This project will provide partial funding to equip a teaching laboratory with 14 workstations for twelve students and two instructors. The project will provide for a number of improvements in the curriculum: 1) The courses in the curriculum for majors will be taught in an interactive, hands- on, doing instead of listening manner. Laboratory sessions will provide for more one on one time with professors and knowledgeable proctors; 2) The curriculum will become more real world. The students will do their learning in a production type environment using state-of-the-art software engineering and development tools. The environment includes UNIX and X- Windows based tools; 3) The computer learning environment will become more graphical. The students will be able to better learn about program execution and structure because of graphical tools that trace execution, that measure execution, and show the structure of programs and systems of programs; 4) The project will allow for group learning managed by the instructor using the environment's revision control system and module library capability; and 5) The project will allow for presentation of the content of the curriculum along side the practice of the field. This is accomplished by allowing students to reuse their own previously developed programs, techniques, and experiences in a software environment in later courses in the curriculum thereby reinforcing the usefulness and importance of their previous work and courses.
