Tamar Vilner

• The Open University of Israel

The Open University of Israel (OUI) has an open admissions policy and is based primarily on distance learning. As in other universities, our CS1 course includes the topics recommended in the Computer Science Curricula (2013). The large number of students who register for the course (from 700-900 students per semester) presents us with unique challe...

The Open University of Israel (OUI) is an institution of higher education which has an open admissions policy and is based primarily on distance learning. The CSI course at the OUI is similar to introductory computing courses at other universities in Israel and worldwide. Over the years, we have composed some tens of CSI final exams and collected d...

The Open University of Israel (OUI) is a distance learning university. Our CS1 course is taught through video-taped lectures that cover the study material. In addition, students may participate in face-to-face group meetings in study centers located all over the country and taught by tutors. There is a special group called Ofek, in which the tutor...

In the Open University of Israel CS1 course, there are eight assignments contributing various percentages to the overall course assessment. The concepts of inheritance and polymorphism are covered in assignment 5. In the fall semester of 2009, assignment 5 was changed to demonstrate these topics using the Greenfoot environment. The change was accom...

In the Open University of Israel CS1 course, there are eight assignments contributing various percentages to the overall course assessment. The concepts of inheritance and polymorphism are covered in assignment 5. In the fall semester of 2009, assignment 5 was changed to demonstrate these topics using the Greenfoot environment. Here we describe thi...

Realizing the importance of teaching efficiency at early stages of the program of study in computer science (CS) on one hand, and the difficulties encountered when introducing this concept on the other, we advocate a different didactic approach in the introductory CS course (CS1). This paper describes the approach as it is used at the Open Universi...

The Computer Science (CS) discipline is continually developing. Consequently there are frequent changes in curricula and their implementations. The CS teachers, who usually work in schools alone or in small teams, are seriously challenged by the changes, since all their teaching materials and pedagogical methods have to be revised. In Israel, the s...

The Open University of Israel, a distance education institution with open admissions, offers a study system that was primarily based on written material. When we designed the new CS1 course in 2005, shifting from C++ to Java, we also switched from a course based on written material, to one based on videotaped lectures, which the students watch on P...

The ongoing debate among Computer Science educators about the advantages and disadvantages of the shift from the procedural to the Object-Oriented paradigm usually relates to the introductory course. Indeed, we were also concerned when in our institute we decided to implement this shift in our introductory course and started to teach Java, instead...

The Open University of Israel, a distance education institution with open admissions, offers a study system that was primarily based on written material. When we designed the new CS1 course in 2005, shifting from C++ to Java, we also switched from a course based on written material, to one based on videotaped lectures, which the students watch on P...

The Open University of Israel, a distance education institution with open admissions, offers a study system that was primarily based on written material. When we designed the new CS1 course in 2005, shifting from C++ to Java, we also switched from a course based on written material, to one based on videotaped lectures, which the students watch on P...

Computer science is possibly one of the few remaining disciplines almost entirely dominated by men, especially university staff and in the hi-tech industries. This phenomenon prevails throughout the western world; in Israel it starts in high school, where only 30% of students who choose to take computer science as an elective are women, and continu...

For some time, there has been an ongoing debate among Computer Science (CS) educators about the advantages and disadvantages of the shift from the procedural to the Object-Oriented (OO) paradigm. In our institution, we decided to implement this shift in the year 2005, when we changed our introductory course and started, right from the beginning, to...

For some time, there has been an ongoing debate among Computer Science (CS) educators about the advantages and disadvantages of the shift from the procedural to the Object-Oriented (OO) paradigm. In our institution, we decided to implement this shift in the year 2005, when we changed our introductory course and started, right from the beginning, to...

We all agree about the importance of teaching the efficiency of algorithms in the early stages of the study program in computer science. Nonetheless we recognize the difficulties encountered when introducing this concept. Usually emphasis is on time complexity, while space complexity is only mentioned briefly. In this paper we describe a misunderst...

When you sit in a Computer Science lecture at any university in the western world, what are the chances that the person sitting next to you will be a woman? Furthermore, what are the chances that the lecturer will be a woman? And if we were to enter a Computer Science classroom in a high school, what percentage of the students would be female? Comp...

When you sit in a Computer Science lecture at any university in the western world, what are the chances that the person sitting next to you will be a woman? Furthermore, what are the chances that the lecturer will be a woman? And if we were to enter a Computer Science classroom in a high school, what percentage of the students would be female? Comp...

When you sit in a Computer Science lecture at any university in the western world, what are the chances that the person sitting next to you will be a woman? Furthermore, what are the chances that the lecturer will be a woman? And if we were to enter a Computer Science classroom in a high school, what percentage of the students would be female? Comp...

In 1971 Dijkstra noted that as a teacher of programming he 'feels akin to a teacher of composition at a conservatory. He does not teach his pupils how to compose a particular symphony, he must help his pupils to find their own style and must explain to them what is implied by this' [1]. In similar vein, Don Knuth suggests that 'computer programming...

In 1971 Dijkstra noted that as a teacher of programming he 'feels akin to a teacher of composition at a conservatory. He does not teach his pupils how to compose a particular symphony, he must help his pupils to find their own style and must explain to them what is implied by this' [1]. In similar vein, Don Knuth suggests that 'computer programming...

At the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the course "Introduction to Computer Science" (CSI) is taught using the programming language Java. In Israeli secondary schools, computer science is not a required subject, but those who do study it learn a procedural programming language at an advanced level. Some students who study computer science at the un...

Among the prominent characteristics of the Open University of ... is its teaching method: self-study through distance learning. Students from all parts of the country pursue various degrees at the University and the majority utilize advanced technologies for their studies. We will describe the curriculum for a teaching certificate in Computer Scien...

While computing technology has undoubtedly changed the world in which we live, the changes have been exaggerated. Talk of a hi-tech internet-driven revolution during the last decade is inaccurate from a historical perspective: (a) It belittles previous ...

Among the prominent characteristics of the Open University of ... is its teaching method: self-study through distance learning. Students from all parts of the country pursue various degrees at the University and the majority utilize advanced technologies for their studies. We will describe the curriculum for a teaching certificate in Computer Scien...

The Open University of Israel, with its policy of open admissions, offers an undergraduate program of study in Computer Science. At the beginning of their studies, students take mathematics courses and the CS1 course "Introduction to Computer Science" which many students fail. This study attempts to identify characteristics which can predict succes...

Having found that algorithm efficiency is difficult for students to grasp, we advocate a different didactic approach in the introductory CS course (CS1). By exposing students to a number of possible solutions to the same problems, students internalize the concept of a more efficient algorithm.

Having found that algorithm efficiency is difficult for students to grasp, we advocate a different didactic approach in the introductory CS course (CS1). By exposing students to a number of possible solutions to the same problems, students internalize the concept of a more efficient algorithm.