I have the privilege

I am Dave Largent, an Instructor of Computer Science at Ball State University and, during May 2012, I have the privilege (and responsibility) of serving as the field study director for Computer Science, Education, and History: The UK and Ireland Connection, a course offered through the Computer Science Department.  So you can have some idea what this is all about, here's the course description:

This course is designed to provide students with opportunities to gain an appreciation for, and understanding of, computer science history, and to experience the nature of higher education in England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.  Additionally, students will have opportunities to expand their world view by being immersed in the cultures of these countries.  A large variety of museums and historical venues will provide insight into the history of computer science, and the role the United Kingdom and Ireland played in this history.  Many universities will be visited where course participants will have direct, in-person, interaction with students, faculty, or professionals from the area.  During this interaction students are encouraged to explore similarities and differences in the nature of higher education, the work environment, and local culture.  Students will experience international travel, and the culture of the visited areas.

By the end of this course, students will have:

• Prepared to travel and travelled internationally by gaining information through books, Internet, pictures, video, discussions, etc.
• Interacted with institutions and people in the visited areas
• Participated in cultural discussions and events, where applicable

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify significant computer science events, the people involved in these events, and how they relate to the countries visited
• Compare and contrast the higher education systems of the USA and the countries visited
• Compare and contrast cultural differences between the USA and the countries visited

The genesis of this field study goes back over a year ago to the spring of 2011 when my department chair, Paul Buis, asked if I could create an international travel experience and justify it as a computer science course.  A year later we are about to board a plane and make it a reality.  Countless hours of dreaming, researching, planning, writing, paper work filing, hoop jumping, promoting, reservation making, and other untold -ings have led up to this moment.  There is absolutely no way we would have the quality experiences we expect were it not for the efforts of my wife Lois, who has served as my administrative assistant for this field study, and who thankfully will be accompanying me.

Five BSU undergraduate students, Lois, and I are scheduled to leave the Indianapolis, Indiana airport on Tuesday, 08 May 2012, and return on Sunday, 27 May 2012. During our nearly three weeks of travel, the seven of us will be visiting lots of different museums, historical sites, and other venues, visiting four different universities in three different countries and talking with students and faculty while there, participating in a variety of events honoring Alan Turing (the 100th anniversary of his birth occurs later this summer), riding on a variety of planes, trains, and ferries, staying in hostels, eating the local food and talking with the local people.  We'll also be blogging daily about our experiences of the field study.  Having met weekly or bi-weekly since January, we have prepared well for this adventure.  We have learned, like Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, that we should not travel without our towel!  Bookmark this page and come back daily to see what we've been up to, but above all else, don't panic.

Thanks for reading, and welcome to our adventure!