Beyond competency: a context-driven CSO course

In the process of revising our general education course, which is required of a large fraction of students, we attempted to answer the question "What should a graduate of a liberal arts university understand about computational technology?" As computing technology has impacted and created drastic change in nearly all aspects of everyday life, university students may know more about narrow areas of technology but the true impact on their lives cannot be understood without an appreciation for the nature and limitations of the technology. This paper presents a set of assumptions about the impact of technology on individuals and society and describes elements of a computing context designed to enable students to critically evaluate the technology that has such an impact on their lives. Assessment of the approach indicates that students are more aware of the impact of technology and the importance of an understanding of the technology.