The widely popular "Computing on the Internet," class, more commonly known as Comp. 6, has been removed from The Bulletin this fall in a favor of Comp. 10, a new computer science course that puts more emphasis on critical thinking and programming skills, rather than on specific software programs.
Comp. 6, long-regarded as an accessible alternative to more traditional, math-intensive courses, was fast becoming one of the most popular methods of fulfilling Tufts' core math requirement. The course, which was designed specifically for students with little background in computer science, sought to teach not only how to navigate the Internet, but also the underlying principles behind the way Internet technology works. The cancellation of the course has coincided with a massive influx of students into "Math for Social Choice," another alternative for math-phobes.
The new Comp. 10 course was formed in response to a Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications (CPSMA) report that examined what areas of instruction were appropriate for a one-time undergraduate course in computer science. While such courses have traditionally focused on literacy - the ins and outs of specific programs - this most recent report stresses fluency, instruction in the underlying concepts that will help students gain a more profound understanding of new technology.
This course will include more actual computer programming, teaching students JavaScript, an internet-oriented computer language. Professor James Schmolze, who also chairs the computer science department, will teach the new course.
"[Students] will get preparation that will last them for the next ten to 15 years, not just the next two years," he said. "The way computing is done today is certainly not the way it was done even five years ago."
Several students enrolled in Comp. 10 because their high SAT math courses prohibited them from taking math 4 or 5, and they perceived it to be less difficult than calculus. Others chose the class because they were closed out of "Math for Social Choice," another core math requirement that has become more competitive since the demise of Comp. 6.
Most Comp. 6 students agreed that their instruction in Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) - the language used to create web pages - was the most useful part of the course.
"The class is worthwhile because it teaches a really useful skill," sophomore Charlie Semine said, referring to HTML. Others were more critical.
"I could have learned the whole course in a week or two," one former Comp. 6 student said.
Even though Comp. 10 now caters to students trying to get rid of a math requirement, as well as computer science majors, its pre-registration dropped to a low of 66, although the numbers rebounded when about 100 students decided to add it.
"Upperclassmen seem scared of the class because it's new," Schmolze said. Fewer upperclassmen are in the class as compared to the large number of students that used to fill the ranks of Comp. 6.
Comp. 6 and Comp. 10 share a similar format. The class meets four times a week, three times for lectures and once for lab work. All assignments are posted on the Internet - an amenity that improves communication in some senses and exacerbates it in others. Some students use the Internet resource as justification to skip class, and many are still unaware that the course even has a lab.
The target students have always been the same group - students who only want to take one computer science course. Comp. 6 evolved directly from Comp. 5, which was a basic computer science that tried to touch on all the fields and even covered a little programming, in the Apple HyperTalk language. The class content then shifted to an Internet course, Comp. 6.
Comp. 11 was another factor in the creation of Comp 10. In the past, students taking Comp 11 came into the course with a wide variety of preparation. Some had a lot of programming experience, some had none at all. Accommodating so many skill levels into course material presented a large problem that Comp. 10 smoothes out. Comp. 6 did not serve a preparatory function at all.
