Computer Sciences Colloquium - : A "gentle" CS Introduction Turns Into MOOC

Abstract:

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) were first introduced a decade ago and have gained wide popularity, with over 6000 MOOCs being offered worldwide. Their goal is to enable large scale dissemination of educational material, using digital age technology. I will start this talk by describing some facts (and concerns) about MOOCs. I will then describe a current effort to build an Introduction to Computer Science MOOC at Tel-Aviv University. This MOOC is developed and will be taught jointly with Prof. Benny Chor. It is aimed at non-CS university students, as well as larger audiences, such as high school CS teachers, and high school pupils, including those living in areas with no ready accessibility to any university.

The project started a few months ago, and is conducted under the umbrella of the "TAU Online" Center. I will describe the new course and the experience gained in the short time since the project began, as well as its unique challenges. Finally, I will mention some pedagogical considerations, which I believe are relevant to "standard” CS courses.