Q1GeorgeMcCabe

Document Q1GeorgeMcCabe

1. Your Name

George McCabe

2. Your field of study?

Computer Science

3. In which semester of study are you?

Senior (8th)

4. Why are you interested in taking this course?

One of the main things that attracted me to CS was the room for creativity. I am interested in this course because it raises very intriguing discussion about the future of computers and education.

5. What courses / work activities / background knowledge do you have which might be relevant to this course?

I would consider myself to be creative in many areas, including music. Last summer, I worked as an intern at Arxan Technologies, a software security company. I have taken an education course which gives me some background in the learning process in schools. I have also read over the course material for DSS to prepare myself for the class.

6. Indicate your own digital literacy / fluency:
6.1. Describe your programming experience (languages, projects)

I have mostly programmed in C, C++, Java, SQL and Perl in the courses and internships I have completed. I have also done some work with Python, PHP, Actionscript, and XML.

6.2. What applications are you familiar with (e.g. Photoshop, Canvas, Dreamweaver,...)?

I used Photoshop frequently in high school for photography courses. Since I do not have Photoshop installed on my computer, I tend to use Paint to do basic image editing, although it is quite limited.

7. Give a brief description of the most important book / article which you have read with respect to the topic of the course.

It is not text but I witnessed an interactive music performance where the band members used microphones connected to a computer to shout out commands such as musical styles and adjectives. Their messages were output on a large screen and the rest of the band improvised in the theme of the words on the screen. This is another example of the integration of technology in improvisational music, combining art and computers.

8. What do you hope and expect to learn from this course?

I hope to learn about the future of computing and education and how to use the new media available to the best advantage.