Ouldooz Baghban Karimi

Grant program: Teaching and Learning Development Grant Program

Grant recipient: Ouldooz Baghban Karimi, School of Computing Science

Project team: Research assistant, TBD

Timeframe: January 2022 to October 2022

Funding: $5,000

Courses addressed:

• CMPT 474 – Web Systems Architecture 
• CMPT 756 – Distributed and Cloud Systems

Description: Observing student learning needs during multiple offerings of CMPT 474 and CMPT 756 initiated development of an open textbook for these courses. Students expressed interest in using a textbook that could replace the collection of reading resources used. These resources include scientific papers, technical reports, parts of two different books, and “Reading Compilations” that collect the most important parts of the readings in a Canvas quiz format. This project aims to expand our knowledge about student learning needs beyond current course reading materials, and towards understanding the range of accessibility and learning needs that could be addressed by developing an open textbook for these courses.

Questions addressed: 

• What are the main needs in the mentioned courses (resource gaps) to be covered in a textbook?
• What are the main student accessibility and usage needs in using Cloud and Web Systems open textbook and companion resources and materials?

Knowledge sharing: 

• Consulting CS colleagues and sharing the learnings with them during the process
• Sharing the outcomes with SFU school of computing science and computer science education (SIGCSE) community