Explainer: what it will take to make computer
science education available in all schools

Marie desJardins, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced that the city is investing US$81 million to establish computer science instruction in every public school in the city by 2025.

This announcement is impressive, but hardly surprising to those of us who have been watching the computer science education landscape evolve rapidly over the last eight years.

Interest in computer science (CS) at the university level declined after the “dot-com bust” of 2000, but then came back with a vengeance in 2007. Since then, student enrollment in computer science has been increasing.

As a professor of computer science who has worked extensively to improve CS education at the K-12, undergraduate and graduate levels, I know there are many more who want to go into the field of computer science. The numbers of female students and racial minorities remain distressingly low. But often these students do not have the preparation or encouragement to succeed in college-level work.

So, what are some of the challenges of expanding computer science education in the K-12 public school system?

How computer science came back as a major

The start of the new millennium saw many ups and downs in the area of computer science.

Enrollment in computer science and computer engineering degrees peaked in 2000, at the height of the “dot-com bubble.” That year, the Taulbee Survey, a survey of university computing departments conducted by the Computing Research Association, reported 79,311 undergraduate majors in doctoral-granting institutions.

But soon after the “dot-com bust” in 2000, the number of new majors dropped rapidly. By 2007, the Taulbee survey reported only 46,226 undergraduates in doctoral-granting institutions.

Despite the short-term tech downturn following the “bust,” the computing industry grew rapidly throughout the 2000s. So, by 2007, the computing industry was sounding the alarm about the dire shortage of trained computing professionals. Indeed, that very same year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted that computing would be the fastest-growing professional sector, with a projected 10-year growth rate of 24.8%.

Starting in 2007, those of us in academia started to notice a few more students in our classes, and then a lot more.

In spring 2009, when I was the undergraduate program director for UMBC’s CS program, we held an emergency meeting to decide how to handle the fact that all of the sections of our required discrete math class had a waiting list.

We debated whether this was the start of a real trend, or just a blip.

Within a year or two, every computer science professor in the country knew it was not just a blip. As we scrambled to hire more faculty, increase class sizes, and try to find ways to accommodate our increasingly long waiting lists, the students just kept coming.

In 2014, the most recent Taulbee survey reported nearly 102,000 majors in computer science and computer engineering (and another 12,000 in information sciences, a category not reported in earlier Taulbee surveys) – an increase of a remarkable 120% in the seven years since the enrollment low of 2007.

Lack of instruction

But we face many challenges. Often students who want to major in computer science are not well-prepared to do so – they do not have the computational thinking or mathematical preparation to succeed in college-level coursework.

We are also not doing enough to broaden interest in computing: the percentage of female computer science CS majors remains very low, at only 14.1%, and several racial minorities are also significantly underrepresented (with African Americans representing only an estimated 3% of majors, and Hispanics representing around 7%).

According to Code.org, a nonprofit focused on expanding access to computing education in K-12 schools, 26 states permit computer science classes to count toward high school graduation (usually as a math, science or technology education credit), compared to only nine states in 2010.

Shortage of computer science teachers is a challenge.
Berkeley Lab, CC BY-NC-ND

No states, however, actually require a computer science class for graduation. As a result, the vast majority of students in the US do not take even a single computer science course throughout their K-12 education; only 25% of principals report that their school offers a CS course that includes programming; only 5% of high schools are certified to offer AP computer science; fewer than 40,000 students took the AP CS A exam in 2014 (representing fewer than 1% of AP exams); and most students leave high school with little knowledge of computational thinking or design.

Here’s what states are doing

The good news is that many states are moving rapidly to expand instruction in computing in K-12 education.

In 2012, Chicago announced a five-year comprehensive plan to establish computer science instruction in every public school, starting in elementary school. Since then, San Francisco and New York City have joined the ranks. Arkansas recently became the first state to announce that it would require every public and charter high school to offer computer science classes.

Even so, no state has fully adopted statewide universal K-12 computer science education.

On average, as of 2010, states had adopted only 55% of the 35 recommended learning standards developed by the Computer Science Teachers Association, the premier professional organization for K-12 computing education. Although all 50 states had adopted some elementary school standards (grades K-6), nearly half of the states had not adopted any high school standards (grades 9-12).

Moreover, the standards that have been adopted by states focus more on low-level skills than on abstract computational concepts, and therefore do not prepare students well for more advanced college-level computing courses.

Standards for teaching vary

An additional concern in broadening K-12 computing education is the challenge of finding qualified teachers.

Arkansas, for example, is scrambling to hire and train enough qualified teachers. As Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson stated at the time the new mandate became law, only 20 high school teachers across the entire state were actually prepared to teach computer science.

This gap between the desire for computer science classes and the availability of prepared teachers exists across the country.

Standards for teaching computer science are also either lacking or not consistent across state boundaries.

A 2013 report by ACM and CSTA states that only two states and the District of Columbia specifically require CS certification to teach computer science classes. An additional seven states require CS certification to teach Advanced Placement computer science.

In 13 other states, teaching certification in computer science CS is offered but not mandated – and in most of those states, the certification system is ineffective because programs are not offered, information is not readily available, the requirements are too complex to be understood and met by teachers, or there is no incentive to obtain a CS certification in order to teach CS classes.

Moreover, as demand for computer science classes increases, teachers in other fields with little computer science background are being tapped to teach those classes.

Challenges ahead

The computer science education community is working to develop more consistent standards across state boundaries.

In the meantime, other concerns are emerging. For example, requiring certification will exacerbate the teacher shortage problem, because so many computer science courses are currently being taught by teachers without computer science certification.

There is also a real and growing concern about attracting and keeping highly qualified teachers, since these teachers also get hired in industry.

While there has been a great deal of progress since 2010, there is still a long way to go.

Marie desJardins, Associate Dean for Engineering and Information Technology and Professor of Computer Science , University of Maryland, Baltimore County

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

 The UMBC CSEE Seminar Series Presents

Online Learning for Cognitive Radios,
Power Grids, and Brain Imaging

Dr. Seung-Jun Kim
Department of CSEE, UMBC

1-2pm, Friday, 23 October 2015, ITE 325b

With the advent of big data era with pervasive sensors and powerful computational intelligence techniques, application of data-driven techniques to various domains is becoming quite popular. In this talk, some of our recent research activities in the signal processing and smart systems lab (SPSS) will be sampled. In particular, it will be highlighted how the online learning techniques can benefit different applications in the wireless communication, power systems, and medical imaging areas.

Seung-Jun Kim received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Seoul National University in Seoul, Korea, and his Ph.D. from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2005, all in electrical engineering. From 2005 to 2008, he worked for NEC Laboratories America in Princeton, New Jersey. He was with the University of Minnesota during 2008-2014, where his final title was Research Associate Professor. In August 2014, he joined the CSEE department at UMBC. Dr. Kim’s research interests include statistical signal processing, optimization, and machine learning, with applications to wireless communication and networking, future power systems, and big data analytics.

Hosts: Professors Fow-Sen Choa (Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address. ) and Alan T. Sherman (Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address. )

About the CSEE Seminar Series: The UMBC Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering presents technical talks on current significant research projects of broad interest to the Department and the research community. Each talk is free and open to the public. We welcome your feedback and suggestions for future talks. Upcoming talks include the following.

Signature Track (Fridays, 12noon-1pm, in ITE 102):

• Oct. 30, Rong Chen, SOM Faculty, computational neuroscience
• Nov.13, John Kloetzli (Firaxis), computer graphics
• Weekly Track (Thursday 12noon-1pm, or Friday 1-2pm, in ITE 325):
• Nov. 20 Hamed Pirsiavash (UMBC), computer vision
• Nov. 6 Nilanjan Banerjee (UMBC), Internet of Things
• Dec. 4 Ting Zhu (UMBC), energy system and big data

Other UMBC CSEE Seminar Series: The UMBC Cyber Defense Lab (CDL) meets biweekly Fridays 11:15am-12:30pm in ITE 231, for research talks about cybersecurity.

The UMBC Cyber Defense Lab presents

Are your personal data at risk?
App analytics to the rescue

Prajit Kumar Das
Ebiquity, CSEE Department, UMBC

11:15am-12:30pm, Friday, 23 October 2015, ITE 231

According to the prominent virus and malware tool Virustotal, the Google Play Store has a few thousand apps from major malware families. Given such a revelation, access control systems for mobile data management have reached a state of critical importance. We propose developing a system that will help us detect pathways along which user data are being stolen from their mobile devices. We use a multi-layered approach including app meta data analysis, understanding code patterns, and detecting and eventually controlling dynamic data flow when such an app is installed on a mobile device. In this presentation we focus on the first part of our work and discuss the merits and flaws of our unsupervised learning mechanism to detect possible malicious behavior from apps in the Google Play Store.

Prajit Das is a PhD student in computer science at UMBC.

Host: Alan T. Sherman, Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address.

Computer Science Lecturer Positions
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

The Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering (CSEE) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) invites applications for up to three non-tenure track lecturer in computer science positions to begin in Spring 2016 (January 2016) or Fall 2016 (August 2016). Primary duties will include teaching computer science courses at the undergraduate level. Candidates with interest and experience in all areas of computer science will be considered. Applicants must have an MS or a PhD in computer science or a closely-related field. Ideal candidates will have evidence of strong teaching and administrative skills. Experience in academia, industry and government will be considered in the evaluation of the candidate.

The CSEE department is energetic, research-oriented and multi-disciplinary with programs in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Cybersecurity. Our faculty (34 tenure-track, six teaching and 15 research) enjoy collaboration, working across our specializations as well as with colleagues from other STEM, humanities and the arts departments and external partners. We have 1500 undergraduate CS and CE majors and 400 M.S. and Ph.D. students in our CS, CE, EE and Cybersecurity graduate programs. We have awarded 276 PhDs since our establishment in 1986. Our research supported by a growing and diverse portfolio from government and industrial sponsors with over $5M in yearly research expenditures. We work to help new colleagues be successful by providing startup packages, reduced teaching loads and active mentoring.

UMBC is a dynamic public research university integrating teaching, research and service. As an Honors University, the campus offers academically talented students a strong undergraduate liberal arts foundation that prepares them for graduate and professional study, entry into the workforce, and community service and leadership. UMBC emphasizes science, engineering, information technology, human services and public policy at the graduate level. We are dedicated to cultural and ethnic diversity, social responsibility and lifelong learning. The 2015 US News and World Report Best Colleges report placed UMBC fourth in the Most Innovative National Universities category and sixth in Best Undergraduate Teaching, National Universities. The Chronicle of Higher Education named UMBC as a Great College to Work For, a recognition given to only 86 universities. Our strategic location in the Baltimore-Washington corridor puts us close to many important federal laboratories and agencies and high-tech companies, facilitating interactions, collaboration, and opportunities for sabbaticals and visiting appointments.

UMBC’s campus is located on 500 acres just off I-95 between Baltimore and Washington DC, and less than 10 minutes from the BWI airport and Amtrak station. The campus includes the bwtech@UMBC research and technology park, which has special programs for startups focused on cybersecurity, clean energy, life sciences and training. We are surrounded by one of the greatest concentrations of commercial, cultural and scientific activity in the nation. Located at the head of the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore has all the advantages of modern, urban living, including professional sports, major art galleries, theaters and a symphony orchestra. The city’s famous Inner Harbor area is an exciting center for entertainment and commerce. The nation’s capital, Washington, DC, is a great tourist attraction with its historical monuments and museums. Just ten minutes from downtown Baltimore and 30 from the D.C. Beltway, UMBC offers easy access to the region’s resources by car or public transportation.

To apply. Submit a cover letter, a brief statement of teaching, academic, industrial or government experience, and complete CV on Interfolio. Only applications submitted via this site will be considered. Applicants should arrange for three letters of reference to be sent via the same website. Applications will be reviewed as they are received. For best consideration, apply by November 15, 2015. Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled.

UMBC is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and is a recent recipient of a National Science Foundation ADVANCE award to promote hiring and advancement of women in science and engineering. We welcome applications from women, minorities, veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Google will be on campus on Thursday and Friday, October 29 and 30 to talk with students about opportunities for full-time positions and internships. See their message below.

Hello UMBC students!

Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. It’s an enormous goal to accomplish and we need great people to help us achieve it!

We invite you to come learn about Google and meet some of our Googlers at this exciting event!

Who: All Computer Science and Engineering students, but anyone with an interest in software development is welcome!

What: Culture at Google and Laying the Groundwork for a Successful Tech Career
Date: Thursday, October 29th
Time: 4:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: PAHB 132

What: Culture at Google and Preparing for Technical Interviews
Date: Friday, October 30th
Time: 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Location: PAHB 132

RSVP here. Have any questions? Check out our FAQs below.

Thanks,

Jonathan Bronson (Google Employee)
Loryn Chen (Google Student Ambassador for UMBC)

—

FAQs

“Okay, Google, I’m ready to apply.”

What roles are you hiring for?

Most of our available opportunities for technical students are within our software engineering teams. Check out the roles below for more details. For all other opportunities, visit http://google.com/careers/students.

• Software Engineer
• Software Engineer, Tools and Infrastructure
• Engineering Resident
• Software Engineering Internship (BA/BS)
• Software Engineering Internship (MS/PhD)
• Information Technology Residency Program

Can I apply for multiple positions?

Yes, you can apply for as many roles and locations as you’d like. We’ll review your resume and transcript to determine the best match.

When are the application deadlines?

Apply now! We encourage you to apply sooner rather than later, since most of our full time roles and internships accept applications on a rolling basis. If there is a deadline for a specific position, it will say so on the job posting.

What do I need to submit when I apply?

Please upload your resume and a copy of your transcript (unofficial is fine).

So I really don’t need a cover letter?

Correct! Have your resume tell your story!

I applied previously and wasn’t selected. May I reapply?

Yes, but we generally recommend that you’ve gained at least six months of additional technical experience and knowledge before reapplying.

Are international students eligible to apply for internships or full-time roles?

Yes, international students can apply for internships and full-time roles.

I’m planning to graduate this academic year, can I apply for an internship?

Unfortunately you aren’t able to do an internship after you graduate, so you’ll need to apply for a full-time role. If you’re graduating, but plan to pursue a graduate degree, then you can apply for an internship.

I want to intern on Android/Maps/[insert Google product here]. How do I apply for those teams?

You’ll first need to pass two technical phone interviews then a recruiter will work with you to determine a project match for the summer. You’ll have the chance to express interest in certain teams, tell us more about your background/skills, etc. once you’ve completed the technical interviews.

I applied online but haven’t heard back from anyone. Help?!

First, make sure you received the confirmation email that we received your application. Second, reply to us at Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address. so we can check the status of your application.

Computer Science Lecturer Positions
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

The Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering (CSEE) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) invites applications for up to three non-tenure track lecturer in computer science positions to begin in Spring 2016 (January 2016) or Fall 2016 (August 2016). Primary duties will include teaching computer science courses at the undergraduate level. Candidates with interest and experience in all areas of computer science will be considered. Applicants must have an MS or a PhD in computer science or a closely-related field. Ideal candidates will have evidence of strong teaching and administrative skills. Experience in academia, industry and government will be considered in the evaluation of the candidate.

The CSEE department is energetic, research-oriented and multi-disciplinary with programs in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Cybersecurity. Our faculty (34 tenure-track, six teaching and 15 research) enjoy collaboration, working across our specializations as well as with colleagues from other STEM, humanities and the arts departments and external partners. We have 1500 undergraduate CS and CE majors and 400 M.S. and Ph.D. students in our CS, CE, EE and Cybersecurity graduate programs. We have awarded 276 PhDs since our establishment in 1986. Our research supported by a growing and diverse portfolio from government and industrial sponsors with over $5M in yearly research expenditures. We work to help new colleagues be successful by providing startup packages, reduced teaching loads and active mentoring.

UMBC is a dynamic public research university integrating teaching, research and service. As an Honors University, the campus offers academically talented students a strong undergraduate liberal arts foundation that prepares them for graduate and professional study, entry into the workforce, and community service and leadership. UMBC emphasizes science, engineering, information technology, human services and public policy at the graduate level. We are dedicated to cultural and ethnic diversity, social responsibility and lifelong learning. The 2015 US News and World Report Best Colleges report placed UMBC fourth in the Most Innovative National Universities category and sixth in Best Undergraduate Teaching, National Universities. The Chronicle of Higher Education named UMBC as a Great College to Work For, a recognition given to only 86 universities. Our strategic location in the Baltimore-Washington corridor puts us close to many important federal laboratories and agencies and high-tech companies, facilitating interactions, collaboration, and opportunities for sabbaticals and visiting appointments.

UMBC’s campus is located on 500 acres just off I-95 between Baltimore and Washington DC, and less than 10 minutes from the BWI airport and Amtrak station. The campus includes the bwtech@UMBC research and technology park, which has special programs for startups focused on cybersecurity, clean energy, life sciences and training. We are surrounded by one of the greatest concentrations of commercial, cultural and scientific activity in the nation. Located at the head of the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore has all the advantages of modern, urban living, including professional sports, major art galleries, theaters and a symphony orchestra. The city’s famous Inner Harbor area is an exciting center for entertainment and commerce. The nation’s capital, Washington, DC, is a great tourist attraction with its historical monuments and museums. Just ten minutes from downtown Baltimore and 30 from the D.C. Beltway, UMBC offers easy access to the region’s resources by car or public transportation.

To apply. Submit a cover letter, a brief statement of teaching, academic, industrial or government experience, and complete CV on Interfolio. Only applications submitted via this site will be considered. Applicants should arrange for three letters of reference to be sent via the same website. Applications will be reviewed as they are received. For best consideration, apply by November 15, 2015. Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled.

UMBC is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and is a recent recipient of a National Science Foundation ADVANCE award to promote hiring and advancement of women in science and engineering. We welcome applications from women, minorities, veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Computer Science Lecturer Positions
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

The Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering (CSEE) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) invites applications for up to three non-tenure track lecturer in computer science positions to begin in Spring 2016 (January 2016) or Fall 2016 (August 2016). Primary duties will include teaching computer science courses at the undergraduate level. Candidates with interest and experience in all areas of computer science will be considered. Applicants must have an MS or a PhD in computer science or a closely-related field. Ideal candidates will have evidence of strong teaching and administrative skills. Experience in academia, industry and government will be considered in the evaluation of the candidate.

The CSEE department is energetic, research-oriented and multi-disciplinary with programs in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Cybersecurity. Our faculty (34 tenure-track, six teaching and 15 research) enjoy collaboration, working across our specializations as well as with colleagues from other STEM, humanities and the arts departments and external partners. We have 1500 undergraduate CS and CE majors and 400 M.S. and Ph.D. students in our CS, CE, EE and Cybersecurity graduate programs. We have awarded 276 PhDs since our establishment in 1986. Our research supported by a growing and diverse portfolio from government and industrial sponsors with over $5M in yearly research expenditures. We work to help new colleagues be successful by providing startup packages, reduced teaching loads and active mentoring.

UMBC is a dynamic public research university integrating teaching, research and service. As an Honors University, the campus offers academically talented students a strong undergraduate liberal arts foundation that prepares them for graduate and professional study, entry into the workforce, and community service and leadership. UMBC emphasizes science, engineering, information technology, human services and public policy at the graduate level. We are dedicated to cultural and ethnic diversity, social responsibility and lifelong learning. The 2015 US News and World Report Best Colleges report placed UMBC fourth in the Most Innovative National Universities category and sixth in Best Undergraduate Teaching, National Universities. The Chronicle of Higher Education named UMBC as a Great College to Work For, a recognition given to only 86 universities. Our strategic location in the Baltimore-Washington corridor puts us close to many important federal laboratories and agencies and high-tech companies, facilitating interactions, collaboration, and opportunities for sabbaticals and visiting appointments.

UMBC’s campus is located on 500 acres just off I-95 between Baltimore and Washington DC, and less than 10 minutes from the BWI airport and Amtrak station. The campus includes the bwtech@UMBC research and technology park, which has special programs for startups focused on cybersecurity, clean energy, life sciences and training. We are surrounded by one of the greatest concentrations of commercial, cultural and scientific activity in the nation. Located at the head of the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore has all the advantages of modern, urban living, including professional sports, major art galleries, theaters and a symphony orchestra. The city’s famous Inner Harbor area is an exciting center for entertainment and commerce. The nation’s capital, Washington, DC, is a great tourist attraction with its historical monuments and museums. Just ten minutes from downtown Baltimore and 30 from the D.C. Beltway, UMBC offers easy access to the region’s resources by car or public transportation.

To apply. Submit a cover letter, a brief statement of teaching, academic, industrial or government experience, and complete CV on Interfolio. Only applications submitted via this site will be considered. Applicants should arrange for three letters of reference to be sent via the same website. Applications will be reviewed as they are received. For best consideration, apply by November 15, 2015. Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled.

UMBC is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and is a recent recipient of a National Science Foundation ADVANCE award to promote hiring and advancement of women in science and engineering. We welcome applications from women, minorities, veterans and individuals with disabilities.

The UMBC CSEE Seminar Series Presents

Enhanced IP and OpenFlow Switching to
Provide Zero Touch Traffic Engineering

Dr. William Chimiak
Laboratory for Telecommunications Science (LTS)

12noon-1pm, Friday, 16 October, 2015, ITE 102

I propose a method using OpenFlow and Enhanced IP (64 bit IPv4) to provide an end-to-end method of creating traffic engineered flow paths for big data. With an SSL registered Northbound Application, a user with proper credentials requests an big data transfer. This is sent to a port with a hybrid Enhanced IP NAT. The Enhanced IP portion of the NAT is stateless making communication-set up faster, but allows the normal Carrier-grade NAT function, if necessary. With this system, there will be a mechanism to allow end-to-end awareness of the flow type to allow for an end-to-end traffic engineered path.

Hosts: Professors Fow-Sen Choa (Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address. ) and Alan T. Sherman (Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address. )

About the CSEE Seminar Series: The UMBC Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering presents technical talks on current significant research projects of broad interest to the Department and the research community. Each talk is free and open to the public. We welcome your feedback and suggestions for future talks. Upcoming talks include the following.

Signature Track (Fridays, 12noon-1pm, in ITE 102):

• Oct. 30, Rong Chen, SOM Faculty, computational neuroscience
• Nov.13, John Kloetzli (Firaxis), computer graphics

Weekly Track (Thursday 12noon-1pm, or Friday 1-2pm, in ITE 325):

• Nov. 20 Hamed Pirsiavash (UMBC), computer vision
• Nov. 6 Nilanjan Banerjee (UMBC), Internet of Things
• Dec. 4 Ting Zhu (UMBC), energy system and big data

Other UMBC CSEE Seminar Series: The UMBC Cyber Defense Lab (CDL) meets biweekly Fridays 11:15am-12:30pm in ITE 231, for research talks about cybersecurity. Next talk is 10-23.

Got Linux? If you’ve ever wanted to try Linux but didn’t know where to start, bring your computer to the Linux Installfest this Friday, October 16 between noon and 5:00pm at the UMBC Commons Mainstreet.  Having Linux on your own computer will give you more control and is a great learning experience.  You can also replicate the environment found on UMBC’s servers (e.g., gl.umbc.edu) which will make doing your homework on them easier.

Members of the UMBC Linux Users Group (LUG)  will help students, staff, and faculty install Linux on their laptops. LUG will mainly be providing the popular Linux flavors Linux Mint, Ubuntu, and Fedora. Whether you want a VirtualBox image, a dual-boot install, a fresh install, or just don’t know what you want, they want to help; drop by on Main Street, Friday, October 16, between noon and 6pm, no appointment necessary!

See the LUG site for more information. You might also want to join UMBC’s LUG — join the LUG mailing list to get news and reminders of their regular meetings

Contact the LUG faculty adviser, Jon Squire (squire at csee.umbc.edu) with burning questions.