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Self-Assessment Instrument for Topic
5
ICT as a discipline of study. This discipline is often
called Computer and Information Science.
Self-Assessment Instrument for Computer
and Information Science
This self-assessment instrument focuses on the discipline
of computer and information science. Please rate yourself
using the following 7-point scale for each question.
Click here for a
discussion of the meaning of the scale points.
Each question is accompanied by a brief discussion of the
topic being assessed. If you do not understand the details
given in a particular brief discussion, the chances are that
you are at the (1) or (2) level on this topic. After you
give yourself a numerical rating on the 7-point scale, write
a paragraph that explains and justifies your numerical
rating.
1. Operating systems: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
The Windows and Macintosh operating systems are complex
pieces of software that are widely used in K-12 education.
(The Linux operating system is gaining in its level of use.)
Activities include being able to install or upgrade systems
software, design and arrange your desktop for efficient use,
and navigate comfortable through the wide range of features
provided by the operating system. Increasing expertise
includes being able to carry out such activities quickly and
comfortably on computer systems that have been installed by
other people, to load updates to an operating system, and to
work with both Windows and Macintosh platforms. It also
includes knowing how to make use of a variety of computer
utilities for detecting and correcting errors on a disk,
locating and restoring lost files, carryout other tasks to
restore a disk to a healthy state, and installing and using
virus protection software. Briefly discuss your knowledge,
skills, and experiences in this area.
2. ICT Hardware: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A computer system consists of hardware and software.
Hardware is the physical parts of a computer system while
software is the computer programs that tell the hardware
what to do. Electrical engineers study computer hardware at
the level of individual circuits that contain transistors,
resistors, capacitors, and so on. Computer repair
technicians work at the level of computer circuits, circuit
boards, and larger hardware modules such as disk drives,
keyboards, display systems, printers, and so on. Briefly
discuss your knowledge, skills, and experiences in this
area.
3. Networks, including the Internet: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A computer network is a network of data processing nodes
that are interconnected for the purpose of data
communication. A computer network passes data among nodes
that consist of computers, computerized machines,
computerized storage devices, and so on. The Internet is a
huge network of Local Area Networks. A typical classroom now
contains several microcomputers connected to a school's
Local Area Network, and this network is connected to the
school district's network. Briefly discuss your knowledge,
skills, and experiences in this area.
4. Programming in Logo: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
The Logo programming languages was developed by a team of
people at MIT in the late 1960s, and subsequently was
implemented on a number of different microcomputers. Seymour
Papert was one of the leaders of the development team and
has been the leading spokes person for Logo in education.
Although Logo was originally developed for use in teaching
mathematical thinking and problem solving, it soon became
evident that it could be used to create higher-order
thinking skill environments in other disciplines. During the
1980s many teachers and K-12 students received some
instruction in Logo, and the language is still widely used
in education throughout the world. Briefly discuss your
knowledge, skills, and experiences in this area.
5. Programming in BASIC: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
The Programming language BASIC ( was developed in the mid
1960s for use in time-shared computing. Initially it was
used mainly in college education, but its use quickly spread
to precollege education and, for developing computer games,
and for business applications. Later it was implemented on
microcomputers and became very popular in precollege
education. Microsoft's Visual BASIC is an important
component of a number of their applications tools.
6. Programming in a "Modern" Programming Language:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Over the past 50 years, many hundreds of different
programming languages have been developed. Some of the
early, widely used programming languages included BASIC,
COBOL, FORTRAN Pascal, and RPG. Examples of modern
programming languages include the C/C+/C++ and the Java
families of computer programming languages. Briefly discuss
your knowledge, skills, and experiences in this area.
7. Data Representation and Data Structures: 1 2 3 4 5
6 7
A computer is a machine designed for the input, storage,
manipulation, and output of data and information. Different
types of data (such as text, graphics, scientific notation
numbers, integers, sound) are represented in a form so that
a computer can store and process them. Within a computer the
data might be organized into different types of structures
such as bits, nibbles, bytes, and binary coded decimal, and
more complex structures such as arrays, lists, trees, and
strings. Briefly discuss your knowledge, skills, and
experiences in this area.
8. Problem solving: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Problem solving is an important component of every
academic discipline. Thus, students taking Computer and
Information Science (CIS) coursework learn to use computers
to represent and solve problems both in the discipline of
CIS, and also within non-CIS disciplines that make extensive
use of computers to help represent and solve problems. Some
key ideas include computer modeling and simulation,
procedural thinking, algorithms, and heuristics. Briefly
discuss your knowledge, skills, and experiences in this
area.
9. Artificial Intelligence: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Artificial Intelligence (AI, and sometimes called Machine
Intelligence) is the component of Computer and Information
Science that does research and development of increasing the
"intelligent-like" capabilities of CIS systems. AI works on
the development of robots, expert systems, game-playing
programs (such as chess, bridge, and Scrabble), "smart
"weapons, voice input systems, language translations
systems, and a host of other CIS systems that can solve or
help to solve complex problems. Some AI systems gain in
capabilities (increase their knowledge and skills) by
analysis of their own performance. Briefly discuss your
knowledge, skills, and experiences in this area.
10. The rapid pace of change: 1 2 3 4 5 6
7
Moore's Law (Named after Gordon Moore, one of the
founders of Intel) states that the capability of the chips
used in computers doubles in approximately 18 months. This
"law" has proven to be relatively accurate for more than 30
years (more than 20 doublings), and appears likely to
continue to hold for another 10 years. During the past
decade the pace of improvement in bandwidth and in storage
capacity has been far faster than the pace of change in
computer chips. In addition, the past decade has seen a
significant improvement in programmer productivity due to
improvements in the theory and practice of programming.
Briefly discuss your knowledge, skills, and experiences in
this area.
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