BLOG@CACM – Page 45 – Communications of the ACM

Jun 22 2011

On the Importance of Replication in HCI and Social Computing Research

How does replication of experiments and systems move HCI research forward? Wouldn't replication simply waste valuable researcher energy that might be better spent on actually creating new novel ideas or systems? This essay argues that replication is more than just duplication of work, but instead is an essential step in scientific explorations.

Ed H. Chi

HCI

Jun 22 2011

Why Don’t Languages Support Multimedia All the Way Down?

It's a hallmark of CS thinking, to be able to shift levels of abstraction down to the bytes. Why do programming languages make this so hard to teach students?

Mark Guzdial

Computing Applications

Jun 20 2011

Research in Agile Development Practices

Recent research in Agile development practices has identified that self-organizing teams spontaneously assume some previously unclassified roles and practices to make themselves successful.

Ruben Ortega

Computing Applications

Jun 16 2011

New SQL: An Alternative to NoSQL and Old SQL For New OLTP Apps

New SQL should be considered as an alternative to NoSQL or Old SQL for New OLTP applications. If New OLTP is as big a market as I foresee, we will see many more New SQL engines employing a variety of architectures in the near future.

Michael Stonebraker

Computing Applications

Jun 13 2011

Long Live Incremental Research!

“Break through!” clamor the funding agencies, which scorn “incremental” research. Sure, every human being needs hype; in truth, though, almost all research—good research included—is incremental.

Bertrand Meyer

Computing Applications

Jun 2 2011

Our Big Idea: Open Social Learning

Imagine a Facebook where the point is for students to study together, not trade pictures and jokes. Imagine a World of Warcraft where students earn levels and points by helping each other learn. Imagine an educational experience that is social and game-like.

Ashwin Ram

Education

Jun 1 2011

Simple Design; Research vs. Teaching; and Quest to Learn

Daniel Reed writes about design and disruptive technologies. Mark Guzdial discusses the tension between teaching and research at U.S. universities. Judy Robertson argues in favor of educational video games in the classroom.

Daniel Reed, Mark Guzdial, and Judy Robertson

Computing Applications

May 27 2011

Improving Computer Science Research Collaborations Between U.S. and China

On March 23-24 2011, the National Science Foundation held a workshop looking at how to build more effective collaborations between computer science researchers in the U.S. and in China. This blog entry looks at some of the opportunities that were identified.

Jason Hong

Computing Profession

May 20 2011

Obama Administration Announces Landmark Global Internet Strategy

The White House this week announced a comprehensive global strategy document bringing multiple agencies together in an effort to emphasize their commitment to a broad vision of online engagement moving forward. The goal: cyberspace should be open to innovation, interoperable, secure and reliable.

Sarah Granger

Computing Profession

May 19 2011

The Impact of Console Games in the Classroom

A summary of some interesting findings relating to the use of console games in Scottish primary and secondary school classrooms.

Judy Robertson

Computing Profession

May 18 2011

If You Want High School CS, Require Undergraduate CS

Pushing computer science classes into the high schools is a top-down approach. If there was required computer science in undergraduate education, the high schools would be seeking us out. That's the way it worked with calculus.

Mark Guzdial

Education

May 16 2011

Research Directions For Machine Learning and Algorithms

An in-depth discussion of near-term research directions for machine learning and algorithms.

John Langford

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

May 13 2011

Who Needs a Chromebook?

Is Google's new Chromebook a fundamental change in personal computing? Or is it just another netbook?

Greg Linden

Computing Applications

May 11 2011

Information Privacy: Changing Norms and Expectations

That picture of you at a family reunion, squinting into the sun, can rarely be delimited by a physical location once it is placed on the web. Instead, information flows freely and often globally. We need to rethink our notions of information privacy, moving beyond concepts rooted primarily in person and place, and considering logical privacy.

Daniel Reed

Computing Applications

May 6 2011

When Everything Is Embarrassing: Designing With Teenage Girls

A discussion of the difficulties of conducting user-centered design with teenage girls.

Judy Robertson

HCI

May 1 2011

Stonebraker on Data Warehouses

Data warehouses are not only increasing in size and complexity, but also in their importance to business. Michael Stonebraker shares 10 key ideas on the topic.

Michael Stonebraker

Computing Applications

Apr 28 2011

Embracing Noise or Why Computer Scientists Should Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Errors

Precision is not required in everything or even most things. Failures are best handled by expecting them all the time, not treating them as exceptions. We should expect errors and handle them routinely. We should stop worrying and learn to love the noise.

Greg Linden

Architecture and Hardware

Apr 27 2011

Why Have There Been So Many Security Breaches Recently?

We're only five months into this year, but there have been a large number of sensational security breaches. Why have there been so many, and what can we do about it?

Jason Hong

Computing Profession

Apr 23 2011

The Long Road to a Seat at the Table

Computer science is still a new discipline compared to the rest of STEM. It will take a while for people to know what a "computer scientist" is in the same way that they know what a "chemist" or "biologist" or "engineer" does.

Mark Guzdial

Computing Profession

Apr 12 2011

A Successful NY Celebration of Women in Computing!

A recap of our recent New York regional Celebration of Women in Computing.

Valerie Barr

Computing Profession

Apr 4 2011

Stats: We’re Doing It Wrong

A summary of the mistakes researchers make when analysing likert type data and what the correct methods should be.

Judy Robertson

Education

Apr 3 2011

New York Celebration of Women in Computing

A preview of the upcoming New York Celebration of Women in Computing, which is designed to bring the experience of the Grace Hopper Celebration to students in a smaller, less costly, and local setting.

Valerie Barr

Education

Apr 1 2011

Matters of Design, Part II

Jason Hong discusses how Apple creates well-designed products and what the human-computer interaction community can learn from its methods.

Jason Hong

Computing Applications

Mar 25 2011

From ‘Must’ and ‘Unsuitable’ to Design Guidelines in Computing Education

Rhetoric in education tends to be politicized and polarized, and computing education is no different. Research in computing education might learn from design-based research efforts from general education research, that emphasizes developing design guidelines.

Mark Guzdial

Computing Applications

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