SIGCSE2009 Blog: Engaging CS Education

The Welcome Banner from the Visitors Bureau

2009-02-27T13:34:00.001-08:00

More SIGCSE 2009 Events Since Early Registration Deadline

2009-02-23T08:19:00.000-08:00

If the last time you looked at the SIGCSE 2009 events was when you did early registration (and thank you for that!), you may have missed some additional activities to participate in.

Sun and Pearson are teaming up for a Pre-Symposium Event on Wednesday on Java Technology. They'll be presenting new curriculum that's part of the Sun Academic Advantage Program. See http://www.cs.arizona.edu/groups/sigcse09/presymposium.html for updates on this and all pre-symposium activities.

The Alice 3 workshop (#16) was overwhelmingly popular -- the wait list was large enough to fill another workshop. Wanda Dann and Steve Cooper have kindly agreed to offer a second Alice 3 workshop on Saturday evening from 6-9 pm. You can register for Workshop #37 on the SIGCSE 2009 Registration Website.

Chattanooga picked as a Top 5 break destination on a budget

2009-02-22T10:10:00.000-08:00

The Atlanta paper, Atlanta Journal Constitution, has just picked Chattanooga as its number one pick for a Spring break destination on a budget.

Read more at http://www.ajc.com/travel/content/travel/otherdestinations/us_stories/2009/02/22/spring_break_southeast_cheap.html

SIGCSE coverage in Chattanooga paper!

2009-02-20T07:12:00.000-08:00

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_145016.asp

Menu for the Reception

2009-02-19T18:21:00.000-08:00

Food and drink at the reception will be scattered throughout the two buildings. Each person will get ONE drink ticket, which is good for a single beer or wine, or two soft drinks. (Your bartender will tear your ticket in half, so that you can use the other half to get your second soft drink.) You may purchase additional drinks at any bar, which are located near the food.

In the main lobby of River Journey

Baby Black Bean Burgers

Provencal White Bean Soup Shots

Tenderloin of Beef Canapes

Samosas (beef and vegetarian)

By the Seahorses in River Journey

Carved: Pork Tenderloin-mini rolls, blackberry marmalade, grain mustard

Baby Steak and Mushroom Kabobs

Roasted Turkey-cranberry mustard, red pepper aioli

Twice Baked Baby Potatoes

Fresh Vegetable Display-spinach dip, hummus

Top of Escalator in River Journey

Fried Green Tomato Canapes -local corn relish and goat cheese

Little Grits Bites with Onion and Mushroom Ragout

Black Eye Pea Cakes, Collard Green Pesto

Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders-honey drizzle

Fresh Seasonal Fruit Display

"Rivers of the World" in River Journey

Peel and Eat Shrimp

Baby Crab Cake

Grilled Fresh Salmon; capers, onion, baguettes

Marinated Crab Claws

Smoked Trout Canapes

Lobster and Artichoke Dip

Mezzanine Level in Ocean Journey

Spicy Thai Noodles-served in baby Chinese

togo

boxes with chopsticks

Assorted garnishes and sauces

Chicken Satay Plates-peanut sauce and marinated cucumbers

Vietnamese Pork Meatballs, Currant Sauce

Vegetarian Spring Rolls

Assorted Sushi Rolls-some vegan

Butterfly Area in Ocean Journey

An Assortment of housemade “bites” of dessert including crème brulee, toffee brownies, chocolate cups with peanut butter mousse, dipped berries, lemon squares, tea cakes and more

Locally Roasted Stone Cup Coffee Station

How to Find the Tennessee Aquarium

2009-02-19T13:19:00.000-08:00

The SIGCSE 2009 reception will be at the Tennessee Aquarium, an amazing two building aquarium with both wonderful fish and other animals from both fresh and salt water.

The reception begins at 7 pm and lasts until 10 pm. You have three choices on how to get there.

MOST IMPORTANT: You MUST wear your badge to enter the Aquarium and Reception!

We will have four buses on a continuous loop from Carter Street, in front of the Conference Center and Marriott. They will start at 7 pm and run until 11 pm. On the return trip from the Aquarium after 8:30 pm, the buses will stop at the Sheraton, Marriott, and Chattanooga Choo-Choo so that attendees can get off right at their hotel.
The Electric Shuttle that picks up on 11th Street next to the Marriott will have extra shuttles running during the times of the reception. Just pick one up and get off at the Aquarium.
Your third option is simply to walk. It's less than a mile (around 15 minutes) to walk from the Conference Center down to the Tennessee Aquarium.

For those who choose to walk:

Walk out of the Conference Center or Marriott lobby and take a right on Carter Street. (You're at the blue marker at the bottom of the map on the right.)
At MLK Blvd., hang a right.
At Broad Street, hang a left. Keep walking until you reach the Aquarium. (Indicated by the orange marker at the top of the map on the right.)

All three sets of directions (bus, Electric Shuttle, or walking) take you to the same place.

The building on the left (green arrow) is River's Journey, a five story freshwater aquarium. The building on the right (red arrow, obscured by trees) is Ocean's Journey, a three story saltwater aquarium. The spot where this picture is taken is approximately where you will be dropped off by the buses, and where you will pick up the buses to return

To enter the aquarium for the receptions, walk between the two buildings. You will reach a plaza where you will have a choice.

You can enter River's Journey to the left through the Member's Entrance.

Or you can cross back over the bridge and go to the Member's Entrance in Ocean's Journey.

You may go back and forth between the two buildings as much as you'd like. You may not carry any alcoholic beverage between the buildings, though. (Strangely enough, the bridge is state property, and you cannot have open alcohol on state property!)

Travel issues for International Visitors

2009-02-18T10:16:00.000-08:00

Allison Young reports:

As of 12JAN09 it is mandatory that anyone travelling to or via the USA, as part of the Visa Waiver program, must apply for a travel authorisation online prior to departure. Please refer to the following website for more details http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/"

It is for countries that have the visa waiver program which NZ does, I have copied the countries from the website.

Which countries participate in the Visa Waiver Program?

Andorra	France	Luxembourg	Singapore	Czech Republic
Austria	Germany	Monaco	Slovenia	Estonia
Australia	Iceland	Netherlands	Spain	Hungary
Belgium	Ireland	New Zealand	Sweden	Latvia
Brunei	Italy	Norway	Switzerland	Lithuania
Denmark	Japan	Portugal	United Kingdom	Slovakia
Finland	Liechtenstein	San Marino	Republic of Malta	South Korea

I have filled in the form and got a number which I assume I give to the immigration officer when I arrive in the US. It is also very important now to give the immigration people a street address so delegates will have to have the street address of the hotel they are staying at ready at immigration

Thanks, Alison!

Extra Shuttles

2009-02-17T07:28:00.000-08:00

As seen previously in this blog, there is a really nice Electric Shuttle service around the Downtown Chattanooga are, including all three of the conference hotels. (The shuttle even has WiFi!) The walk from the Chattanooga Choo-Choo is only about 10 minutes and is quite pleasant. Nonetheless, the Chattanooga Visitors' Bureau has arranged for extra shuttles for moving people between the Convention Center and the Choo Choo, and between the Convention Center and the Aquarium on Thursday night (the night of the reception). The shuttles on Thursday are in addition to the four buses that we're renting to move people around.

Here's the schedule for the extra shuttles.

Thursday, March 5, 2009:
Time: 7:30am – 8:30am
Route: Choo Choo to Marriott ONLY (these buses will just stay on this loop)
Request: 2 Diesel Buses

Time: 4:30pm – 6:30pm
Route: Choo Choo to Marriott ONLY
Request: 2 Diesel Buses

Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Route: Marriott to TN Aquarium/Bijou Garage
Request: 2 Electric Shuttles

Friday, March 6, 2009:
Time: 7:30am – 8:30am 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Route: Choo Choo to Marriott ONLY
Request: 2 Diesel Buses

Saturday, March 7, 2009:
Time: 7:30am – 9:30am 1:30pm – 2:30pm
Route: Choo Choo to Marriott ONLY
Request: 2 Diesel Buses

Mmm. Steak.

2009-02-05T10:05:00.000-08:00

We did get to try out two steak houses when we were in Chattanooga.

Porter's Steak House is in the lobby of the Sheraton, so it's easily reached from everywhere, especially if you're staying in the Sheraton. We took the program committee there the first night of the PC meeting (when there weren't so many people there yet :-). Porter's is definitely a high-end steak house. They take great pride in explaining their cuts of meat and how each is prepared. Nice side dishes with ample portions for sharing.
Hennen's doesn't advertise itself as a steak place, but by the measure of square-inches-on-menu, this is a steak place. We had our big (everyone there, including Jack Thompson, our local arrangements chair) program committee dinner there. They handled the large party just fine. The food was quite good, and the setting is terrif -- right across from the Aquarium, just a block from the River. We took a nice walk along the river after dinner. Good food, great location.

More Hotels in Chattanooga!

2009-02-05T10:02:00.000-08:00

Our room blocks are completely full already. (I think there are some spots left on Saturday night.) Some people have already said to me, "You never save enough rooms!" We did increase the block from last year, but honestly -- would you have laid money that the SIGCSE Symposium would grow this year, in these economic times? We thought that we were being risky by growing the block. We were pleasantly surprised that the blocks already filled up!

More hotels are preparing special SIGCSE rates. The Chattanoogan (really nice, higher-end hotel about a 10 minute walk from the Convention Center), Days Inn (right across the street from the Marriott and Sheraton), and La Quinta all have posted SIGCSE rates. The Chattanoogan wants a rate code of 318237, and the others just want you to request the SIGCSE rate. Details are available on the conference website.

Big River Brewery

2009-02-02T12:45:00.001-08:00

So maybe most people wouldn't recommend a brew pub as a fun family restaurant. I will say that my family has visited the Big River Grille and Brewery in Chattanooga most times we've visited the town. Even when the kids were little, we've always enjoyed the place. Sue, Bob Beck, and I were taken there our first night in Chattanooga when we were considering the town for hosting SIGCSE 2009.

It's right across the street from the Aquarium, about a 10 minute walk from the conference hotels. As one of the on-line reviews says, "It's big. It's loud. It gives the place a lot of energy." There is a good selection of food for the whole family, ranging from the kids' ubiquitous chicken fingers, to some really fine ribs and carrot cake. And by the way, they serve good beer! It would be a great place to stop by after the reception, or when exploring the downtown and riverfront areas.

Duke Bus to SIGCSE from Atlanta

2009-01-20T12:59:00.000-08:00

If you want to take up Owen's offer on this, please contact him directly:

The Duke Computer Science Education Group has chartered a bus to travel
between the Atlanta airport and the SIGCSE Marriott hotel. The bus will
leave the Atlanta airport on Tuesday, March 3 at 7:00 pm. The return
trip from Chattanooga will leave at 7:00 am Sunday morning.

The bus can accommodate about 50 people, it has wireless Internet
access. Travel guides put the trip at about two hours, but traffic can
have an impact.

We're doing this because there are more options flying in/out of Atlanta
than through to Chattanooga and to share the joy and passion of SIGCSE,
of course.

There will be a SIGCSE greeter at the airport for the bus at about 6:00
pm. If you get in earlier you can hang out until then. I'll be getting
in a little after 5:00 on Sunday.

We will defray the cost, but will charge each person $40/round trip. If
you want the bus in one direction let me know, but we'll still charge
$40. We should have an online credit card setup later this week, but
for now you can 'reserve' a spot by committing via email to me. The bus
will leave at 7:00 pm, we cannot wait around for really late flights.
I'll send my contact information to everyone coming.

Hope to see lots of folks at SIGCSE and a subset on the bus.
===== Later Post ===
The Duke Computer Science Education Group is helping to sponsor and
charter a bus traveling from the Atlanta airport on Tuesday March 3,
7:00 pm to the Chattanooga Marriott. Return to the airport leaves at
7:00 am on Sunday, March 8.

There are other buses from the airport to Chattanooga, but the charge
runs about $37 one way. This bus is $40 round-trip, is just for SIGCSE
attendees, and promises wireless access for the roughly 2 hour trip.
There are rumors that we'll have entertainment on board as well.

Sign up at http://www.cs.duke.edu/csed/sigcsebus/

Owen

--
Owen Astrachan
Duke University, Computer Science
Professor of the Practice of Computer Science
Director of Undergraduate Studies for Teaching and Learning
ola@cs.duke.edu
1.919.660.6522
http://www.cs.duke.edu/~ola

Three Reasons why Chattanooga is Great for a Family SIGCSE

2009-01-19T23:56:00.000-08:00

Here are three reasons why this is a great SIGCSE for bringing your whole family.

REASON #1: ROCK CITY: If you've driven around the Southeast much, you have seen barns painted "See Rock City!" That Rock City, that painted some 900 barns as advertisements over the last several decades, is in Chattanooga. I've taken my kids there, and we all really enjoy it. It's a rock garden featuring caves and an amazing lookout view. One of our favorite parts is always the Weight-Watcher's Squeeze, where you have to turn sideways to get through two boulders about 30 feet tall and about three feet apart (and about 10 feet long!). Rock City is also the site of the first mini-golf in the United States.

REASON #2: CREATIVE DISCOVERY MUSEUM: The Creative Discovery Museum is a hands-on exploratory science and arts museum, mostly for kids. It's a different model than the San Francisco Exploratorium. CDM has this wonderful room for water play with waterfalls and waterwheels that kids can move around. It's got a pit where you can dig for dinosaurs. It has a room where you can explore musical instruments of a wide variety of types. We've been several times and enjoy it.

REASON #3: RUBY FALLS: I have to admit that this one isn't my favorite, but it's almost as famous as Rock City and many families really love it. I'm a bit claustrophobic. So, a trip down an elevator into the earth, then a 200 yard (or so?) walk in caves, to a place where there's a waterfall (which they introduce with a light show--that's preceded by turning off all lights in the cave!!) -- well, let's just say that it's not my most memorable Chattanooga experience.

I already mentioned the Chattanooga Choo-Choo (yes, I've stayed on a railroad car) in this blog, so I guess I can't mention that as Reason #4. I could also mention the great family restaurants, but I'll save that for another blog post. Overall, Chattanooga is a really fun family destination. My family and I have taken several trips from Atlanta for a weekend or day away. I encourage you to bring your family to SIGCSE in March so that they can enjoy Chattanooga, too.

Do you know the way to Chattanooga? Shuttles from Atlanta

2009-01-17T17:23:00.000-08:00

Not everyone can find a convenient flight into Chattanooga for March. (Some people, like Owen Astrachan at Duke, are organizing multi-institutional bus and car caravans.) Another option is to fly to Atlanta (which is a hub for Delta and is easily accessed from many other cities), and then take a shuttle up to Chattanooga from there. Lester McCann, our stalwart Webmaster, has worked with Sue Fitzgerald to make sure that travel options like that are described on the the SIGCSE 2009 Website. There are lots of ways of getting to Chattanooga, at a variety of price points.

Best Pancakes in Chattanooga, in an Updated Diner

2009-01-17T17:17:00.000-08:00

When Sue and I were in Chattanooga in August, we heard about these absolutely wonderful pancakes that were available a few miles north of Chattanooga. Then we heard that they were available at a "modern" diner called The Blue Plate. It's right next to the Tennessee Aquarium, so it's really nearby for a late-night after-the-reception snack with friends.

Sue and I had lunch there one day, where I got to try the oft-praised pancakes. How unusual -- the praise was matched by the product! The food was terrific. We took the members of the Program Committee at the Planning Meeting in October there. Highly recommended!

SIGCSE 2009 Postcard in your mailbox now (maybe)

2009-01-08T10:06:00.001-08:00

ACM sent out on Dec 29 the cool SIGCSE 2009 postcard that Tom Cortina designed. However, you may still not get it. ACM only sends out advertisements like these if you opt-in. If you opt-out, you don't get to see Tom's snazzy work! So, I'll show you mine here.

The front lists our three featured keynotes: Elliot B. Koffman, Craig Mundie, and Gregory Abowd. (We're not mentioning here the First-Timers talk by Mike Clancy, nor the UPE Award talk by Eugene Spafford -- there's only so much room on the postcard!) The back has a great picture of the Tennessee Aquarium from the Tenneessee River. Enjoy!

Tuesday block already full at conference hotel!

2009-01-07T11:58:00.001-08:00

We've received word that the SIGCSE block of rooms at the Marriott is already full for Tuesday night, for those who wanted to come in early. The Sheraton is just across the street (not even 3 minute walk away) and still has rooms ready for Tuesday.

Oh, by the way: ON-LINE REGISTRATION IS OPEN! Come and get it! Early registration ends Feb. 1!

Why Chattanooga is the Right Place for SIGCSE

2008-12-19T08:09:00.001-08:00

This is a place that highlights their CS0 classes on a marquis!

And when we walked by the art museum, we discovered that they have a particular affinity for objects! Their art museum has a special exhibit on project-based learning with objects! (Well, sorta. Maybe. Kinda.)

High end restaurant in Chattanooga

2008-12-19T07:55:00.000-08:00

On one of our trips to Chattanooga, Sue and I decided to try a high-end restaurant in Chattanooga, St John's, which is partway between the Chattanooga Choo-Choo and the Marriott. The place looks like an old bank or maybe an old hotel. The food was really great. The menu changes regularly, so what we had probably won't be on the menu when you go there in March 2009. I had a tuna appetizer in three different forms, including a sashimi and a tartare. Sue had lamb that was presented beautifully.

Most of the places that we we went to on our visits there were more moderate in price. I wanted to mention this one for the "foodies" who want to know where to get the really amazing food. St. John's is your place for that, and it's really close to all three conference hotels.

Eugene Spafford to speak at SIGCSE 2009!

2008-12-18T06:46:00.001-08:00

Dr. Eugene Spafford is to receive the "Abacus Award" from the UPE honor society on Friday, March 6. This is like getting another keynoter for free! Details are at: http://upe.acm.org/Eugene_Spafford_Abacus_Announcement.html

US Airways introduces new lower fares to Chattanooga

2008-12-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

It's getting cheaper to fly into Chattanooga! US Air just introduced a new fare structure that reduces the cost of flying to Chattanooga 30-50%.

Program is all but done

2008-11-17T08:21:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted much in the last month! It's been a pretty busy time for all of us on the Program Committee. As you figured out, decisions were made at the end of October in Chattanooga. We accepted 100 papers, as well as panels, special sessions, and workshops. Many thanks to the Program Committee for all that effort, especially Gary and Steve who made the whole Associate Program Chair mechanism work. I have heard from several people about the value that they are finding in their meta-reviews.

The "Birds of a Feather," Posters, and Video program submissions are under review now. Those decisions will be coming out in just a few days.

Meanwhile, all the other aspects of the program are falling into place. We have some wonderful supporters who are defining their supporter sessions. We have quite a slate of presymposium activities. Parallel events are shaping up. The UPE meeting on Friday afternoon will include an award being presented to Eugene Spafford, which will be an event not-to-be-missed.

We've got lots of restaurant recommendations to make now, after hanging out in Chattanooga for another week last month. I'll post pictures and stories of those here. The bottomline is: Come to Chattanooga March 4-7, 2009! It's going to be great!

Scenes of Chattanooga

2008-10-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

This week is the SIGCSE 2009 Program Committee meeting in Chattanooga. Before I head back up to go get more photos, I thought I should finish sharing some of my favorites from the last planning meeting in Chattanooga.

Sue and I took a walk across the pedestrian bridge over the Tennessee River when we were there last. Here's a shot of the bluffs, where there is a marvelous American art museum.

And here's a shot of the Tennessee Aquarium, where we'll have our reception, from the same bridge.
As we got closer to the other side, we could see this amazing park across from Chattanooga.

On the right side of this picture, you can see a blue roofed building -- that's the merry-go-round, filled with horses and other animals carved by Chattanooga-area artists.

The fountain in the middle is surrounded by statues of animals. The water in the fountain sprays at irregular times, so people play games, running around the fountain -- sort of Russian roulette with a squirt gun.

Around North Chattanooga, you can find these dance lessons (!) built into the pavement. Think of them as a concrete (literally!) representation of process. Some of them show where both partners stand and how they move, but they're still pretty hard to follow.

Finally, on the way back to the Marriott, we passed by this scene. I saw it across other rooftops, so I'm not really sure where it's at, but it was so cool and not what I expected to see in Chattanooga.

And there you have the theme for this blog. Each visit, I'm surprised and delighted what I'm finding in Chattanooga! I am sure that you will share this experience when you visit in March 2009.

Craig Mundie on what engages students

2008-10-07T10:29:00.001-07:00

Our SIGCSE 2009 keynoter, Microsoft's Craig Mundie is on a tour of college campuses right now. In this interview, he talks about what rekindles interest in computer science. Expect more details on this, live, in March!

Working on the Kids' Camp!

2008-09-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

I know that people planning to attend SIGCSE 2009 are already looking for information on the SIGCSE 2009 Kids' Camp...and not really finding much. It is coming! Pam Cutter and Kris Nagel are hard at work organizing the 2009 camp. The first issue is setting up the contract with the child care organization, and we're trying to get that settled now. So don't worry -- we promise that it will be there. Just watch the web pages near you for further updates.

Engaging Computing EXPLORATION

2008-09-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

A recent article in Diverse Education Issues in Higher Education presents a study of executives from Fortune 1000 companies whose focus is STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). These executives said that "A shortage in STEM workers is threatening to push the United States from its global leadership position as a key innovator in these fields." That's not news to those of us teaching computing. What's more interesting is that the study goes on to make teaching recommendations. "Nearly all the executives surveyed say the best way for students to learn science is through a hands-on approach." Dr. Mae Jemison, the first Black woman in space, is quoted in the article saying that kids inherently like science, but in school, "it’s drilled out of us because we don’t teach science in exploratory way."

That last recommendation is a challenge to computing educators. How do we teach computing in an "exploratory way"? Computing is mostly taught as a synthetic skill--we build things. We test the things we build, so there's an experimental component to it, but rarely do we "explore" in our classes. There's certainly evidence that that "exploratory" approach to computing is an important job skill. Beth Simon and Andy Begel's recent series of papers on their study of new hires at Microsoft show that the first year of work is mostly spent understanding existing code, not writing new code.

Therein lies a challenge for engaging CS students. How do we teach exploration skills? How do we help students to build on their inherent interest (as Mae Jemison claims) in how the world works, to helping them understand how computing works?

Pardon me, boy! Is that the...? Why, yes, it is! The Chattanooga Choo-Choo!

2008-09-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, the Chattanooga Choo-Choo is one of the conference hotels for SIGCSE 2009. It's about a 10-20 minute walk to the Chattanooga Conference Center, or you can catch one of the free Electric Shuttles.

The Chattanooga Choo-Choo Hotel is located at the site of the original Chattanooga train station. In 2009, the Chattanooga train station will be celebrating its 100th anniversary. In May, the Glen Miller band will be visiting and performing as part of the celebration. (I'll be that you can guess at least one of the songs that they will be playing!) The lobby and front desk of the hotel is under the dome of the original train station, and it's really lovely.

One of the attractions of staying at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo is staying on a real rail car. Besides lots of traditional rooms, the Chattanooga Choo-Choo hotel has a number of rail cars that have been converted into hotel rooms. (Sorry, all the authentic, uncomfortable, tiny bunks have been removed and replaced with full-size comfy beds.) The train/hotels sit on the original tracks of the trainyard. When Sue and I were there in August, the gardens in the pedestrian areas between the trains looked terrific. Free Internet is available throughout the site, though it's wired (not wireless) in some of the train cars--hard to get the wireless signal to pass through the steel cars.

Craig Mundie on Cloud Computing

2008-09-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

Our keynote speaker for SIGCSE 2009, Craig Mundie, just had an interview with Technology Review on his vision for cloud computing -- pretty exciting stuff!

http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/21422/?a=f

Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software

2008-09-09T10:51:00.000-07:00

There was a really nice article in the Wesleyan last week about the use of Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software (HFOSS) to engage and inspire computer science students:
http://www.wesleyan.edu/newsletter/campus/2008/0908hfoss.html

HFOSS is such a great example of engaging students in computer science education. Some students aren't excited about computers themselves--they're excited about what can be done with computers, and how computation can offer new solutions that help real people in challenging situations. HFOSS provides students the opportunity to contribute using their developing computer science knowledge. That's a great tool for recruitment and retention of students.

There will be an HFOSS pre-conference event on March 4 in Chattanooga. Watch the conference website for further information on the HFOSS and other pre-conference activities that will be available to SIGCSE 2009 attendees!

Chattanooga, City of WiFi

2008-09-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

When Sue and I visited Chattanooga a couple weeks ago, we were pleased to see how much WiFi access there is around the town.

First, we were assured by all the hotel representatives that we met that free WiFi access will be available in all three conference hotels. We told the hotels that they could expect SIGCSE attendees to be serious WiFi users, so they might want to see what they could do to increase their capacity.

Then we met with the Chattanooga Conference Center folks in charge of their WiFi network. We gave them the report for how Portland configured their WiFi support to deal with the demands of the SIGCSE participants. We were told that they would do all they could to meet Portland's capacity, and maybe do a bit better.

As we wandered Chattanooga, we kept finding surprising access. When I opened up my laptop in the visitor's center, just across from the Tennessee Aquarium (that's the Aquarium on the left in this picture, and the visitor's center is behind the tree on the right), I found that I could get WiFi access from the Aquarium!

Free access -- just had to go through several pages of caveats and agreements.

The most unusual one was on the Electric Shuttle, a free shuttle that connects all three hotels, the Aquarium, restaurants, and other attractions around Chattanooga. Yup, there was a sign

right on the front of the shuttle -- free WiFi on every shuttle! It worked, too!

So bring your laptops to Chattanooga in March, and stay connected all over the city!

What does it mean to be engaging?

2008-08-23T08:47:00.001-07:00

Last week, I was at Steven Dow's thesis defense. Steven was studying "embodied narrative engagement" -- storytelling in an augmented reality. As any good Ph.D. student should, he offered definitions of all his critical terms, including "engagement."

Given our theme for this year, I thought that it might be useful to share some of the quotes that he offered on "engagement."

Coleridge, 1817: Engagement is a "willing suspension of disbelief."
Nell, 1988: It's to be "lost" (as in a book).
Janet Murray in her 1997 book Hamlet on the Holodeck: Engagement is to "confront questions of human existence."
Bolter and Grusin in their 1999 book Remediation: Engagement is an "authentic emotional experience."
Green and Brock, 2000: Engagement is to be "emotionally involved."

How many of these correspond to our notion of "engagement" in the classroom? Do we aim for students getting "lost" in the "authentic experience"? Do we reach for students being "emotionally involved"?

I look forward to seeing your definitions of engagement in your SIGCSE 2009 submissions, due this coming Friday, August 29!

Re-Visiting Chattanooga

2008-08-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

Sue and I spent last Thursday and Friday re-visiting Chattanooga. We had last been there in December 2006, when we selected Chattanooga as our site for SIGCSE 2009. It was time to go back, meet our contacts, and start making lower-level plans for SIGCSE 2009.

We had a great visit. The weather was picture-perfect. We took walks around the city, to enjoy the city and to time the walking commute between hotels, the Conference Center, and the Aquarium. We met a Southern Belle telling us about riverboat trips available on the Tennessee River, pictured here with Sue.

On Friday, we visited potential caterers for the reception. What an interesting experience! At first, we couldn't understand why the visitor's bureau put long, two hour gaps in our schedule between visiting caterers. Then we realized: taste testing! Each caterer wooed us with tastes of wonderful food that might be served at the reception, and even napkins already monogrammed just for us. Even if you only "taste" each of the wonderful goodies, how many small meals can one eat in one day?!? We needed those hours between to simply digest all those goodies.

You can expect more blogs with pictures over the next few weeks. There were lots of good things to see in Chattanooga!

Thinking about Chattanooga

2008-08-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

"Wow -- that SIGCSE deadline sure is early this year! AUGUST 29! I dunno...what's in Chattanooga anyway?!?"

Got these thoughts here in early August? Wipe those thoughts away! Get those submissions in!

Chattanooga is a really fun city. They just opened up a new website to highlight some of the excitement of Chattanooga. Find it at http://www.discoversceniccity.com/

Looking forward to reading your submission soon!

The Totally Cool Brochure That You Probably Didn't See

2008-07-12T06:25:00.001-07:00

Our publications chair, Tom Cortina, did a terrific job at putting together a compelling hardcopy Call for Participation based on the web version. Even though we have an enormous program committee this year, he got the whole thing on the front and back of one sheet -- and still included special attention to our new video submissions.

Most of you, however, probably didn't see this. I'm including pictures of mine, for the many of you who didn't find it in their mailbox. Day after day went by after our mailing, with much of our program committee repeatedly reporting, "No mailing yet!" Many of our colleagues told us "Nope, didn't see it!"

We tracked this down, and discovered that a great many members of SIGCSE do not receive promotional mailings from SIGCSE! The two biggest reasons are:
(1) Members' addresses without institutions are not used for mailings from ACM.
(2) Most members have asked for "restricted" mailings, which means that their own SIG can't send them promotional information.

If you are happier receiving less dead-tree announcements, then you're fine. I'm happy to share with you Tom's fine work (at least visually) here in this posting. If, however, you would like to get physical mail information from your SIG, you can change your current US mailing settings with ACM by going to www.acm.org, clicking "myACM", logging in and then changing your ACM Postal Tolerance (under My Contact Information) to include ACM Announcements.

Keynote Speaker Craig Mundie in this week's "The Economist"

2008-07-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

I opened up this week's "The Economist" and saw this picture:

http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=11614315

That's Craig Mundie, our keynote speaker for SIGCSE 2009, on the left behind Bill Gates. The article says: "Mr Ozzie...has been Microsoft’s chief software architect since 2006 and will steer its technology after Mr Gates goes, while Mr Mundie will take over as the company’s long-term thinker and public face."

Our keynote speaker for SIGCSE 2009 will be the guy responsible for long-term thinking for the world's largest software company. That will be a talk worth hearing!

SIGCSE 2009: The Place to Talk About New CS Curriculum Ideas

2008-06-30T07:24:00.000-07:00

The next iteration of the ACM/IEEE Computing Curriculum recommendations is currently out for comment. A group from the ACM SIGPLAN has made a proposal that the standard be modified to require CS curricula to include as much on functional programming as on object-oriented programming. The proposal has led to a huge amount of comment, both in blogs and on the feedback site, most of which is quite positive. In my "other" blog, I recently posted criticism of the proposal (with some interesting comments from Alan Kay).

All of this discussion in the blogosphere made me realize one of the greatest benefits of the SIGCSE Symposium: It's the opportunity to discuss these kinds of proposals, face-to-face, in real-time. SIGCSE is where people report on the results of their innovations and reforms, where others can critique them, and where still others can talk about how to incorporate those changes in their own curricula. It's the forum for us to talk about best practices, and what practices should (or should not) become best practice.

Hey, Where Did My Week Go?

2008-06-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Another posting from our guest blogger, Steve Wolfman!

The end of spring is a special time for instructors. As we put the last red marks on our spring exams, our thoughts turn to summer: beach outings, grilling, movies in which various objects explode...

...and authoring SIGCSE publications!

If you're like me, the intensity of your summer work on SIGCSE pubs starts at 0 around the last day of exams and rises to approach a vertical asymptote around Labor Day. Imagine what would happen if someone took away that last week of steep progress!

The bad news is: someone just did. This year's SIGCSE paper, panel, special session, and workshop deadline is a bit earlier than in previous years, August 29.

The good news is: we changed it to fit in a new review process that allows more careful and thorough consideration of your submissions.

We've inserted an extra week of reviewing during which a team of Associate Program Chairs---members of the SIGCSE community selected by the Program and Symposium Chairs for their experience and expertise as both reviewers and authors---will help the Program Chairs give full and fair attention to the reviewing process (including more than 300 submitted papers and their more than 1500 reviews).

The benefit for the community should be a higher quality conference and increased clarity in reviewing. The cost is moving that asymptote a bit earlier. We hope you'll agree that the cost, though substantial, is worth the benefit.

And say, shouldn't you switch to prepping for your fall classes before that August 29th deadline, anyway? ;)

Black Box Theatre Comes to SIGCSE

2008-06-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

A blog posting contributed by Steve Wolfman, Program Co-Chair:

My college roommate lured me into the theatre back in freshman year at Duke to lay bricks for a production of Studs Terkel's "Working".

Wob — that's the roommate — was the show's technical director. "Working" was playing in a small "black box" theatre. The term may not be familiar, but it's largely self-explanatory. The theatre is a big black box, and amazingly flexible. Minimal catwalks above allow for lighting, and the seats are lightweight and movable. For this presentation, the audience sat on risers along two sides of the box facing a stepped "pyramid" stage rising to a peak in the corner.

For a blue-collar city feel, every vertical face on the set was rendered as brick: first grey paint, then thousands of pieces of tape in a brickly pattern, then red paint, and finally strip the tape. Wob was going crazy laying tape, and I was drafted to help.

It was fabulous. When the play's brick mason proudly displays his work with the line Those bricks are mine, I leaned over to my girlfriend (now wife) and whispered that they were mine.

In the subsequent years, I watched Wob and others transform that theatre into dozens of different stages, even one that welded iron steps to the catwalks and sent the show up into three dimensions.

Like traditional theatres, conferences can be brilliant and inspiring, but they can also be staid in their format. Papers, panels, posters, workshops, and BoFs are an impressive array of choices, but they can only take us so far. This year's introduction of a video exhibition just emphasizes how much more there might be out there, if only we had the conference equivalent of a black box theatre.

And, that's just what special sessions are meant to be. A special session is a 75 minute hole in the conference: four walls, some chairs, a bit of A/V, and your vision for how to engage in CS education with your colleagues: borrow from other conferences ("CHI fringe", anyone?), follow pop culture ("SIGCSE Idol"?), or maybe invent something brand new.

However you do it, propose something great for a SIGCSE special session this year.

Working on the Space Plan and Budget

2008-06-14T12:31:00.000-07:00

Much of my effort this last week for SIGCSE 2009 was spent on coming up with a first pass space plan and a draft budget. The big question of the space plan was: Do we now have enough space contracted to cover everything that happened at SIGCSE 2008 and everything additional that we want at SIGCSE 2009? I read multiple contracts and got to know the Chattanooga Conference Center layout pretty well.

It's an interesting place. The design is made to look like a old-style railroad station, in reference to the famous "Chattanooga Choo-Choo." An advantage of this design for a conference center is that everything is on one level. There's a big hallway where everyone will be eventually and anyone can be found. I'm hoping that it will lead to more discussions and the serendipitous meetings that are the hallmark of a successful conference. (My PhD advisor, Elliot Soloway, would tell me as a graduate student that "The success of a conference doesn't depend on what sessions you go to, but who you're talking to when you skip sessions.")

The budget for the SIGCSE conference is huge. Almost a half million dollars will come and go through our account before it's all through. (We're hoping for a slightly black residue leftover in the account when it's all said-and-done, and I'm sure that Barbara Owens is also hoping for that!) Income really only comes from three sources: registrations, supporters/exhibitors, and workshops. It's the expenditures that are complicated. They cover a wide range of items--paying for A/V and food, doing criminal background checks for people working in the Kids' Camp, shipping people to and from Chattanooga for the big Program Committee meeting in October, and so on. We're grateful that Susan and JD have left us such great notes from last year (and are willing to answer our continued questions via email!)

Sue's work the last few weeks is showing up on the Web site and in your mailboxes these days. She's been working with our Publications Chair, Tom Cortina, to get the Call for Participation out to everyone physically. She's been working with the whole Program Committee and our Webmaster, Lester McCann, to get the website ready for everyone. PLEASE BE SURE TO NOTICE THE CHANGED DUE DATE FOR SIGCSE THIS YEAR! It's late August, rather than early September.

Reception: The Tennesee Aquarium

2008-06-09T05:44:00.000-07:00

Our reception for SIGCSE 2009 is going to be at the Tennessee Aquarium. I visited a couple weeks ago, to scope out the place and see where we can put food areas and maybe demo/information spaces.

I visited during the last week of May when the place was totally packed with schoolchildren in their end-of-the-year field trips. Typically, the museum gets around 800 visitors a day, but during April and May, they get 2000-3000.

I've visited the Aquarium with my family in years past. Chattanooga is less than two hours away from Atlanta, so it's a great destination for a day trip or even a weekend mini-vacation. We have done both, staying in a train car hotel room in the Chattanooga Choo-Choo hotel room for our weekend getaway. During those visits, the Aquarium just had one building, the River Journey. The River Journey is based on the Tenneessee River and focuses on freshwater fish.

Now, the Aquarium has two buildings: Ocean Journey and River Journey. The Ocean Journey is focused on saltwater, with a great area for touching sharks and starfish (above) and a terrifically fun penguin exhibit (in front of which we'll probably set up food and drink for SIGCSE 2009). We'll have access to both for the reception. We haven't gone someplace for a SIGCSE reception for several years, and the Tennessee Aquarium is one of those can't-miss places in Chattanooga. We've decided to hold the reception there so that people don't miss it.

Keynote Speaker: Craig Mundie

2008-06-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

Our keynote speaker for SIGCSE 2009 will be Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer for Microsoft. Craig is one of the six Chief Officers of Microsoft who report to Bill Gates, and he will be playing a larger role in the company as Bill Gates transitions away from the company over the next few months. When we're talking about engaging in a conversation about computing education, it's pretty cool to have such a top name in one of the world's top IT companies who wants to come tell us what he thinks.

I heard about his views on computing education when he visited Georgia Tech for our "New Face of Computing" Symposium last year. One of the striking statements that Craig made in his talk at the Symposium was that Computer Science is as important "as electricity" in our new information-based economy. Craig is also an advocate for the role of open source software as an important component in technology education.

I'm completely confident that Craig's talk is going to be fascinating, filled with interesting new insights into the role of computing education and how to make it better. I'm also thrilled that Craig recognizes that CS Education and SIGCSE are important enough to warrant a trip to join us all in Chattanooga next March.

Lunch Speaker: Gregory Abowd

2008-05-31T23:57:00.000-07:00

Our lunch speaker for SIGCSE 2009 will be Gregory Abowd, arguably the leading researcher in the world in ubiquitous computing today. Gregory is also my friend and colleague at Georgia Tech.

When I first met Gregory some 15 years ago, he was known for his work in software engineering (his dissertation was on a language for formal methods called Z, pronounced "Zed") and the use of formal methods in human-computer interaction. When we landed him at Georgia Tech, he shifted his focus to ubiquitous computing. He was one of the key players in setting up Georgia Tech's "Aware Home," a residential laboratory where he and his colleagues explore the role of sensing, capture-and-access, and computational perception in daily living. Gregory has racked up the awards over the years (see his Wikipedia page for details) and has been promoted up the ranks to Full Professor.

A few years ago, Gregory was looking around for his next research directions. He realized that he would be most successful at what he is most passionate about. Gregory and his wife have been blessed with three children, two of whom are on the autism spectrum. Gregory realized that he was most passionate about how ubiquitous computing could support care-giving for autistic children.

That's why Gregory is an excellent choice for our theme of "Engaging Computer Science Education." Gregory is doing innovative work in an important area -- but not one that we think about often as a direction for computing. One of the questions about which we should be engaging in discussion is, "What kinds of work should we be preparing our students for?" What do our students care about doing? What engages our students?

Gregory is also an excellent speaker. After his last GVU brownbag talk, all of my students were so depressed. "My work is so meaningless! I'm not helping young children with their health!!" Gregory teaches introductory Java courses at Georgia Tech -- the silly picture of him above is from a faculty Halloween party where he was "Dr. Java."

I'm looking forward to welcoming Gregory Abowd to be our lunch speaker next March at SIGCSE 2009.

What's in a Theme? "Engaging Computer Science Education"

2008-05-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

Sue and I chose the theme for SIGCSE 2009 Engaging Computer Science Education for two meanings, each of which we wanted for the 2009 symposium.

The first meaning is engaging as in "attracting or delighting" (which is what you get when you Google "define: engaging"). We want our education to be attractive, to engage the students' minds and attention. How do we do that? We encourage people to submit papers, posters, BOFs, special sessions, and panels about what makes computing education engaging. What gets your students thinking hard? What makes your classes inviting, attractive, or even "delightful"?

The second meaning is engaging as in "engagement" (go on, Google "define: engagement") -- "a meeting arranged in advance" or even "a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war." To be frank, computer science education is in trouble. Our enrollments are dropping, and mostly male. Some are explicitly claiming that "Computer Science is Dead" (consider the British Computer Society's take: http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.9662). We need to engage in serious discussion of the future of our field, and our role as educators.

SIGCSE 2009: "Engaging Computer Science Education"

2008-04-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

After Susan and JD did such a great job with the SIGCSE 2008 blog, how could Sue and I not do one for SIGCSE 2009? Here it is!

Be sure to visit http://www.cs.arizona.edu/sigcse09 and plan to submit something to SIGCSE 2009!