A Course in Programming and Ethics for Non-Computer-Science Majors

Abstract

Richard Weiss, a visiting assistant professor of computer science at Hampshire College has created a course in computer programming and ethics for students who are non-computer science majors. He uses current controversies, such as computer piracy and security, to attract less technically minded students who learn how to write encryption programs using a computer language called Perl.

Most students know how to work a computer. But do most students know how a computer works?

No, says Richard Weiss, a visiting assistant professor of computer science. That's why he created a course in computer programming and ethics for students at Hampshire College who are not majoring in science, called "Is Big Brother Watching?: Privacy and Security on the Internet."

Mr. Weiss uses current controversies, like computer privacy and security, to attract less technically minded students. "I thought that one way to bring non-computer-science majors into the world of computer science is through issues they can relate to," he says.

While plenty of other colleges offer courses on computer ethics, most don't teach students how, for example, encryption technology really works. Students in Mr. Weiss's class actually write their own encryption programs, using a computer language called Perl. "Most of them have never programmed before, and so it's a bit daunting at first," he says. "That's why I try to ease them into it."

Recently, a guest speaker gave a presentation to the class on open-source software, a term used to describe programs that can be freely altered or copied. In another session, students discussed the security problems of wireless networks and what can be done to fix them.

The idea isn't to persuade students to major in computer science - - although, in some cases, that's exactly what the course has done. Instead, the point is to give them enough of a technical backgroundso that when they read an article about, say, a flap over file sharing, they will have a more informed opinion.

"What I'm counting on is that you can get a deeper understanding of the issues if you really know how it works," Mr. Weiss says. "The real purpose of this course is to produce students who are technologically educated, even if programming computers is not what they're going to do with their lives."

What students say:

Virginia Ricks was an art major before she took the "Big Brother" course. Now, thanks in part to the class, she is majoring in computer science. "The programming helps you to understand what's behind technology," says Ms. Ricks, a senior.

Reading list:

Computer Ethics, by Deborah G. Johnson (Prentice Hall, 2000).

Assignments:

Students write several simple computer programs. Each student also writes a 5- to 10-page paper on a topic that has been covered in class, like whether private companies should be allowed to monitor the e-mail messages of employees.

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