Assignment 5.

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Summary of the Article:
The article that I chose to read was called “A Christian Perspective on Computing: One Person's View”.
In this article they talked about the responsibility of a Christian programmer when creating programs for the
users. They are really just promoting a responsible approach to the things that we create. It discussed that god
wanted us to have dominion over creation and the act of programming is as much an act of creation as
anything else in this world. When you are writing any type of code or program you are creating something. You
are using what god has provided to make something new in our world. Even when that thing is similar to
something that might already exist it becomes a new creation when finished.
The article discussed how most people don’t really have a relationship with technology that could be
considered following the will of God. It said “The vast majority of the people I know would describe their
relationship with their computer as one of frustration, rather than dominion.” So the article stressed that it
was the job of Christian programmers to do their best to relieve the stress that many users feel when working
with technology. Making sure that their finished products are user friendly and allow people to do what is
intended with it. The article really focused on the idea of the Christian programmer redeeming technology for
the everyday person. To remove the stress of working with technology and make it as functional as possible.

Faith in teaching computer science:

When it comes to faith in teaching computer science the first thing, I want to say is that this is a very
hard subject for a public educator to take on. One of the things that is expected of us in public education is
that separation of church and state. There are many students in my classroom that come from a variety of
religions and cultures. I teach in a very diverse community, and it is not my place to try and influence their
beliefs. Saying this though; I can go about the way I teach in a way that matches my own beliefs in the way that
I conduct myself.
The first thing that my faith can contribute to is the idea of creating something that we can be proud of.
In the article they talked about making programs that are robust and well made. I believe it is important for us
to put our full effort into the things we do and create. This comes down to the idea they mentioned before
with us having dominion over creation (Genesis 1:28). When you are in complete control of something it is
your responsibility to make the most of it and to do your best. This is something that I’m constantly trying to
impart to my students. The idea of doing our best at all times.
The second thing that faith can help to bring into computer science is the idea of collaboration. God
made man and then women. He made Eve so that Adam would not be alone. People are meant to work
together to be together and have companionship. Collaboration in CS and teaching CS is super important.
Students need to be able to talk to each other and bounce ideas off of others. They need to be able to see
others ideas and discuss how those ideas came to be. One of the main ideas that they have presented to us in
the reading of this course is the importance of paired programming.
The third way faith can influence my teaching is the focus on doing what is right. Stressing the
importance of doing the right thing to students and using technology in an appropriate way. Unfortunately,
there are many dangers to traverse when working with technology and our students whose lives are going to
be immersed in technology need to know how to avoid some of these pitfalls. Teaching our students digital
morality and how the digital world is really just an extension of the real world. One of the things that schools
have had to deal with more frequently is digital bullying and students using social media in ways that are
harmful to themselves and others. This is becoming much more prevalent, and I have seen it happening more
in recent years. We need to teach kids how to deal with it when it happens and what to do when you see it
happening. How do we use this technology in an appropriate way and not let the bad things completely
discourage us from using it.
The fourth way that faith can influence me in my teaching of computer science is the idea of giving
credit where it is due. Stealing is one of the original 10 commandments and plagiarism is something that needs
to be addressed in our current world. Students need to know the consequences of stealing something from
someone online isn’t different from any other form of theft. Being honest and not taking credit for something
someone else has done. One thing that comes to my mind on this topic is AI in papers and ChatGPT. If you have
a computer, write your entire paper you have cheated in my opinion. This is something that students need to
be aware of. Part of creating is putting in the effort and work and having that payoff of doing something on
your own. If you don’t put any effort into something you can’t truly claim it as your own. It’s no different from
having someone else write your paper for you.

Sources:

A Christian perspective on computing: One person’s view. Calvin University. (n.d.).

https://computing.calvin.edu/documents/christian-perspective-on-computing.html

Jane Krauss, & Kiki Prottsman. (2016). Computational Thinking and Coding for Every Student : The Teacher’s
Getting-Started Guide. Corwin.