Using Windows CE Programming to Increase Student Access to Technology
Institution: New Mexico Highlands University
9000 National Avenue
Las Vegas, NM 87701
Number of full-time
students: 2,516
Number of full- and
part-time faculty: 136
Percentage of Hispanic
students: 58%
Percentage of Native
American students: 5.2%
Percentage of African
American students: 3.6%
Percentage of others: 33.2%
Percentage of male students:
41.9%
Percentage of female
students: 58.1%
Project Director: Dr. Wayne Summers
Department
of Mathematics and Computer Science
New Mexico
Highlands University
9000
National Ave.
Las Vegas,
NM 87701
(505)
454-3230
summers_wayne@ColumbusState.edu
Second Team Member: Professor Curtis Sollohub
Department
of Mathematics and Computer Science
New Mexico
Highlands University
9000
National Ave.
Las Vegas,
NM 87701
(505)
454-3295
Amount of Funding Requested:
(see last page for details)
Total request: $40,000
Curriculum development: included in salaries
Faculty/staff development: included in salaries
Student/training: included in
salaries
Equipment: $9,900
Travel: $1,000
Salaries/stipends: $24,386
Administration/overhead: $4,714
Other: none
Using Windows CE Programming to Increase Student Access to Technology
Summary
New Mexico Highlands University has a student
population that is predominately Hispanic and Native American. These groups are
underrepresented in Information Technology as students and workers, largely
because of less access to technology. This project proposes to help Highlands
University increase access to technology for its students through Windows CE
programming. This project will
1)
Increase
retention and graduation of underrepresented minorities in Computer Science.
2)
Increase
the number of underrepresented minorities majoring in Computer Science.
Other Sources
of Support for this project:
Western Alliance to Expand Student Opportunities
(WAESO)
$9,000 / year for student
research
New Mexico Highlands University
Computer
Resources for teaching Windows CE programming courses
Benefits
for faculty and students ($6,000 per year for salaries paid by this grant)
Secretarial
Assistance
Office
and Lab space
Advertising
Regional Educational Technology Assistance (RETA)
Regional
Resource Center and the local school districts will support additional
workshops on Windows CE and Windows CE Programming to be conducted throughout northern
and northeastern New Mexico.
National Science Foundation
The Project Director hopes
to obtain additional funding to expand this project.
Project Director:
___________________________________ Date:____________
Vice President for Administration and Planning:
_________________________________________________ Date:____________
Using Windows CE Programming to Increase Student
Access to Technology
Introduction
New Mexico Highlands University has a student
population that is predominately Hispanic and Native American. These groups are
underrepresented in the different Information Technology (IT) fields,
especially Computer Science. This is true both for students in IT fields as
well as graduates. This is largely true because of diminished access to
technology in their school environment. The project proposes to help Highlands
University increase access to technology for its students through Windows CE
programming as well as attract more students from its service area to the IT
fields. The major goals of this project are to
1)
Increase
retention and graduation of underrepresented minorities in Computer Science.
2)
Increase
the number of underrepresented minorities majoring in Computer Science.
This project involves three phases.
PHASE I –
Training New Mexico Highlands Students in Windows CE Programming
The first phase is to train several New Mexico
Highlands University students in Windows CE Programming. This project will
employee at least one graduate student and at least two undergraduate students
initially with the hope that the number of students in this research group will
grow over the next few years. The students will build a collection of
applications using Microsoft Windows CE Toolkit for palmtop and handheld PCs.
These will be used in a selection of programming courses at New Mexico
Highlands University.
An
emerging important area in computer programming is programming embedded
systems, especially those for palmtop computers, game consoles, television
set-top boxes, and other hardware platforms. The Microsoft Windows CE Toolkit
for Visual C++ is rapidly becoming a standard platform for developing these
types of applications.
Initially,
the participating students will be expected to become comfortable with the
Windows CE Toolkit programming environment.
The students will need to be familiar with the Toolkit’s version of
Visual C++ as well as the accompanying debugger. In their research, the students will be expected to investigate
the use of programming for palmtop computers and the feasibility of using these
at New Mexico Highlands University.
Once
the students are comfortable with the programming environment, they will be
expected to develop a collection of programs ranging from simple dialog
box-based applications to more sophisticated programs that will run on the
palmtop PC. These programming examples will be used in several courses
conducted at New Mexico Highlands University including courses for Computer
Science majors as well as service courses for teachers and students at regional
high schools. The hope is that programming for palmtop computers will excite
Computer Science students about programming and inspire more high school
students to major in Computer Science.
The
Computer Science Department at New Mexico Highlands University will supply most
of the desktop computers and software for conducting this research on Windows
CE programming. The Project Director has requested several copies of Windows CE
Platform Builder and Windows CE Toolkit for Visual C++ from Microsoft through
the Microsoft student representative. He has also requested several palmtop PCs
for testing the results of this research. If this request is not granted, then
the Department will purchase at least one palmtop PC for testing.
A
proposal to the Western Alliance to Expand Student Opportunities (WAESO) seeks
funding to hire two undergraduate students each semester, while this proposal
seeks funding for hiring one graduate student.
These students will have experience in programming in C++, but not with
the Windows CE Toolkit. Each student will spend between ten and fifteen hours
on this project each week during the semesters. The students will meet once a week for 2-3 hours with the project
director to present their work, discuss their progress and discuss the next week's
efforts. In addition, the project
director will work individually with each student as needed. Initially, the
students will spend time researching Windows CE to familiarize themselves with
what is possible for this environment. A copy of Microsoft Windows CE
Developer’s Kit will be available for the students’ reference. Once the
students have developed sufficient background, they will design and program a
variety of programs for the Windows CE environment. This will initially be conducted on a departmental computer
running the Windows CE emulation software under Windows NT. After running the
programs in emulation mode, the students will download the programs to a
palmtop for final testing. Upon completion of this project, the students will
be expected to document their work and produce a report of their findings
including a web site outlining their results.
During the first semester, it is anticipated that
the students in this project will produce between ten and fifteen debugged,
tested, and fully documented programs in C++ for the Windows CE computers.
These programs will range from simple to more complicated programs and will
provide examples for students in other courses. The main objective of this
phase of the project is to provide minority students with research and design
experience. This project will also
promote the students' interest in graduate school and in careers involving
computer science research.
This grant will fund the faculty member’s release
time as well as a small salary for the graduate student and the purchase of a
computer to be used exclusively by this grant. If this project is not funded by
this grant, the project will continue, but the scope of the project will be
scaled back until alternative funding is obtained.
PHASE II –
Incorporating Windows CE Programming into the Computer Science Curriculum at
New Mexico Highlands University
Using the body of knowledge developed in the first
phase, the Computer Science Department faculty will be able to infuse Windows
CE Programming into the curriculum. This will be accomplished in two ways. One
will be through the development of a new course on Embedded Systems
Programming. The Project Director would like to offer this course during the
next academic year.
The other way will be through the use of Windows CE
Programming in several courses including several of the programming courses,
operating systems and computer networking. By incorporating Windows CE
Programming in the Computer Science curriculum, it is hoped to expose our students
to a more diverse set of technology. This should increase the excitement of the
students, which will hopefully then increase the retention and graduation rates
of students in Computer Science at New Mexico Highlands University.
This phase does not require any additional funding,
but will be a direct result of Phase I.
PHASE III –
Introducing Windows CE and Windows CE Programming to High School Students
There is a serious shortage of underrepresented
minorities in IT fields. Attracting large numbers of well-prepared and
motivated minority students to Information Technology fields, especially
Computer Science is especially difficult. The major part of this project is
designed to address this concern. If awarded, the Project Director plans to
offer two two-week courses during June 2000.
Two high school teachers and ten students from the two local high
schools will attend each course. The teachers and students will be given a
small stipend of $200 each to cover expenses. Each of the schools will receive
one of the hand-held computers so as to encourage further development of
applications by the teacher and students.
It is hoped that the students and teachers will leave not with just
knowledge of how to program Windows CE, but also an excitement for computer
programming and Computer Science. The teachers who receive the hand-held
computer will be expected to integrate its use into the curriculum upon
returning to the school.
If this grant proposal is funded for a second and
third year, the number of two-week courses offered in the summer will double by
giving other schools in the region the opportunity to participate. This will
broaden the exposure to Windows CE programming and create a greater body of
students excited about computer programming and Computer Science. This portion
of the grant will also increase the number of motivated teachers who will be
returning to the classroom ready to integrate the use of Windows CE computers
into the classroom.
The Project Director has recently participated in a
request to set up a Regional Resource Center (RRC) for technology. It is
expected that this Center will open by the beginning of the year 2000. “Through
these Centers, parents and community members, teachers, administrators, college
faculty, and other individuals will have equitable, free access to
communications, information, and educational technologies.”[1]
Among the activities of the Center will be to conduct workshops for the schools
in northern and northeastern New Mexico. It is the plan of the Project Director
to conduct a series of workshops on the use of Windows CE palmtops in the
classroom with teachers in the region through the RRC. Studies by the Concord
Consortium indicate increased uses of technology by students; “This pilot
project suggests that portable technologies and software – in the hands of
young students – provide enhanced opportunities for systematic investigation,
critical thinking and cooperation.”[2]
By increasing the access to technology for these students, we hope to better
prepare these students for college and in turn get them excited about
Information Technology.
In many ways, this phase is the most important
because it has the greatest impact on students and hopefully will result in
higher enrollments in Computer Science programs throughout the state of New
Mexico.
This phase requires sustained funding during each
funding period.
Proposal
Evaluation Criteria
·
Student
impact
This project will have a direct impact on at least
three university students each semester that will be helping develop the course
materials. In addition to providing these students with research opportunities,
this project will help them build skills that will increase their job
marketability. Indirectly, this project will affect all students majoring in
Computer Science at New Mexico Highlands University. All Computer Science
majors will be provided access to a different type of technology than is
currently being offered in the department.
But the biggest impact of this project will be on
the future Computer Science and IT students who are now in high school. Twenty
high school students will attend the course during the first year with an
additional forty high school students attending the course during years two and
three. These students will come out of the two week course knowing how to
program Windows CE applications and more importantly being excited about
computer programming and Computer Science. In addition, four high school
teachers the first year and additional sixteen more during years two and three
will attend the course. These teachers will have an even greater impact on a
larger number of students when they return to their classrooms in the Fall with
a hand-held computer that they can use to teach their students how to program.
Although the project only impacts one hundred high school students directly,
indirectly the project will inspire many hundreds of high school students.
As discussed earlier, the Project Director working
through the Regional Resource Center plans on conducting workshops through out
the region on Windows CE computers. This will affect hundreds of teachers and
their students in northern and northeastern New Mexico.
·
Creativity
The Computer Science Department at New Mexico
Highlands University has been very fortunate to receive over $100,000 in funds
for lab improvements from the National Science Foundation over the past five
years. Even more significant has been the tremendous support the CS department
has received from Microsoft in the form of Academic Software grants and grants
of software and books through the Microsoft student representative. This has
allowed the CS department to develop a high quality program. What has been
missing a large number of students especially from the underrepresented
minorities. This project will allow us to go out and excite our own students at
NMHU and encourage them to succeed in Computer Science. But more importantly,
this project will give the Computer Science Department the opportunity to get
large numbers of high school students and teachers excited about technology.
·
Sustainability
The undergraduate student research will be funded
through the Western Alliance to Expand Student Opportunities (WAESO). It is
also possible to fund the undergraduate and graduate student research through a
NASA program run by University of New Mexico called PURSUE (Preparation for
University Research of Students in Undergraduate Education).
With a combination of grants from the National
Science Foundation, Microsoft and the match from the University, the Computer
Science Department has been fortunate to be able to keep two well-equipped
computer labs. This support is expected to continue.
The Project Director is already exploring grant
proposal opportunities that will allow this project to be sustained and
possibly expanded throughout the state of New Mexico. Some of this support can
come from the Regional Resource Center for technology sponsored by RETA
(Regional Educational Technology Assistance) in New Mexico. There are several
other likely funding opportunities available from both the National Science
Foundation and the Department of Education that are being investigated by the
Project Director.
·
Transferability
The Project Director is a strong proponent of using
the Web for disseminating information and plans on developing a web site which
will document both the work done by the students at New Mexico Highlands
University in developing courseware for Windows CE Programming, and the
experiences of the research team in developing and teaching the courses for
high school students and teachers.
The course materials and the results of the project
can be treated as a turnkey system. This system can be presented to other
institutions at the annual faculty/staff conference in Redmond, WA.
·
Measurement
There are several aspects of the project that can be
measured.
o The easiest to measure is
the productivity of the student researchers. It is expected that the students
and Project Director will have developed a complete set of course materials
including a collection of Windows CE programming examples before the first
course begins in mid-May or early June.
o A second aspect that can be
readily measured is the success of the student researchers. It is assumed that
these students will complete their degree in Computer Science.
o Success of the most
important component of this project, the “recruitment” of the high school
students into Computer Science and other IT areas is the hardest to evaluate.
We can attempt to measure the success of this aspect of the project by
comparing the number of entering freshman expressing an interest in majoring in
Computer Science at NMHU and other universities around the state of New Mexico.
o High school students
completing the summer course will be monitored as to what their major in
university will be. These results will be compared with their peers. It is
expected that a significant number of these students will major in IT fields.
Summary
It is very important that larger numbers of
underrepresented minorities be encouraged to major in Information Technology
fields and that we help them succeed. We believe that this project will help us
with this goal.
Using Windows CE Programming to Increase Student
Access to Technology
BUDGET
YEAR
1 –
|
|
Spring
2000 |
Summer
2000 |
Fall
2000 |
TOTAL |
|
Equipment |
$15001 |
$72005 |
$12009 |
$9900 |
|
Travel |
$10002 |
- |
- |
$1000 |
|
Salaries/stipends |
|
|
|
|
|
Faculty |
$68753 |
$61116 |
- |
$12986 |
|
NMHU Student |
$7504 |
$51007 |
$7504 |
$6600 |
|
Teacher/student stipends |
- |
$48008 |
- |
$4800 |
|
Administration/overhead |
- |
- |
- |
$4714 |
|
Total
request |
$10,125 |
$23,211 |
$1,950 |
$40,000 |
1 One computer for students
to use for development of course materials for Windows CE Programming.
2 Project Director’s travel
to attend the annual faculty/staff conference in Redmond, WA. for faculty/staff
development.
3 Quarter release for Project
Director to oversee the development of course materials for use in Summer 2000.
4 5 months at $150 for a
graduate student to work with two undergraduate students. The two undergraduate
students will be funded through a grant from the Western Alliance to Expand
Student Opportunities.
5 Twelve Cassiopeia E-105
handheld computers for use by students in class. [Two of these will be
presented to a high school teacher from each school attending the class.]
61/9 of Project Director’s
salary for teaching summer course to NMHU students as well as high school
teachers and students.
72 months at $150 for
graduate student to work with two undergraduate students in maintaining the
course materials developed, plus two undergraduates working 15 hours a week for
10 weeks at $8 / hour.
8$200 stipend for each high
school teacher and student attending the course.
9Two Cassiopeia E-105s to
replace the two awarded to the two high school teachers.
YEAR
2 & 3 –
|
|
Year
2 |
Year
3 |
|
Equipment |
$36009 |
$36009 |
|
Travel |
$10002 |
$10002 |
|
Salaries/stipends |
|
|
|
Faculty |
$13,6353,6 |
$14,
3173,6 |
|
NMHU Student |
$6,6004,7 |
$66004,7 |
|
Teacher/student stipends |
$9,6008 |
$9,6008 |
|
Administration/overhead |
$5,165 |
$4,883 |
|
Total
request |
$39,600 |
$40,000 |
APPENDIX A: RESUMES
APPENDIX B: Software
Requested
Year 1:
Twelve copies of Microsoft Windows CE Platform Builder
Twelve copies of Microsoft Windows CE Toolkit for Visual C++
Years 2 & 3:
Upgrades on software requested in Year 1.