The primary goal of the project is to build software and the sharing platform to increase the availability and accessibility of easily adoptable, standardized PowerPoint (PPT) (a Microsoft technology) presentation based data structures and algorithms (DSAs) visualization materials. The proposed approach is expected to promote standardization, centralization and reuse of DSA teaching materials, as well as preparedness of DSA teaching. This project will refine the generators that have been prototyped and implement new DSA generators, focusing upon those taught at primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs). An automated database-and-dispatcher-driven cyber platform, which releases end users from the hassle of running generators, will also be refined. The project will be evaluated at a small scale and the outcomes of the project will be disseminated at the national computer science education conferences.

The “Digital Critique Platform” (DCrit) innovates traditional critique processes and facilitates program-level review and assessment. DCrit accepts submitted projects for critique; assigns participating faculty, professionals and peers to conduct rubric-based critiques of specific student projects; and distributes critiques to participating students. The platform will support a program-wide portfolio of student projects to serve assessment purposes. DCrit supports synchronous and asynchronous, and online and in-person critiques, expanding critique possibilities beyond the traditional synchronous, face-to-face model. DCrit will capture and archive both student work and critical assessments in a single database, facilitating the review and assessment of both individual-level and aggregate-level progress towards specific educational objectives.

We propose to introduce a Laboratory Instruction Management System by implementation of electronic notebooks and computerizing data acquisition. Students will plan and document all aspects of an experiment; laboratory instructions will be incorporated into a notebook template and adjusted at the time of preparation for a new experiment. ELN is accessible to the instructor at any step; the report creation will be automatic. Instructor will be able to make the corrections directly in the ELN. Successful completion of this project should serve as a pattern for implementation of LIMS in the educational laboratory environment.

Our project uses a citizen science project model to engage students in science and sustainability. Students gather scientific data from their local environment and contribute to the development of a virtual map of Japanese beetles across the state. Through observations of their local environment, students examine the interconnectedness of species and climate and consider ways environmental change may alter species distributions. With assistance from the IITG, we will share and support the Beetle Project learning module and the open source code to the Citizen Science Project Template. We will provide and environment for the exchange of ideas and will generate interest in the development of other citizen science projects across SUNY by hosting a SUNY Citizen Science Conference.