SIGCSE 2010 - The 41st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

SIGCSE 2010: Making Contact
The 41st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

March 10-13, 2010, Milwaukee, WI, USA
http://www.sigcse.org/sigcse2010/

CONFERENCE THEME: Making Contact
SIGCSE 2010 continues the long tradition of bringing together colleagues from around the world to make contact via paper, panel, poster and special sessions, as well as workshops, birds-of-a-feather, and informal settings at breaks and meals. We celebrate and encourage these contacts that allow us to renew and make new connections as we discuss the challenges and excitement of computer science education.

The SIGCSE Technical Symposium addresses problems common among educators working to develop, implement and/or evaluate computing programs, curricula, and courses. The symposium provides a forum for sharing new ideas for syllabi, laboratories, and other elements of teaching and pedagogy, at all levels of instruction. We invite those interested in computer science education and computer science education research to contribute to SIGCSE 2010.

Following SIGCSE tradition, the symposium will provide a diverse selection of technical sessions and opportunities for learning and interaction.

PAPERS
Papers describe a classroom experience, teaching technique, curricular initiative, or educational research project. Two versions of a submission are required: a full version having author names and affiliations and an anonymous version for use in reviewing. The anonymous version must not include author names, affiliations, or obvious references to the authors or their institutions. Papers will undergo a double-blind reviewing process and must not exceed five pages. Authors will have approximately 25 minutes for their presentations, including questions and answers. At least one author of each accepted paper must register and attend the conference to present.

PANELS
Panels present multiple perspectives on a specific topic. To allow each panelist sufficient time to present his or her perspective and still enable audience participation, a panel will normally have at most four panelists, including one moderator. Panel submissions should include a list of the panelists, their affiliations, and a description of the topic, with brief position statements from panelists. Proposals with more than four panelists must provide a statement connecting the extra panelist(s) to the effectiveness of the panel and must convincingly show that each panelist will be able to speak, and the audience able to respond, within the session time. Panel abstracts must not exceed two pages. A panel session is approximately 75 minutes long.

SPECIAL SESSIONS
Special sessions are your opportunity to customize and experiment with the SIGCSE conference format. Possible special sessions include a seminar on a new topic, a committee report, or a forum on curriculum issues. More generally, they must be 75 minutes in length, held in standard conference spaces, and justifiably distinct from the panel, paper, and poster tracks. Within those constraints, the form is yours to design. Special session abstracts must not exceed two pages.

WORKSHOPS
Workshops provide introductory and advanced topics to help make participants more effective teachers and scholars. Workshop proposals (including abstract) must not exceed two pages. Submissions must specify equipment needs (e.g., participant laptops or projector required) and any limitation on the number of participants. Workshops are scheduled for a three-hour session and are offered separately from the technical track session times.

STUDENT RESEARCH COMPETITION
The Student Research Competition (SRC) describes new, innovative computer science research conducted by both graduate and undergraduate students. Research abstracts are limited to two pages. Judges will review the research presentation via a poster and interview participants on their work. A group of semi-finalists will continue the competition by giving a short conference presentation.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER (BOF) SESSIONS
Birds of a Feather sessions provide an environment for colleagues with similar interests to meet for informal discussions. A maximum one-page description (including abstract) is requested to describe the informal discussion topic. A/V equipment will not be provided for these sessions. Approximately 45 minutes are allocated to each BOF topic. Submit for a regular BOF slot by November 2.

NEW THIS YEAR: LIGHTNING BOFs
Lightning BOFs are a small number of BOF slots that are reserved for "hot" topics that emerge as the conference approaches. Submit for a Lightning BOF between December 15 and January 15. A BOF that is not accepted for a regular slot may be resubmitted as a Lightning BOF.

POSTERS
Posters describe computer science education materials or research, particularly works in progress. Proposals (including abstract) are limited to two pages. Poster demonstrations are scheduled to permit one-on-one discussion with conference attendees, typically during session breaks. Prepared handouts are encouraged in order to share your work.

VIDEO EXHIBITION
SIGCSE 2010 will continue the video exhibition begun at SIGCSE 2009. While any relevant high-quality video will be considered for exhibition, videos that highlight the conference theme are preferred. To that end, we are interested in videos that demonstrate real or dramatized challenging pedagogical situations or computing education research challenges. These videos should be capable of sparking discussion rather than demonstrating a proposed solution.

IMPORTANT DUE DATES
Friday, September 11, 2009: Paper, Panel, Special Session, and Workshop submissions
Monday, November 2, 2009: Birds of a Feather, Poster, and Video submissions
Friday, January 15, 2010: Lightning Birds of a Feather submissions