Science fiction in computer science education

Abstract

The use of science fiction (SF) to engage students in computer science learning is becoming more popular [1-6]. There is ample material available to help both undergraduate and graduate students make connections between technical content and human experience, from Star Trek to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to 2001: A Space Odyssey to I, Robot and many others. Fiction can be included in technical courses or used to draw students into the field in introductory classes. The panelists, who represent a range of schools, perspectives and classes, will present brief overviews (5-8 minutes) of how they have used science fiction to engage students in technical topics as well as ethical and societal issues related to computing. After the overviews, there will be plenty of time for discussion of examples used within the community and ways to make connections between science fiction and particular classes or topics. We will be gathering additional examples from the discussion and making them available online.