About Me
My name is Ali Madooei, and I am an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University, which is a fancy way of saying I teach Computer Science.
I enjoy learning new things and sharing that knowledge with others, which has driven my career in CS education for over a decade. In addition to teaching, I have a keen interest in software development, educational technology, and instructional design.
Projects
I currently work on these projects:
- The Coding, Learning, and Application Building Lab (COLLAB)
- The AI-assisted Instruction Lab (AI^2^)
- The Open Coursebook Project
- The Open Coursechat Project
Teaching
I currently teach the following courses:
- EN.601.226: Data Structures
- EN.601.280: Full-Stack JavaScript
- EN.601.421/621: Object-Oriented Software Engineering
- EN.601.425/625: Software System Design
Throughout my career, I have developed and taught various courses, from foundational CS classes to advanced topics, particularly in Software Engineering. Before joining JHU, I served in the Department of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia. I have also taught at Simon Fraser University and Kwantlen Polytechnic University, all located in Canada.
My preferred style of learning and teaching is interactive and hands-on experiences, an approach I actively practice and advocate. I continually seek ways to enhance both my teaching methods and the learning experiences of my students, particularly in the context of CS education.
Research
While I no longer engage in traditional research like publishing papers, my early research involved computer vision applied to medical image analysis, which was the focus of my Ph.D. work.
My current interests lie in developing software tools to support teaching and learning, especially in computer science. I am particularly intrigued by how AI and educational technology can be utilized to enhance instruction and improve the learning experiences of students. You could say this is my current research interest, although I don’t actively publish papers on it. I am more interested in building things (checkout my current projects) rather than engaging in traditional research.
Education
I earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Simon Fraser University (SFU) and a B.Sc (Hons) in Computing with a focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) from Staffordshire University. I also hold an M.Sc. in Education, specializing in learning design and educational technology, from Purdue University.