Enriching software engineering courses with service-learning projects and the open-source approach

ABSTRACT

Real-world software engineers deal with complex problem. Yet many software engineering courses do not involve projects of enough complexity to give students such experience. We sense that service-learning projects, while difficult to manage and sustain, can serve a crucial role in this regard. Through trials in a senior-level software engineering course, we discovered that the open-source approach works well to enable students to work on large, multiple-term service-learning projects. We developed GROw, a cross-term, cross-team educational software process to meet the challenges of adopting complex, real-world projects in one-term courses, and to sustain service learning.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.3 COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION
      K.3.2 Computer and Information Science Education
          Subjects: Computer science education

General Terms:
Design

Keywords:
service learning, software engineering education