Due to the rapid proliferation of the World Wide Web (WWW) in recent years,
many educators are now seeking to improve the effectiveness of their instruction
by providing interactive, web-based course material to their students. The purpose
of this thesis is to document a set of eight online learning modules created
to improve the effectiveness of learning the fundamentals of Computer Science.
The modules are as follows:
- Algorithms
- Definition and specification of algorithms, with a comparison and analysis
of several sorting algorithms as examples.
- Artificial
Intelligence - Overview of current applications in this discipline.
- Data
Structures - Explanation of basic data structures, including an introduction
to computer memory and pointers, and a comparison of logical and physical
representations of commonly used data structures.
- Machine
Architecture - Explanation of data storage, gates and circuits, and the
central processing unit.
- Number
Systems - Discussion of number representation and arithmetic in number
systems other than the decimal number system, with a focus on binary numbers
and binary arithmetic.
- Operating
Systems - Explanation of the purpose of operating systems and the major
components that make up an operating system.
- Programming
Languages - Explanation of the fundamental concepts in procedural programming
languages.
- Software
Engineering - Introduction to software life cycle models and an overview
of the procedural and object-oriented paradigms.
Each module consists of a set of lessons and review questions written in HyperText
Markup Language (HTML). Embedded in these pages are various interactive components
implemented as Flash animations or Java applets. The modules currently reside
on the Computer Science courseware server of Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University (Virginia Tech) and can be viewed at the following WWW
site: http://courses.cs.vt.edu/csonline/.
