Ensuring the quality of software systems in the 21st Century requires an improved pedagogical approach to teaching software testing that exploits the cyberinfrastructure currently accessible to academic institutions and the social networking inclinations of our students. Two main factors highlight the need to provide students in the computing disciplines with greater access to learning materials on software testing: the high cost associated with the production of software systems that contain errors and the need to adequately train future software engineers and computer programmers since these occupations are projected to increase by 21% from 2008 to 2018.
This project is creating new cyberlearning materials on software testing and improving faculty expertise in the knowledge and use of software testing techniques and tools by: (1) creating a cyberlearning environment (WReSTT ? Web-based Repository of Software Testing Tutorials) that provides students and instructors with access to tutorials on software testing concepts and tools; (2) conducting workshops to develop faculty expertise in software testing and using the features in WReSTT to support pedagogy; (3) fostering students? acquisition of software testing concepts and skills in undergraduate programming courses; and (4) promoting WReSTT and disseminating the research findings to the academic community. The project team consists of experienced instructors and evaluators from a cross-section of institutions, including institutions with students from underrepresented groups. Three industry partners support the project by serving on the project?s advisory board, presenting testing tool tutorials at faculty workshops, and making testing tools available to students at academic institutions.
