisation: |
University of Glasgow |
| Scheme: |
PPE PreFEC |
| Starts: |
01 June 2002 |
Ends: |
31 May 2006 |
Value (£): |
31,609
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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As the use of computers becomes more widespread, there is an increasing ignorance of what actually goes on inside the machine and how to make it happen. By introducing key concepts, ideas and techniques in the primary classroom we aim to reverse this trend. Surprisingly, we will avoid the use of computers, instead emphasising the human cognitive skills that underpin the work of software engineers. In particular, we wish to communicate the fundamental techniques employed by researchers in supporting increased scale and runtime change in large & long-lived software systems.There is little or no public appreciation of the intellectual tools used by researchers to manage complexity in software systems. This is compounded by the minimal coverage given to programming in the ICT topic of the National Curriculum, and exacerbated by a shortage of suitable classroom material. Techniques such as indirection, abstraction, concurrency and locking are, however, accessible even to primary age children when presented by analogy with everyday activities. We will produce teaching materials, designed for classroom use with children aged 10-12, that will allow them to explore combinations of skills and concepts that can be used to address problems of scale and to retain flexibility in complex long-lived systems.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.gla.ac.uk |