![]() In this paper we review how early adventurous information systems researchers attempted to use organizational stories in their work, but in doing so may have used mere fragments of stories as an alternative method to gathering data for the design, development, or documentation of information systems. We all like a good story, but as researchers we too often dismiss a story as being tangential or superfluous. In this paper we describe the machinery for teaching software engineering in this manner and present some preliminary survey results evaluating how well Enterprise students apply these skills in practice. ![]() This pedagogical model allows us to present, practice, and apply best practices in the context of real scalable projects, resulting in better contextual learning for our students. The Software Enterprise presents a unique, iterative accelerator for presenting software engineering from concepts through to applied practice. Our approach in the Software Enterprise, our multi-year capstone sequence at Arizona State University Polytechnic, is to provide a process structure, teach best practices, and then give teams 'just enough rope' to resolve issues by leveraging the process, best practices, and soft skills. Specifically, best practices are now emphasized in the software engineering profession over rigid process structures, and as educators we must respond to this cultural shift by teaching the role of best practices in a broader applied process context. We contend that more emphasis is required on detailed process execution than is given proper due. The emphasis on process provides a structure for coordinating team activity, with an objective of demonstrating to the student the value of following a process model. Capstone experiences often focus on leveraging a popular process model. Software engineering educators emphasize teaching concepts in software engineering principles and then applying them in the context of a capstone project. In this way, JavaGrinder addresses the critical gap between successful introductory programming environments and realistic functional programming and software engineering. JavaGrinder teaches true Java programming, while shielding students from language and platform-specific minutiae. JavaGrinder is designed to facilitate problem-solving skills by exposing the salient aspects of a problem, providing guided practice, and immediate feedback. ![]() Concepts are presented within real-world contexts that advocate computer science as an exciting multidisciplinary field, rather than as an abstract world of syntax and arcane codes. This is accomplished with JavaGrinder, a task specific web 2.0 environment where students can work either individually or as teams on bite-sized problems that focus on solid software engineering practices and concept mastery. In this paper we review existing introductory computer science tools, enumerate barriers to student learning we have identified in our own classes, and introduce a new web-based pedagogical platform for teaching computer science that emphasizes problem solving and core computer science concepts while deemphasizing the role of specialized development tools. Worse yet, the languages and tools used in introductory courses often create barriers in the form of boiler plate code, complex build tools, and unintuitive interfaces that discourage students from engaging in directed and focused practice. ![]() While specialized development tools and integrated development environments intend to simplify programming tasks they typically do little to support pedagogical development and evaluation of a broad range of problems at varying levels of computational abstraction. Many educators are reevaluating how we teach computer science in the critical first year of study and are questioning the emphasis of programming and tool mastery over more abstract computational thinking. Even as Bureau of Labor Statistics predictions indicate unprecedented demand for software engineers in the next five years, nationwide retention rates of incoming majors are alarmingly low and interest in computer science remains stagnant.
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