CMU-Q hosts computer science workshops Tuesday, 23 November 2010 01:48

DOHA: Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) recently hosted a workshop focused on different technology platforms available for enhanced learning.

CS4Qatar, the series of computer science workshops designed for educators and students in Qatar, took place with a professional development workshop for teachers focused leveraging the tablet PC as well as promoting collaboration through social learning in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) classrooms.

“Learning from each other is an important aspect of education,” said Ananda Gunawardena, associate teaching professor in the School of Computer Science at CMU-Q, who led the workshop.

“Both the Tablet PC and Classroom Salon are platforms that promote interactive learning, and enhance communication between teachers and students.”

Gunawardena presented the benefits of the Tablet PC as both a teaching and a learning tool, where PC’s are networked and assignments can be easily exchanged between teachers and students, keeping the students more engaged and the teachers more aware of students’ progress. Classroom Salon (CLS) is a web-based platform developed to encourage the students to actively read the course material and make comments, essentially mimicking social networking, which then aids educators in gauging the students’ comprehension of course material.

Gunawardena is leading The Measuring Learning Consortium, a global consortium supported by HP, which will develop new technologies such as CLS for measuring students’ competency in STEM areas of study.

The Peninsula

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