COMP_SCI 396 - Communicating Computer Science

In this class we will work together to a) examine how people in the real world communicate about computer science and b) practice how we might communicate computational ideas to various members of the public. The core idea is to explore cultural, practical, and policy-related roles of computer science communication in wider society.

We’ll talk about how to communicate to various audiences (e.g. general public; press; policy makers; academics; etc.) and do a number of practical assignments that help us practice our communication skills in various formats (i.e. talks; classes; interviews; etc.). Much of the class will be centered on reading, watching, and critiquing existing computing-related materials (e.g. magazine/newspaper articles; TED Talks; media interviews; etc.). Other assignments will be more practice focused with idea that each student will be able to select both the types of communication (e.g. spoken; written; YouTube video; etc.) and content (e.g. cryptocurrency; quantum computing; etc.) that are of interest to them for most assignments.

Course Goals

This course would be ideal for students interested in:

• Communicating your own research to both academic and non-academic audiences
• Working in public outreach to spread awareness of CS
• Thinking about how we might inform policymakers of ideas in CS that have cultural and legal significance

Past Projects