UKICER2020 is over, but the community lives on!

The conference has now ended, thank you to all the authors and attendees that made the event engaging and memorable. The Discord community lives on and attendees can continue to meet and discuss ideas on the platform. If you are looking to contact a particular attendee, the attendee list is still avaliable.

More information will follow on UKICER 2021, keep checking the website and follow the conference Twitter account. Until then, considering submitting to the Computing Education Practice (CEP) conference or joining the UK ACM SIGCSE.

See you soon,

Joe and Quintin.
General and Programme Chairs.

Welcome to UKICER 2020

The United Kingdom and Ireland Computing Education Research (UKICER) conference from the UK ACM Special Interest Group in Computing Science Education is emerging as one of the leading venues nationally and internationally for researchers and practitioners to meet and share advances in computing science education.

The UKICER 2020 theme is gathering ideas together and has been chosen to emphasise that (1) computing science education research comprises of many different areas and ideas, including cyber security and data science, and (2) to celebrate practice that brings people together and makes the most of people in the same space.

We are a diverse and inclusive community bringing together researchers, academics, industry practitioners and teachers from across the United Kingdom and Ireland as well as from the rest of Europe and the wider world.

The conference takes place on Thursday 3rd of September and Friday 4th of September 2020 online

UKICER 2020 going online!

The United Kingdom and Ireland Computing Education Research (UKICER) conference from the UK ACM Special Interest Group in Computing Science Education is going online!

While we will miss meeting physically in person, we looking forward to welcoming many more to our community, both nationally and internationally, with reduced registration fees and interactive online sessions. The approach also allows us to simplify and extend deadline dates and provide more time to authors as booking accommodation and travel are no longer a constraint. The abstract deadline is Friday the 3rd of July 2020 with full papers expected the following week on Friday the 10th of July 2020.

Call for Participation

The United Kingdom and Ireland Computing Education Research (UKICER) conference from the UK ACM Special Interest Group in Computing Science Education is seeking high quality contributions to research relevant to computing science education. Contributions are sought in a variety of categories with emphasis on high-quality and rigorous work. Call for Participation (PDF).

Papers

We invite submissions of research papers on the topic of computing education. Themes of interest include:

  • Computing education pedagogy
  • Assessing and providing feedback on computing assignments
  • Issues of inclusivity and diversity
  • Tools to aid computing education
  • Computing education issues particularly relevant to a British and/or Irish context
All submissions related to computing education are welcome, at any stage of formal education (or outside formal education).

Papers should describe a rigorously executed piece of work, include a motivating research question and discussion of prior related work. We welcome:

  • Research papers describing a research experiment in a school, university or informal educational setting. The experiment should be rigorously conducted – if this is the case, null results will still be considered for publication.
  • Tool design papers which carefully document design constraints, user considerations, relevant pedagogical concerns, and justify the design decisions taken in a way that would be useful to other designers, and include details of user testing or other initial measures of effectiveness.

All submitted papers should have a research component. Papers focused purely on practice-related topics such as implementation of new curricula or new course designs may be better suited to our sister Computing Education Practice conference.

Workshops

We invite proposals for running 1 to 2-hour workshops. The workshops should be relevant to British and Irish educators (in a university or school setting) and/or computing education researchers. Example workshops may be on the use of research techniques (e.g. qualitative methods), grant writing, pedagogical techniques (e.g. peer instruction), tools (e.g. programming environments, assessment tools), or any other topic which may be relevant to conference attendees.

Posters

We invite posters for presentation and discussion at the conference. The posters should be relevant to British and Irish educators (in a university or school setting) and/or computing education researchers. Example posters could include initial ideas, experimental designs, pedagogical techniques or early proposals to address open challenges in computing science education research.

The review of posters is not double-blind. Posters will be presented using GatherTown with attendees able to discuss several posters in a single session. Poster presenters will be asked to give a lightening talk during the conference and produce a 30-second overview video for promotion on the UKICER Twitter feed. Any questions should be directed to the Posters chair, posters@ukicer.com

Submissions

Submissions for both research papers, workshop proposals and posters must be made through Easychair. There is an option on the submission form to indicate whether the submission is a research paper or workshop proposal.

Any questions about submissions should be emailed to the General and Programme Chairs: Joseph Maguire (mailto:joseph.maguire@glasgow.ac.uk) and Quintin Cutts (mailto:quintin.cutts@glasgow.ac.uk).

Submission format

Submissions must conform to the ACM proceeding template. The page limit is six pages, not counting the references. The references may occupy a seventh page if the paper reaches the six-page limit.

Authors must make an electronic submission in the form of a PDF file via EasyChair. Authors will need to create an EasyChair account, if they do not have one, and complete a submission form. The submission form requires authors to detail the submission type, title, abstract as well as contact information.

Submissions from authors must be anonymised to support the review process. The initial submission for review must be anonymised, authors must remove all references to them, including affiliations and any identifying information within the body of the submission.

Note that reviewers will assume they are reviewing completed works, as they will eventually appear in the conference proceedings. Do not submit incomplete drafts.

Workshop submissions

Workshop proposals should consist of a max 500 word abstract, which should include: details of the workshop’s content, practical requirements (e.g. group discussion tables, computer room, etc) whether or not this workshop has been run before, and intended take-away knowledge for participants.

Posters submissions

Posters should should be around 250 to 500 words and describe the early or proposed work and contribution of it. Research Posters 101 provides a good starting point for considering the content and overall design of a strong research poster.

Review process and publication

The review process is double-blind with authors required to submit anonymised artefacts. Each submission is reviewed by at least three members of the programme committee. Upon completion of reviews, reviewers enter the discussion stage and are expected to discuss their reviews anonymously, especially when notable differences exist. The programme chair utilises discussions and reviews to determine an appropriate balance of accepted papers.

Conflict of Interest

Authors must ensure their submissions abide by the ACM Conflict of Interest Policy (COI). Reviewers are required by chairs to identify any conflicts of interest prior to being allocated any submissions to review. Authors are expected to inform any conflicts of interest prior or at the point of submission of any artefacts for review.

Proxy chair and expert panel

Submissions that represent a conflict of interest for all conference chairs are passed to the proxy chair. The proxy chair assembles an expert panel of two or more members, the members are not required to be part of the programme committee. The members of the expert panel are not known to the chairs. The proxy chair and expert panel consider the conflicted papers, reviews and any discussion amongst reviewers. The expert panel makes the final decision on the conflicted papers and this is communicated to the conference chairs.

Accepted submissions

If accepted, authors must submit camera-ready source files through the ACM Production System (TAPS). The camera-ready submission must include author details, affiliations and any relevant information previously removed for the purposes of review.

The ACM Production System (TAPS)

The ACM provide Master Articile and Production Workflows in Microsoft Word and LaTeX. The ACM also provide best practice guidance and videos for TAPS.

Fonts

Final camera-ready submissions must have embedded scalable fonts, those submissions that do not will need to be corrected. The ACM have provided documentation to support authors in ensuring their camea-ready submission have embedded scalable fonts.

References

The references may occupy a seventh page if the paper reaches the six-page limit, only references may occupy a seventh page. Authors should ensure that references are balanced (the two columns of references on the final page should be the same length).

Accessibility

SIGACCESS have provided documentation to support authors in ensuring their camea-ready submission is accessible.

Copyright

Authors are expected to review the ACM Copyright policy and ensure the final camera-ready submission complies with the policy and that authors properly documents any third-party material.

ACM e-Rights Transfer Application

Authors are required to complete an electronic ACM e-Rights Transfer Application and include the appropriate ACM Right Statement and bibliographic strip in the camera-ready submission. ACM will contact accepted authors shortly after notification of acceptance with the details. Authors should check SPAM folders for any emails from rightsreview@acm.org.

ACM Computing Classification System (CCS)

The camera-ready submission must also include and display the ACM Computing Classification System (CCS) index terms, as designated by the authors. The interactive ACM CCS tool can be used to generate the appropriate code block.

ACM Support

Authors that have questions or have encountered difficulties with the ACM authoring templates should contact the Aptara support team (acmtexsupport@aptaracorp.com). For specific queries with the conference proceeding publication, authors can contact submissions@ukicer.com.

Author Registration

The final submission will be published in the conference proceedings. At least one author must register for the conference and present the accepted paper for it to appear in the conference proceedings. All accepted submissions must be presented at the conference by a subset of the authors.

Publication of proceedings

The official publication date of the conference proceedings is when they become available via the digital repository. The specific date may be up to 14 days prior to the initial day of the conference. Contributors should be aware of this publication date when considering other artefacts associated with published work, e.g. patent filings.

Previous proceedings

The proceedings from the conference last year are available on the ACM Digital Library

Important Dates

There are several important dates for the UKICER conference.

Paper submissions

Milestone Date and Time
Call for Participation Thursday, January 9, 2020.
Abstracts
(250 words)

Friday, June 5, 2020, anywhere on Earth (UTC-12).

Friday, July 3, 2020, anywhere on Earth (UTC-12).

Full papers

Friday, June 12, 2020, anywhere on Earth (UTC-12).

Friday, July 10, 2020, anywhere on Earth (UTC-12).

Notification of paper acceptance

Friday, July 3, 2020.

Friday, July 31, 2020.

Final camera ready submission

Friday, July 24, 2020, anywhere on Earth (UTC-12)

Friday, August 14, 2020, anywhere on Earth (UTC-12)

Other submissions

Milestone Date and Time
Call for Participation Thursday, January 9, 2020.
Workshop Proposal
(500 words)

Friday, June 12, 2020, anywhere on Earth (UTC-12).

Friday, July 17, 2020, anywhere on Earth (UTC-12).

Poster abstract
(approx. 250-500 words)

Friday, August 14, 2020, anywhere on Earth (UTC-12).

Friday, August 21, 2020, anywhere on Earth (UTC-12).

Notification of workshop acceptance

Friday, July 3, 2020.

Friday, July 31, 2020.

Notification of poster acceptance

Friday, August 21, 2020.

Conference Schedule

Milestone Date and Time
Registration Opens Monday, July 6, 2020.
Registration Closes Monday, August 24, 2020, anywhere on Earth (UTC-12).
Workshops Thursday, September 3, 2020.
UKICER Conference Thursday, September 3 - Friday September 4, 2020.

Registration

The registration platform is EventBrite and the conference will be delivered using a range of platforms, including EventBrite. Tickets can be purchased below or directly through the EventBrite platform.

Registration Terms and Conditions

  • The registration fee for UKICER 2020 is considerably lower than originally envisioned and lower than the previous conference.
  • All registrations are final and no refunds or cancellations permitted, even in the event for failure to participate in the conference.
  • The organisers will endeavour to run the conference programme as intended. In circumstances where that is not possible the organisers may alter the conference programme.
  • The organisers are not liable for any claims for damages and/or losses if the entire conference has to be canceled due to a force majeure incident.

Attendees

The United Kingdom and Ireland Computing Education Research (UKICER) conference from the UK ACM Special Interest Group in Computing Science Education is going online! The conference event will occur entirely online and resources are accessed via EventBrite. Attendees need will automatically be able to gain access to the page once they have registered for the conference.

Programme

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2020

TIME EVENT
0845 - 0900
Arrival and Guidance
0900 - 0915
Opening Remarks
Quintin Cutts, University of Glasgow
Joseph Maguire, University of Glasgow
0915 - 1000
Keynote: Reflections on Computing Science Education Research
Dr. Steve Draper, University of Glasgow.

Supplementary material

1000 - 1030
Coffee break
1030 - 1200
Paper session 1: Cognitive Concerns
Session Chair:

Measuring the Cognitive Load of Learning to Program: A Replication Study.

Albina Zavgorodniaia, Aalto University.
Rodrigo Duran, Aalto University.
Arto Hellas, Aalto University.
Otto Seppälä, Aalto University.
Juha Sorva, Aalto University.

The effect of explicit instruction on students learning the second programming language
.
Ethel Tshukudu, University of Glasgow.
Siri Annethe Moe Jensen, University of Oslo.

Relating Spatial Skills and Expression Evaluation

Jack Parkinson, University of Glasgow.
Quintin Cutts, University of Glasgow.
Steve Draper, University of Glasgow.

1200 - 1300
Lunch break
1300 - 1400
Paper session 2: Community
Session chair: Maria Kallia, Radboud University

Sense of Belonging in Female Computer Science Students and their Self-declared Minority Status

Catherine Mooney, University College Dublin.
Brett Becker, University College Dublin.

The impact of COVID-19 and "emergency remote teaching" on UK computer science education

Tom Crick, Swansea University.
Cathryn Knight, Swansea University.
Richard Watermeyer, University of Bristol.
Janet Goodall, Swansea University.
1400 - 1430
Posters and coffee
  • agile.edu - An Undergraduate Software Engineering Course Using Agile
    Greg Gagne

  • Interconnecting Interactive Mutlimedia Softwares for the Virtual Classroom
    Joanna Isabelle Olszewska
1430 - 1600
Workshop: 2nd Workshop on Using Video in Computer Science Education
Adriana Wilde, University of Southampton.
Alan Dix, Swansea University.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

TIME EVENT
0845 - 0900
Arrival and Guidance
0900 - 1030
Workshop: Integrating New Research Faculty into the UK Computer Science Education Community
Alan Hayes, University of Bath.
James Davenport, University of Bath.
Alastair Irons, University of Sunderland.
Tom Prickett, Northumbria University.
Tom Crick, Swansea University.
1030 - 1100
Posters and coffee
  • Improving Computer Science Student Graduate Skills Through Assessment
    Rosanne English

  • Choosing between wider participation or quality of interactions: A study of learner engagement within PeerWise
    Adriana Wilde
1100 - 1200
Paper session 3: Creativity and Engagement
Exploring the Instructional Efficiency of Representation and Engagement in Online Learning Materials

Ava Heinonen, Aalto University.
Arto Hellas, Aalto University.

Developing Creativity in Computer Science Initial Teacher Education through Design Thinking
Gemma O’Callaghan, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.
Cornelia Connolly, National University of Ireland Galway.

1200 - 1300
Lunch break

1300 - 1430
Paper session 4: Peers and Programming
Session chair:

Evaluating a Peer Assessment Approach in Introductory Programming Courses

Amal Al-Khalifa, Newcastle University.
Marie Devlin, Newcastle University.

Compile Much? A Closer Look at the Programming Behaviour of Novices in Different Compilation and Error Message Presentation Contexts

Ioannis Karvelas, University College Dublin.
Joe Dillane, University College Dublin.
Brett Becker, University College Dublin.

Software Testing as Medium for Peer Feedback

Léon McGregor, Heriot-Watt University.
Manuel Maarek, Heriot-Watt University.

1430 - 1500
Comfort break
1500 - 1515
Rolling reviews
Quintin Cutts, University of Glasgow.
Joseph Maguire, University of Glasgow.
1515 - 1530
Journal club
Duncan Hull, University of Manchester.

1530 - 1545
Closing remarks
Quintin Cutts, University of Glasgow.
Joseph Maguire, University of Glasgow.

Presenters

Information for presenters will appear closer to the conference.

Committees

General and Programme Chairs

Posters chair

Event chair

Submission chair

Programme Committee

  • Yasemin Allsop, University College London
  • Dharini Balasubramaniam, University of St Andrews
  • Brett Becker, University College Dublin
  • Steven Bradley, Durham University
  • Neil Brown, King’s College London
  • Jake Byrne, Trinty College Dublin
  • Janet Carter, University of Kent
  • Thomas Crick, Swansea University
  • Paul Curzon, Queen Mary, University of London.
  • Paul Dempster, University of Lancaster
  • Peter Donaldson, University of Glasgow
  • Rodrigo Duran, Aalto University
  • Rosanne English, University of Strathclyde
  • Sally Fincher, University of Kent
  • Tristen Henderson, University of St Andrews
  • Marie Devlin, University of Newcastle.
  • Meriel Huggard, Trinity College Dublin
  • Janet Hughes, The Open University
  • Duncan Hull, The University of Manchester
  • Mike Joy, University of Warwick
  • Graham Kirby, University of St Andrews
  • Michael Lodi, University of Bologna
  • Rachel Menzies, University of Dundee
  • Richard Millwood, Trinity College Dublin
  • Faron Moller, Swansea University
  • Emma Norling, University of Sheffield
  • Leo Porter, University of California San Diego
  • Keith Quille, TU Dublin
  • Sue Sentance, King’s College London
  • Beth Simon, University of California San Diego
  • Sally Smith, Edinburgh Napier University
  • Ian Utting, University of Kent
  • Jane Waite, Queen Mary, University of London.
  • Michel Wermelinger, The Open University
  • Kyle White, VeryConnect
  • Adriana Wilde, University of Southampton
  • Guy Williamson, IBM
  • Heather Yorston, University of Edinburgh
  • Mark Zarb, Robert Gordon University.

Local Organising Committee

Sponsors

UK and Ireland Special Interest Group in Computing Science Education ACM Chapter Logo

Organisation

University of Glasgow The Scottish Informatics & Computer Science Alliance University of Glasgow