Workshops

This page provides the workshop schedule, together with descriptions of each workshop provided by the facilitator. Click on the links in the schedule to go to information about the workshop.

Workshop schedule

All workshops are held on Sunday 8 July unless otherwise stated.

Full day workshops

Workshop		Facilitator	Duration	Fee
Bracelet		Raymond Lister and Tony Clear	Full day	$125
	Half-day options:
	Bracelet A	Raymond Lister and Tony Clear	Morning	$65
	Bracelet B	Raymond Lister and Tony Clear	Afternoon	$65
Sustainability		Samuel Mann, Lesley Smith and Logan Muller	Full day	$125
Writing it Right! and Reviewing it Right!		Clare Atkins	Full day	$125
	Half-day options:
	Writing it Right! only	Clare Atkins	Morning	$65
	Reviewing it Right! only	Clare Atkins	Afternoon	$65

Morning workshops

Workshop		Facilitator	Duration	Fee
Bracelet A		Raymond Lister and Tony Clear	Morning	$65
Degree moderators		Steve Corich	Morning	$65
Literacy		Barbara Chamberlain	Morning	$65
Post-graduate Symposium		Kay Fielden	Morning	$65
Writing it Right! only		Clare Atkins	Morning	$65

Afternoon workshops

Workshop		Facilitator	Duration	Fee
"Blue Book" curriculum and quality		Steve Corich	Afternoon	$10
Bracelet B		Raymond Lister and Tony Clear	Afternoon	$65
Groupwork and assessment		Becky Blackshaw	Afternoon	$65
Reviewing it Right! only		Clare Atkins	Afternoon	$65
SoDIS workshop		Choon-Tuck Kwan	Afternoon	$65

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Bracelet

Facilitators: Raymond Lister and Tony Clear.

These workshops are open both to current participants in the Bracelet project and those with an interest in actively contributing to developing a common toolkit for assessing the skills of novice programmers.

They will be run as active working sessions with the aim of producing a tangible output, which may be published in the form of a Bracelet technical report.

The workshops have been designed in two parts, to enable participants to either participate for the full day, or attend other half day workshops if they wish.

The Bracelet study, initiated in 2004, has been inquiring into how novice programmers comprehend and write computer programs. Participants will work towards a common toolkit for investigating the writing skills of novice programmers. Attendees will revisit the work from an earlier workshop to be held at AUT University in May/June 2007. The aim is to both augment the draft toolkit developed there and arrive at a consensus on the final content. Preparatory work for the workshop will involve participants each devising two instruments for assessing paired reading and writing of introductory level code segments or programs. These segments will be designed to be at a comparable cognitive level using either of the cognitive frameworks applied in the Bracelet study (Bloom or SOLO). These instruments will be sent to the coordinators beforehand, or attendees will bring them along as resource materials for discussion and review at the workshop.

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"Blue Book" curriculum and quality

Facilitator: Steve Corich.

In the twenty year history of NACCQ, maintaining the currency of the "Blue Book" curriculum document has always been of critical importance in informing the computing and information technology programmes offered by our member institutions. The qualifications that we offer must continue to reflect our ability to react swiftly to changes in technology and the demand by industry both local and global, for graduates that have the knowledge and skills suited to a career in ICT in the twenty-first century.

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Degree moderators

Facilitator: Steve Corich.

This workshop is aimed at anyone who wants to improve their moderation and assessment design skills. Especially those who would like to act as moderators for the NACCQ national degree moderation system. The workshop will run through pre and post moderation and will attempt to identify what constitutes well designed assessment activities. Attendees will be given samples of assessments and assessed work and will be guided through the moderation process.

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Groupwork and assessment

Facilitator: Becky Blackshaw.

This workshop looks at Groupwork and assessing Groupwork. Research tells us that industry wants graduates who can work in teams and who have had experience working in project type envrionments. Research tells us that strong students dislike groupwork because they may "carry" weaker students and their grades are impacted. Weaker students like groupwork because they are "carried" and may achieve marks beyond their capability. Lecturers find assessing groupwork problematic. We will examine groupwork and introduce a method for individual asssement of students doing groupwork.

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Literacy

Facilitator: Barbara Chamberlain.

This workshop aims to introduce strategies to computing educators to integrate information literacy skills into the curriculum for students studying in the first year of a Degree or Diploma qualification, The aim is to enable students to become familiar with information literacy concepts and develop appropriate research skills to successfully journey the "yellow click road" through their chosen education program, and to continue to use these skills in the years that follow.

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Post graduate symposium

Facilitator: Kay Fielden.

This full day workshop is intended for currently enrolled postgraduate students or those intending to undertake postgraduate studies.

Participants in this workshop will have a unique opportunity to discuss their research (or their intended research) with an audience of their peers and experienced supervisors. The friendly and constructive environment is an ideal setting to share experiences and to provide real and valuable feedback on your research and its directions together with the postgraduate research process in general.

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SoDIS workshop

Facilitator: Choon-Tuck Kwan.

The SoDIS workshop is intended for those unfamiliar with the SoDIS process, who may be interested in learning about it or using it in their teaching or practice. Also, for those symposium attendees already involved in using SoDIS, the workshop will provide an opportunity to try out the most current version of the SoDIS Project Auditor CASE tool.

This hands-on workshop will enable participants to acquaint themselves with the SoDIS process. The SoDIS concept will be briefly introduced, followed by an introduction to the tool, which embodies the concept. In a guided process, participants will then work through a case study of a simulated project that they may use in class. Copies of the software will be provided to participants for the own further evaluation and use.

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Sustainability

Facilitators: Samuel Mann, Lesley Smith and Logan Muller.

2005-2014 has been declared the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Sustainable development was defined by the Bruntland Commission in 1987 as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

The call to address these issues is supported from the highest levels - including international and national government and regulatory organisations. Some professional groups (for example, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and MBA programmes through "Beyond Grey Pinstripes") have already addressed these concerns through their professional codes or guidelines.

The computing industry has a poor record regarding sustainability. Disposal of hazardous e-waste is a problem which can no longer be exported to the developing world. It has been estimated that 95% of all computers ever produced are now stockpiled for recycling. Software development can also impact on the environment - how many hardware upgrades were driven by the release of Windows Vista? Some manufacturers (Dell, HP) are exploring alternative business models which will allow the information technology industry to operate in a sustainable manner. Information technology can also be a driver for sustainable development - as demonstrated in Logan Muller and Alison Young's project in the high Andes.

As educators in the computing discipline, we have a responsibility to address these issues now. Institution-wide core competencies or policies relating to sustainability are being formulated - what is the computing response? How can we take the lead in this process?

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Workshop Outcomes

Research indicates that the ideal approach is to embed sustainability education into all curriculum areas. The goal is to educate for sustainability (in addition to educating about sustainability).

Some possible goals for the workshop:

Survey existing sustainability options in the computing curriculum.
Develop example learning outcomes for all computing curriculum areas.
Develop example learning opportunities.
Draft a mandate for adoption by NACCQ.

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Writing it Right! and Reviewing it Right!

Half day options: academic writing only, academic reviewing only.

Facilitator: Clare Atkins.

Purpose

The purpose of these two workshops is to encourage both emerging and more experienced researchers to write successfully for academic publication.

The first workshop will focus on the writing process itself. It will be primarily concerned with setting the stage for writing and improving your chances of having your work accepted for publication. The session will be interactive with opportunity for participants to work on their own ideas.

The second workshop will focus on the process of reviewing papers for publication or presentation. Although the emphasis will be on reviewing other people's work there is much to be gained by applying the same criteria to one’s own writing. The intention is therefore that participants will come away with a much clearer picture of what reviewers and editors are looking for in making their decisions.

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Intended Audience

The workshops would be useful to any emerging or intermediate researcher who

Is about to begin academic writing for publication, or
Would like to improve their "hit rate" for publication, or
Is keen to re-appraise their own writing habits, or
Would like to know more about how reviewers and editors make their decisions.

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Content and Approach

The workshops will be run in a relatively informal manner and will have a combination of activities, including exercises, in which participants may work individually, in pairs or in small groups.

The first workshop “Writing it Right!” will begin by looking at building a foundation for writing and will include some activities designed to breakdown that writer’s block! It will also provide hints and tips and activities to help maximize the impact of participants’ work and improve its structure and style.

The second workshop “Reviewing it Right!” will provide some background on the purpose of reviewing and what can be learnt from both being reviewed and being a reviewer and a general set of review criteria will be discussed and analysed.

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Please note:

Participants in the first workshop should bring with them an idea for a piece of writing that they would like to develop. This does not need to be completed (or even started!) research - even the smallest germ of an idea can be used. However, if you come with nothing you may leave with very little - unfortunately an empty head usually means an empty page!

Participants in the second workshop will be sent a paper to review prior to the workshop session.

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