Office of Public Relations:                                           For more information, contact: Stephen E. Snyder

(229) 931-2028                                                                         (229) 931-2037 ssnyder@canes.gsw.edu

(229) 931-2072 fax

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Mar. 18, 2009

School of Math and Computing wins NSF Grant            

            AMERICUS—Internet technology is an integral part of undergraduate computer science education. The Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) School of Computing and Mathematics, in collaboration with Illinois State University and Southern Polytechnic State University, was awarded a $150,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to better instruct this ever-changing field of study. Georgia Southwestern’s portion is $43,000. The grant, spread over two years, is effective immediately.

            The winning proposal is under the direction of GSW Dean Boris Peltsverger, Ph.D., and Hofstra professor Xiang Fu, Ph.D. (formerly of GSW). The project is entitled “Collaborative Research: A Trial-and-Failure Project Tutoring System.” It outlines an innovative grading and feedback system for student Web applications.

            This project involves a collection of companion laboratory modules, and the construction of an interactive project tutoring tool known as Automated Project submissiOn, Grading, and rEciprocal (APOGEE). APOGEE uses a trial and error teaching strategy. Students can submit Web programming projects multiple times to the system before a deadline. Each submission is graded instantly and evaluated fairly and consistently. Any failure scenario is displayed to students interactively online, step by step.

            “With this program, students can make mistakes, receive feedback, correct design errors and resubmit work, and it is all automated,” said Peltsverger. “The cyclical improvement model can greatly enrich students' learning experience giving faculty additional time for teaching and research.”

            For more information about the grant or to learn more about the GSW School of Computing and Mathematics, call (229) 931-2100.