Pixels as polymers: unifying introductory biology and computer science through visual computation
Zachary Dodds, Ran Libeskind-Hadas, Eliot C. Bush · Journal of computing sciences in colleges · 2011
We present the design and deployment of a visual-computing curriculum developed for a crossdisciplinary introduction to biology and computer science. Using the accessible Python programming language and its many libraries, first-year undergraduates simultaneously investigated fundamental biological and computational concepts, satisfying both CS and Biology curricular requirements. Although not every homework exercise built upon visual computing, pixels did play a predominant role throughout the semester-long experience. With this paper we describe this curriculum, its assignments, and its supporting materials; these resource have already proven valuable in CS-only and Biology-only courses at our institution. Our experience suggests that pixels can serve as polymer, providing a motivating example of the growing interrelationship between the biological and computational sciences for students of either - or both - fields.