In educational environments that stress collaboration, the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools can be a source of support as well as a challenge. This paper begins by considering general educational and economic goals and how CMC can be helpful in attaining these goals. A taxonomy of tools for communication and collaboration in education is described. Many sides of the issue are considered, including the roles of teachers and students, problems that can arise and potential solutions, goals and issues of assessment, and software design issues.
Each year a small group of computer science educators are selected to become chairs of their departments. This experience is often referred to as "losing the lottery." The panelists have a different view. We believe that department chairs make important contributions to the success of their departments. Department chairs help new faculty develop as educators and professionals. Department chairs help to create an environment where students and faculty can enjoy their work and be productive. Department chairs can facilitate curriculum development and change, thereby helping keep the department's offerings current.The panelists have experience in a variety of educational environments. All have served as department heads. All have had to deal with the normal problems that department heads deal with - recruiting new faculty, obtaining funds for equipment, getting adequate funds for faculty salaries, acquiring technical support personnel, dealing with rapid increases in the number of majors, arranging teaching schedules, assisting with grant proposals, etc.Most department chairs have little or no guidance as they begin their tenure. This panel is an attempt to alleviate this problem. The panelists believe that their experiences can help new department chairs adjust to the multiple and sometimes conflicting demands of their new job.
The Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science program is intended to reflect enough of a common core of a first semester or year of university-level computer science so that placement or credit can be awarded for work done before college. The SIGCSE symposia have a long history of providing forums for discussing the evolution of the AP program from its inception [1] to the transition from Pascal to C++ [3] to the transition from C++ to Java [2,5,7,8,9]. Panels related to how credit and placement are awarded have also been part of the SIGCSE conferences [4,6]. This special session is a report of the ongoing process of developing new and possible wide-ranging changes to the AP program.
SIGCSE has a rich heritage, based on talented and energetic members who are deeply committed to computing education. Building on this distinguished history, SIGCSE announces a new initiative: the creation of Committees to support the computing-education community. These Committees will draw upon the active involvement of interested SIGCSE members.
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