In a relatively short amount of time, computer science has delivered a number of big contributions to society. Take, for instance, the framework for the Digital Revolution, which paved the way for the Information Age and the Internet.

There’s one area, though, where computer science hasn’t performed as well as some would like: to consistently attract more women to college campuses to study it. A 2007 survey by the National Science Foundation shows the proportion of U.S. computer science degrees received by women has dropped from 37 percent in 1985 to 22 percent in 2005.

A group of UNL researchers, students and administrators wants to begin reversing that trend. They’re enlisting the aid of another notable computer-science achievement: video games.

ONLINE GAMING – An example of the game students can create through the new Computer Science online course. Courtesy photo.

Led by UNL computer scientist Lisong Xu, the team is developing an online gaming course to connect high school students – particularly female high school students – to the fundamentals of computer science.

The course will be offered online later this year through UNL’s Independent Study High School and will be available for students around the state, nation and world who use the university’s distance learning programs. It will combine elements of multimedia, programming and Internet applications to study and build different aspects of video games.

“In educating them in the aspects of game design, we believe we can stimulate a deeper interest in science and technology,” said Xu, who is developing the game as part of a five-year Faculty Early Career Development grant from the National Science Foundation.

The CAREER grant supports junior faculty who exhibit the responsibility of teacher-scholars through research, education and the integration of education and research.

Xu cited studies that suggest that by making teenagers game designers, not just game players, they can become more engaged in elements of computer science. So, while it might be tempting for high-schoolers, the course won’t be giving easy credit for high scores like “Halo 3″ or “World of Warcraft”, he said.

Instead, students will dig into a specially tailored program to learn what it takes to build custom games, right down to the characters and worlds and how each function. They also will learn how images and sounds are stored on computers, and how conditions are built into game programs so characters can score points, navigate mazes and defeat adversaries. Then they’ll delve into how computing architectures provide for multiplayer online gaming.

UNL’s computer science department course design team includes Xu, doctoral student Miao Wang and sophomore Michael Pfeiffer. Members of UNL’s Office of Extended Education and Outreach, including Marie Barber, Debra Meier and Judith Montgomery, are guiding the assembly of the course’s curriculum. The group is aiming to launch the course this fall.

Barber, EEO’s director of instructional design and development, said if the course speaks to high schoolers’ interests, students will be able to see that they can do more than simply be end users of computer software – and the course will have accomplished one of it’s main goals.

“We’re designing a course that uses gaming to lead into programming, and not the other way around,” she said. “It’s turning the usual process on its head.”

Barber said that technology literacy is something all disciplines need.

“This is a way to start helping students understand that they can learn these concepts and do these things,” she said. “It’s a way to show them that it’s not magic and, actually, a very relevant skill to have no matter what they study (in college).”



– Story by Steve Smith, University Communications