Sustainable Methods for Impactful Service Learning in Computer Science (Abstract Only)

Abstract

Service learning offers students of computer science an experiential opportunity to hone not only their technical skills of design and programming, but also the soft skills of teamwork, communication, and social/ethical behavior. With hard work and effective mentoring from faculty, the output of student work can also benefit community partners, assuming there is proper infrastructure in place to provide long-term project management and technical support. This Birds of a Feather session provides a discussion platform to share lessons learned and best practices related to establishing a sustainable service-learning program within an undergraduate computer-science curriculum, with a particular focus on balancing benefits to students and community partners with organizational overhead.