Since the introduction of the Macintosh computer in 1984, Residential Computing has been offering an Introduction to Computing at Stanford class (now CS1C), a one unit pass/no credit course taught by local Resident Computer Consultants (RCCs) in the residences.
CS1C in the Past
Over 10,000 students have taken this introductory computing course. In the early years, CS1C, taken by most freshmen, initially covered the "basic functions of a computer system: text editor, communications facilities, software packages, etc."[1] As incoming students became more familiar with basic skills, the course evolved to include topics such as computer maintenance and security, email and printing, network file storage, physical computing resources, and file-sharing and copyright issues. Additional topics catering to students' interests varied by section such as image editing, Web page publication, and computer hardware.
New Focus on "Net Savviness"
This year, the CS1C curriculum was restructured and adopted a focus on "Net Savviness". As this year's course coordinator, Chin San Han, explains, net savviness refers to "how a person is shrewdly informed, practically experienced, or simply canny regarding the Net, whether it's leveraging its resources, navigating its pitfalls, or managing the myriad forms of technology associated with it."
CS1C continues to cover the basics of using the Stanford network, computer maintenance and security, and Stanford's computing resources. However, with increasing news coverage and concerns about file-sharing and social networks like Facebook and MySpace, additional time in the course is devoted to discussing the issues surrounding privacy on social networks and file-sharing and the law.
Multimedia Components Move to CS2C
To accommodate the additional content for CS1C, the multimedia components that were once taught in CS1C have now moved to the Intermediate Computing at Stanford (CS2C) course to align with the multimedia focus of that course, which has grown from 30 students and 4 locations to 105 students and 13 locations in just four years since it was first offered in Winter 2005. Due to increasing student demand for the course partially from the CS1C curriculum changes, more CS2C sections were also added this year including an advanced section in Meyer Library (which taught Final Cut Pro in addition to iMovie).
CS1C-Current Results
Encouraging the students to think more about their responsibilities when it comes to net savviness, CS1C students concluded the course by writing a paper to reflect on how the course contributed to their growth toward net savviness. And to introduce the students to the multimedia course offered the following quarter, the students recorded a reflection video in teams on their collective net savviness learning experience in CS1C.
24 years ago, CS1C taught students how to use technologies to enhance their computing experience at Stanford. Today, it aims to not only teach students about how to use the technologies, but also how to use them wisely.
