Building the future with weapons of maths construction
This event took place on Thursday 18 November 2004 at 12:30
Prof. Harold Thimbleby Computer Science Department, University of Wales, United Kingdom
Computers are complex, unreliable and occasionally dangerous. What can be done?
Familiar handheld calculators represent a microcosm of how computers are used, misused and misunderstood - and how we are stuck in the past. Calculators are so popular we hardly think about them. Indeed, desktop PCs, both Macintosh and Windows - powerful computers - simulate them, presumably because nobody has thought of any better ways of working.
Yet try working out 4x-5 on almost any calculator, and you will get -1; not the correct answer by any means! There are clearly some assumptions at play that need questioning.
This talk explores the problems --- how they affect school teaching and how we should teach university computer science. More importantly than pointing out problems, though, the talk will go beyond today's calculators to demonstrate a novel approach that will change the way we interact with computers. The new approach not only gets the maths right, but can be used on handheld devices or in the classroom, and is surprisingly engaging to use.
Please bring your own calculator, PDA or mobile phone to join in!
This talk will be of interest to anyone whose work involves a calculator or computer, including teachers, lecturers, and especially mathematicians and computer scientists.
This event took place on Thursday 18 November 2004 at 12:30
Computers are complex, unreliable and occasionally dangerous. What can be done?
Familiar handheld calculators represent a microcosm of how computers are used, misused and misunderstood - and how we are stuck in the past. Calculators are so popular we hardly think about them. Indeed, desktop PCs, both Macintosh and Windows - powerful computers - simulate them, presumably because nobody has thought of any better ways of working.
Yet try working out 4x-5 on almost any calculator, and you will get -1; not the correct answer by any means! There are clearly some assumptions at play that need questioning.
This talk explores the problems --- how they affect school teaching and how we should teach university computer science. More importantly than pointing out problems, though, the talk will go beyond today's calculators to demonstrate a novel approach that will change the way we interact with computers. The new approach not only gets the maths right, but can be used on handheld devices or in the classroom, and is surprisingly engaging to use.
Please bring your own calculator, PDA or mobile phone to join in!
This talk will be of interest to anyone whose work involves a calculator or computer, including teachers, lecturers, and especially mathematicians and computer scientists.
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Our New Media Systems research theme aims to show how new media devices, standards, architectures and concepts can change the nature of learning.
Our work involves the development of short life-cycle working prototypes of innovative technologies or concepts that we believe will influence the future of open learning within a 3-5 year timescale. Each new media concept is built into a working prototype of how the innovation may change a target community. The working prototypes are all available (in some form) from this website.
Our prototypes themselves are not designed solely for traditional Open Learning, but include a remit to show how that innovation can and will change learning at all levels and in all forms; in education, at work and play.
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