We are pleased to announce the 26th Western Canadian Conference on Computing Education at Okanagan College. The conference is a forum for discussing the development of computing programs and curricula and for sharing innovative strategies and tools for teaching & learning in fields such as computer science, software engineering, computer technology, information systems and information technology. It will bring educators from the western provinces, the rest of Canada, and beyond, allowing them to share their experiences and learn from one another. The Department of Computer Science at Okanagan College is pleased to be hosting the conference in 2024.
Venue
WCCCE 2023 will occur in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, May 2-3, 2024 (Thursday and Friday). The conference sessions will be held on the Okanagan College campus. WCCCE 2024 will have an in-person format.
Registration is still open at Eventbrite ($280, $200 and $100 for seniors and students) at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-26th-western-canadian-conference-on-computing-education-wccce-tickets-804199170367?aff=oddtdtcreator or through vTools for IEEE Members ($100) without Dinner on Thursday at 6 pm (https://events.vtools.ieee.org/event/register/419091). Please use the Eventbrite URL above to Register for the Conference with Dinner.
Keynote Speakers
Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Approaches to Assessment and Student Help
Artificial intelligence has a significant impact on approaches to engaging, helping, and assessing students. Even before generative AI systems such as ChatGPT, students often questioned the value of assignments, may not consistently engage with instructors and teaching assistants during office hours and labs, and struggled to find the motivation and support necessary for their learning. This talk describes several research studies and systems designed to improve student engagement and learning. The first project focuses on automating assessment using PrairieLearn for both asynchronous labs and real-time classroom engagement using a gamification approach. The second project describes the HelpMe system supporting on-demand help for students using virtual labs rather than scheduled lab times. Virtual labs help with accessibility and engagement while reducing the computer lab resources used. The third project analyzes the impacts of generative AI on assessments and support systems. This includes research on detecting AI submissions in Computer Science courses and using course-specific chatbots to help answer questions for students. Attendees will be able to take away some practical approaches for use in their own classes.
Bio: Dr. Ramon Lawrence is a professor of computer science and Academic Director for the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. His teaching recognitions included the UBC Award for Teaching Excellence and Innovation in 2017, the Killam Teaching Prize in 2020, and a 9-time member of the teaching honour roll recognizing the top 10% of instructors at UBC Okanagan. His scholarship in teaching and learning research is in the areas of automatic assessment and help systems and the impacts of artificial intelligence on education. The research has resulted in changes to how labs are delivered for many courses. He is the founder of Unity Data Inc. (www.unityjdbc.com), which provides software for data integration from multiple sources and is a database consultant for enterprises requiring Big Data solutions. Recent work produced software for SQL querying and integrating MongoDB with enterprise relational systems used by numerous companies worldwide. Dr. Lawrence is a senior member of the ACM and a senior member of IEEE.
2.
Dr. Ben Stephenson
Tales from the Trenches: Experiences from Two Decades of Post-Secondary Teaching
I have been teaching at the post-secondary level since 2001. During that time, I have used a variety of activities and interventions to engage students, manage my workload, improve assessments, and better students’ experiences in both my own courses and others. In this talk I will survey the practices that I have implemented; everything from TA training to snake charming, and textbook writing to computer generated art. I’ll tell stories about what has worked well, some well-intentioned ideas that didn’t have as much impact as hoped, and maybe even a complete flop (or two). My hope is that you come away from this session with new ideas to try in your own classroom and the ability to avoid some of the mistakes that I have made.
Bio: Ben Stephenson is a Professor (Teaching) at the University of Calgary with more than two decades of post-secondary teaching experience during which he has taught thousands of students. He is the author of a dozen pedagogically focused papers, five “nifty” assignments, and two textbooks. Ben is a significant contributor to the Canadian and international Computer Science Education communities and is currently recovering from his recent work as Co-Chair of the 2023 and 2024 SIGCSE Technical Symposia on Computer Science Education. Outside of working hours he is a husband and father of two, an avid Lego builder, a solar panel enthusiast, and a frugal grocery shopper.
Sponsors
Platinum Sponsor
Gold Sponsors
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Silver Sponsors
In-Kind Sponsorship
Cooperating Organizations
WCCCE 2024 is presented in cooperation with the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE — Pending) and will be Supported by the IEEE Okanagan Subsection and IEEE Vancouver Section (Pending). For more information about the WCCCE conferences, please see here: https://dl.acm.org/conference/wccce.
