WCCCE 2024
26th Western Canadian Conference on Computing Education May 2-3, 2024
About the conference
The Western Canadian Conference on Computing Education () is a platform for educators to share innovative methods, tools, and experiences in computer-related instruction. It welcomes papers, posters, and demonstrations covering a range of topics, including program development, teaching methods, and distance learning applications. Whether you've found success or faced challenges, your contributions are valuable in shaping the future of computing education.
The Western Canadian Conference on Computing Education is a forum for disseminating information pertaining to the development and delivery of programs and courses in computer science, computer technology, and information systems in general. The conference brings together university and college educators along with industrial partners and government officials who have an interest in the instruction of computer related courses. It is designed for all educators who are involved in the evolution of computing education.
If you are effectively using unique methods to teach a computer related topic, this is the place to share your approach. If you have successfully adopted a new tool or technology in your computer related courses or labs, this is the place to brag about it. If you have developed a tool that improves instruction quality for your courses, this is the place to demonstrate it. Even if you have tried methods or tools in your instruction with little success, we are still eager to hear about it. Your experience will help us all.
The conference is soliciting papers, posters and demonstrations in a wide range of topics including the following:
- Post secondary programs and curricula
- New or experimental curricula at any level
- Teaching methods or tools for specific concepts or courses
- Materials for specific concepts or courses
- General methods and tools for computer related courses
- Methods, tools and effective structures of designing and teaching computer labs
- Applications for distance and/or distributed learning
- Multimedia applications for computer education
Conference Chair: Youry Khmelevsky, ߲Ƶ, Kelowna, BC
WCCCE 2024 Organizing Committee
- Frank Zhang, University of the Fraser Valley (Co-Chair)
- Charles Hepler, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Computing, Mount Royal University
- Abdallah Mohamed, The University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus
- Jim Nastos, Computer Science, ߲Ƶ
- Thais Santos Damasceno, Computer Science, OC IEEE Student Branch Chair, OC
WCCCE 2024 Program Committee
- Bill Bird, University of Victoria (Co-Chair)
- Youry Khmelevsky, ߲Ƶ (Co-Chair)
- Andreas Bergen (University of Toronto Mississauga)
- Gaétan Hains, University Paris-Est Créteil Val de Marne (UPEC)/LACL (France)
WCCCE 2024 Steering Committee (The Past Conference Chairs)
- Ben Stephenson, University of Calgary (Co-Chair)
- Mike Zastre, University of Victoria (Co-Chair)
- Donald Acton (Co-Chair), University of British Columbia
- Diana Cukierman (Co-Chair), Simon Fraser University
- Kemi Ola, University of British Columbia
WCCCE 2024 Student Volunteers
- Daniel Tumback, COSC, ߲Ƶ
- Kristina Cormier, COSC, ߲Ƶ
- Dylan MacDonald, COSC, ߲Ƶ
- William Dearsley, COSC, ߲Ƶ
- Ajitesh Parihar, COSC, ߲Ƶ
WCCCE 2024 Reviewers
- Abdallah Mohamed University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus
- Ajay Dhruv Thompson Rivers University
- Alan Fedoruk Mount Royal University
- Andreas Bergen University of Toronto Mississauga
- Anthony Estey University of Victoria
- Apoorve Chokshi Mount Royal University
- Ben Stephenson University of Calgary
- Bill Bird University of Victoria
- Brian Fraser SFU
- Celina Berg Uvic
- Charles Hepler Mount Royal University
- Charlotte Curtis Mount Royal University
- Diana Cukierman SFU
- Donald Acton University of British Columbia
- Ed Knorr University of British Columbia
- Eric Chalmers Mount Royal University
- Frank Zhang University of the Fraser Valley
- Gaétan Hains 27PU1 University Paris-Est Créteil Val de Marne (UPEC)/LACL (France)
- Giulia Toti University of British Columbia
- Ian Berlot-Attwell University of Toronto
- Ildar Akhmetov University of Alberta
- Ilya Musabirov University of Toronto
- Jim Nastos ߲Ƶ
- Jonathan Calver University of Toronto
- Kathiravelu Ganeshan Otago Polytechnic Auckland International Campus and Future Skills Academy
- Larry Yueli Zhang York University
- Lisa Tang SFU
- Mahreen Nasir Algoma University
- Mandeep Pannu University of the Fraser Valley
- Marc Schroeder Mount Royal University
- Mariam Elhussein Mount Royal University
- Michael Guerzhoy University of Toronto
- Michael Liut University of Toronto Mississauga
- Mike Zastre University of Victoria
- Nisha Puthiyedth Thompson Rivers University
- Patrice Belleville University of British Columbia
- Patrick Perri Mount Royal University
- Rasit Eskicioglu University of Manitoba
- Rich Little UVic
- Roberto Bittencourt UVic
- Said Baadel Mount Royal University
- Salil Ghosh NIC
- Tyson Kendon University of Calgary
- Yasaman Amannejad Mount Royal University
- Youry Khmelevsky ߲Ƶ
The Western Canadian Conference on Computing Education (WCCCE) 2024 May 2 & 3, 2024, ߲Ƶ, Kelowna, Canada
The Western Canadian Conference on Computing Education is a forum for disseminating experience and information on developing and delivering programs and courses broadly defined in computer science, computer technology, or information systems. The conference aims to bring together educators, industrial partners, and government officials interested in the instruction and delivery of computing-related courses and the development and evolution of computing education.
This year, we are continuing to broaden participation among Canadian computing educators. To foster this interchange of ideas, the organizers of WCCCE 2024 welcome papers, nifty assignments, and special sessions on the following (non-exhaustive) list of topics:
- New or experimental computing-education curricula at any level, including K-12
- Teaching methods or tools for specific concepts or courses, general methods and tools for computing-related courses
- Methods, tools, and effective structures for designing, teaching and grading, including automation tools
- Experience reports on the use of new techniques or technology
- Applications and techniques to support distance and/or distributed learning
- Broadening participation and improving student wellbeing
- School outreach programs or high-school programs for computer programming and/or computational thinking
- Computing education research
We intend to have the Conference Proceedings indexed in the ACM Digital Library.
If you effectively use unique methods to teach a computing-related topic or have successfully adopted a new tool or technology in your computing-related courses or labs, this is an opportunity to tell people about it. If you have developed a tool that improves the instructional quality of your courses or provides insight into the learning process, this is the place to demonstrate it. Even if you have tried methods or tools in your instruction with little success, we are still eager to hear about it. Your experience can help us all.
The deadline for all submissions has been extended to March 18th, 2024.
WCCCE 2024 will be run in an in-person format only. For more information, including instructions on how to submit, please explore this website.
Any identifying information, such as authors’ names, institution names, or identifying references, must be replaced by the authors with placeholders so the papers can be anonymously reviewed (double-blind review, with at least two reviewers per paper). The authors of accepted papers will have the opportunity to modify their submissions, considering the reviewers’ comments, and to replace any placeholders with the proper identifiers. We will have at least 2-3 weeks for the reviewers for each paper reviewed.
Please let us know if you are willing to serve as a reviewer.
Long Papers
All long paper submissions must follow the ACM’s publication guidelines. Papers may contain up to six pages plus one page for references and acknowledgments. Authors will have 25 minutes to present their work (including time for questions) at the conference.
Links to the article templates for LaTeX (strongly recommended) and Microsoft Word, along with a description of the submission format, can be found at . When preparing your submission, use the ACM reference formats for various citation types as described at .
Short Papers
A short paper is a lightweight way to engage the WCCCE audience with some aspect of computing education you are excited about and passionate about. The authors of each accepted short paper will have approximately 15 minutes to present their work (including time for questions) during a conference session.
Short papers must follow the submission guidelines for long papers concerning formatting and anonymization. Short papers must not exceed two pages in length, including references.
Blizzard Talks
A Blizzard Talk is the Canadian equivalent of a . Individuals will be given 5 minutes to present on any topic of potential interest to the WCCCE community. For example, this would be an excellent way for you to tell us about:
- work in progress
- an interesting assignment
- new teaching tools
- your opinions on some pedagogical topic
- new course development
- a study you would like to do
- a project where you would like to partner with others
The above are just examples, and anything that you think would interest the WCCCE community is appropriate. We are asking everyone who is interested to submit a short description (200 words max) of what the presentation will be about. This will help us order the presentations and, if needed, decide who will get a slot. You may submit multiple proposals if you want to present multiple things, but combining them into one blizzard presentation would be impractical. Blizzard abstracts will be posted on the website but not included in the conference proceedings.
Nifty Assignments
WCCCE will also allow educators to share assignments they have previously used to assess students in novel and engaging ways. For more information on what constitutes a “nifty assignment,” please visit .
Accepted assignments will be presented in the Nifty Assignments session at the conference. The assignment materials will be hosted on the WCCCE website so that they are available to other educators for years to come, and a brief description of the assignment will be published in the conference proceedings. Submissions to this track must not have been previously published in another nifty assignment or similar session.
The content of a nifty assignment submission will vary depending on the nature of the assignment. Submitters are encouraged to include the (non-exhaustive) list of items below, as appropriate to their particular assignment, so that it can be refereed effectively. Submissions should not include information on the authors or their affiliations for the blind review process.
- A description of the assignment and what makes it nifty. This could include:
- The strengths/positive aspects of the assignment.
- The assignment assessed the topics and learning goals.
- The assignment’s level of difficulty.
- The course in which the assignment was used.
- The language students used to implement their solutions.
- Any weaknesses or challenges associated with the assignment.
- Any technological or educational dependencies (such as a particular library).
- The assignment handout that was provided to the students.
- Any starter code, data files, or other materials needed to complete the assignment.
- Grading criteria (optional).
- A runnable sample solution (optional).
Nifty assignment submissions should include a 2-page summary that can be included in the conference proceedings. Authors may also submit a zip file containing supplemental materials such as handouts, starter codes, and grading scripts. The summary, as well as the contents of the zip file, should be anonymized for review.
Special Sessions
A Special Session allows you to share your work and ideas uniquely. Participants are allowed to craft the session as they see fit. The only constraints are location and time: the sessions will be scheduled by default in standard conference rooms and can range from 25 to 75 minutes in length. The format can resemble a panel, birds of a feather session, reflective practice, courseware demo, tutorial, workshop, or roundtable, to name a few. Special Session submission proposals are not to exceed three pages and are to contain the following information:
- A descriptive title for the session.
- A description of the topic that indicates how/why this session would interest attendees and justifies how this session adds something new to the program that the predefined session formats (papers, blizzard talks, and nifty assignments) do not provide.
- The time required and an outline of how that time will be utilized.
- An explanation of the expectations of participants and how participants will be actively engaged.
- Any special requests that would improve the session (e.g., equipment, room configuration) along with a backup plan should we be unable to accommodate them.
- References (if applicable).
- A list of presenters with affiliations and short biographies explaining their expertise in the session’s topic.
Special session submissions are to include author and presenter information and do not require anonymous submission. Special session abstracts will be included in the conference proceedings.
Registration is open! All prices are in Canadian Dollars.
Early Bird Registration (ending on April 22nd, 2024)
- Conference Admission, including Tax & Fees: $280
- Conference Admission, without the Thursday banquet, including Tax & Fees: $200
- Conference Admission for the Student/Retiree, including Tax & Fees: $100
Registration Site
Please visit the site to complete your registration. Note that you must create an account (if you don't already have an account).
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people will be at WCCCE 2024?
Before the postponement of the 2020, 2021, and 2022 editions of WCCCE, the conference had approximately 80-110 attendees. We anticipate that attendance will be between 50 and 80 people in 2024. Although COVID-19 forced us to cancel the three scheduled conferences, we held several online events before 2023 to keep the interest in the conference alive and to continue to build the computing education community. These events were very well attended. In 2023, we had excellent attendance at UBC Vancouver University.
Thursday, May 2nd
8:30 am | Registration and Breakfast (S Building Pitt at S 104) | |
9:00 am | Welcome and Opening Remarks (S 104 — Theatre) | |
9:15 am | Thursday Keynote (S104 - Theatre) Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Approaches to Assessment and Student Help Ramon Lawrence (UBC Okanagan) | |
10:15 am | Coffee Break (S Building Pit) | |
10:45 am | Paper Session 1a (B129) | Paper Session 1b (B131) |
12:05 pm | Lunch (S Building Pit) | 12:35 pm – 1:05 pm. Sponsor’s Session: IBA Group (B129) |
1:15 pm | Paper Session 2a (B129)
| Blizzard Talks and Nifty Assignments (B131) |
2:35 pm | Coffee Break (S Building Pit) | |
3:00 pm | Paper Session 3 (S104 – Theatre) | Sponsor’s Session: Cengage Canada (B129) |
4:30 pm | WCCES AGM (S104 – Theatre) | |
6:00 pm | Conference Dinner (HS Building, Room HS 101) |
Friday, May 3rd
8:30 am | Registration and Breakfast (S Building Lobby) |
9:00 am | Friday Keynote (S104 - Theatre) Tales from the Trenches: Experiences from Two Decades of Post-Secondary Teaching Ben Stephenson (University of Calgary) |
10:00 am | Coffee Break (S Building Pit); 10:00 am – 10:30 am. Sponsor’s Session: ACM-W North America/ Women in Computing (B129) |
10:30 am | Paper Session 4 (S104 – Theatre) |
12:00 pm | Lunch (S Building Pit) |
1:15 pm | Paper Session 5 (S104 – Theatre) |
2:50 pm | Closing Remarks (S104 – Theatre) |
Paper Session 1a (Thursday at 10:45 am in B129)
Chair: Jim Nastos
You Hacked My Program! Teaching Cybersecurity using Game-based Learning
Md. Hasan Tareque (University of Lethbridge)
Steven Deutekom (University of Lethbridge)
John Anvik (University of Lethbridge)
Maimoona Bashir (University of Lethbridge)
Where Do Students Struggle Most in a First Course on Assembly Language?
Jalal Kawash (University of Calgary)
Cybersecurity Education within a Computing Science Program - A Literature Review
Elisa Pinheiro Ferrari (߲Ƶ)
Albert Wong (Langara College)
Youry Khmelevsky (߲Ƶ)
Paper Session 1b (Thursday at 10:45 am in B131)
Chair: Charles Hepler
Generative AI in CS Education: Literature Review through a SWOT Lens
Jordan Roberts (University of British Columbia – Okanagan)
Abdallah Mohamed (University of British Columbia – Okanagan)
Faceless Adversary, Feckless Colleague: The Many Sides of ChatGPT
Bill Bird (University of Victoria)
Experience Report: Adopting AI-Usage Policy in Software Engineering Education
Parsa Rajabi (Simon Fraser University)
Paper Session 2a (Thursday at 1:15 pm in B129)
Chair: Youry Khmelevsky
13:15. Opportunities for Adaptive Experiments to Enable Continuous Improvement in Computer Science Education
Ilya Musabirov (University of Toronto)
Angela Zavaleta Bernuy (University of Toronto)
Pan Chen (University of Toronto)
Michael Liut (University of Toronto Mississauga)
Joseph Williams (University of Toronto)
13:41. Maximizing Student Engagement and Space Efficiency: Strategic Approaches in the Alternating-Week Blended Learning Model for Computing Education
Ismail El Sayad (University of the Fraser Valley)
Carl Janzen (University of the Fraser Valley)
14:07 - 14:35. Program Wars v.2.0: Improving a Game-based Learning Approach for Teaching Fundamental Programming Concepts
Md. Hasan Tareque (University of Lethbridge)
Steven Deutekom (University of Lethbridge)
John Anvik (University of Lethbridge)
Maimoona Bashir (University of Lethbridge)
Paper Session 2b: Blizzard Talks and Nifty Assignments (Thursday at 1:15 pm in B131)
Chair: Anthony Estey
13:15. Addressing Educational Disparities: Assessing the Gap for Indigenous Community
Shafaq Khan (University of Windsor)
13:25. Using GitHub Copilot as a Pair Instructional Designer
Ildar Akhmetov (Northeastern University)
13:35. Java Parallel Programming Course for Non-Java Students
Xuguang Chen (Saint Martin's University)
13:45. CougarStats: An R Shiny App for Statistical Data Analysis
Michael Myer (Mount Royal University)
Ashok Krishnamurthy (Mount Royal University)
13:55. A project-based graduate course in software engineering education
Meghan Allen (University of British Columbia – Vancouver)
Elisa Baniassad (University of British Columbia – Vancouver)
Reid Holmes (University of British Columbia – Vancouver)
14:05. Recycling Items Sorting System
Lino Coria (Northeastern University)
Juancho Buchanan (Northeastern University)
14:15. Building Bridges in Computer Networks: A Nifty Assignment for Cross-Language Learning and Code Refactoring
Ildar Akhmetov (Northeastern University)
Logan W. Schmidt (Northeastern University)
14:25-14:35. Can You Spot the AI? Incorporating GenAI into Technical Writing Assignments
Parsa Rajabi (Simon Fraser University)
Chris Kerslake (Simon Fraser University)
Paper Session 3 (Thursday at 3:00 pm in S104)
Chair: Bill Bird
15:00. Student Transitions Through an Entire Computing Program
Angela Zavaleta Bernuy (University of Toronto)
Andrew Chung (University of Toronto)
Alana Hodge (University of Toronto Mississauga)
Ayesha Tayyiba (University of Toronto Mississauga)
Michael Liut (University of Toronto Mississauga)
Andrew Petersen (University of Toronto Mississauga)
15:30. Gender Disparity in Computer Science Programs: A Case Study at the University of British Columbia Okanagan
Abby Kiehlbauch (University of British Columbia – Okanagan)
Irene Vrbik (University of British Columbia – Okanagan)
Abdallah Mohamed (University of British Columbia – Okanagan)
16:00-15:30. Indigenization and Decolonization of CS Education 2010-2023: A Bibliometric Analysis
Sarah Carruthers (Vancouver Island University)
Paper Session 4 (Friday at 10:30 am in S104)
Chair: Mike Zastre
10:30 Test Anxiety and Self-Efficacy in a Computer-Based Test Environment
Kezia Devathasan (University of Victoria)
Michelle Craig (University of Toronto)
Daniela Damian (University of Victoria)
Celina Berg (University of Victoria)
10:52 “A Chatbot Won’t Judge Me”: An Exploratory Study of Self-disclosing Chatbots in Introductory Computer Science Classes
Quinn Goddard (University of Calgary)
Nathan Moton (University of Calgary)
Jonathan Hudson (University of Calgary)
Helen Ai He (University of Calgary)
11:14 Live Session Gamification using PrairieLearn
Louis Lascelles-Palys (University of British Columbia – Okanagan)
Ramon Lawrence (University of British Columbia – Okanagan)
11:36 – 11:58 The Four Rs in a Computer Science Context
Sarah Carruthers (Vancouver Island University)
Paper Session 5 (Friday at 1:15 pm in S104)
Chair: Ildar Akhmetov
13:15 Logic Circuits Unveiled: Bridging the Gap between Discrete Mathematics and Computer Science Education
Charlie Lake (University of British Columbia – Vancouver)
Karina Mochetti (University of British Columbia – Vancouver)
13:37 GitHub Pages as an LMS Alternative
Joel Coffman (United States Air Force Academy)
13:59 An Initial Exploration of Code Diagram Query Effectiveness
Lauren Himbeault (University of Manitoba)
Celine Latulipe (University of Manitoba)
14:21-14:43 Implementing a Fully WIL Computing Science Program in Canada
Amir H. Chinaei (York University)
Larry Yueli Zhang (York University)
The Conference Sponsor Sessions:
Thursday, May 2nd
- 10:15 am – 10:45 am. Sponsor’s Session: / Women in Computing (B129)
Our goal is to support groups that empower women in computing. During SIGCSE 2024, we had a booth to promote the ways ACM-W NA can support student groups and celebrations for women in computing. We received a lot of attention, as many North American educators weren't aware of the support we provide.
During a coffee break, I can give away some information cards about our mission and ways of joining this community. In particular, computing educators in the Western Canada area can benefit from learning about this initiative and funding opportunities for events that celebrate women in computing.
2. 12:35 pm – 1:05 pm. Sponsor’s Session: IBA Group (B129)
The presentation will include the following topics:
- history of creation and development of the IBA Group Company
- company solutions and services, review
- company products
- cyber security - penetration testing
- solutions using AI and ML, generative AI
- demonstration of the results of a capstone project using EasyRPA
3. Sponsor’s Session: Cengage Canada (B129)
A short, 30-minute session on our GitHub partnership:
Title: Building a Professional Portfolio with MindTap x GitHub Codespaces
Presenter: Darcey Pepper, Senior Manager, Product Marketing at Cengage Canada
Description: A first-of-its-kind partnership for GitHub, the widely recognized industry standard IDE, Cengage's MindTap with GitHub Codespaces facilitates learning and practice and ensures that students are well-prepared for the job market. By actively using industry-standard coding tools, computer science students gain valuable coding experience and proficiency, positioning them to transition into their desired careers seamlessly.
Learn how MindTap with GitHub Codespaces allows your Computer Science students to build a portfolio of projects and practical work they can showcase to potential employers. Students can take this portfolio beyond the classroom to demonstrate their coding skills and experience, making them more marketable as professionals.
Air Travel
Kelowna is easily reached by air. Its international airport (YLW) serves numerous cities across Canada and major hubs in the United States.
Airport Connections
A taxi or public transit is the most convenient way to travel from the airport to ߲Ƶ or a nearby hotel. Kelowna International Airport's can help you figure out a route on public transit.
Accommodations
We understand that finding the right accommodation is essential for a comfortable and convenient conference experience. We have partnered with two excellent hotels to provide you with options that suit your preferences.
The Shore - Exclusive Discount Promo:
Enjoy a special discount when booking your stay at The Shore. Simply use the code WESTCON2024 when making your reservation online to take advantage of this limited-time offer. This code is valid for bookings between April 28th and May 5th.
Siesta Suites - Reservation by Phone:
Siesta Suites is just a phone call away if you prefer a more personalized approach to booking your accommodation. Contact (250) 763-5013 to their dedicated reservation team at the provided phone number. Mention that you are attending the conference to secure a room at the best available rate.
You can also explore the , which is available only to BC government employees, MLAs, members of the Judiciary system, contractors, Alberta, Saskatchewan, or State of Washington government employees, and BC public sector entities that are on the .
Things to Do In Kelowna
Looking for more ideas? You can start out by checking out what ߲Ƶ has to offer through the visit ߲Ƶ site. For some ideas on what to do in the Kelowna area, be sure to check out the and websites.
Food and Drink on ߲Ƶ Campus
߲Ƶ offers two cafeteria options: Marmalade Cat Café and Keluli Café. In addition, there is The Market, where you can find grab-and-go meal options and locally sourced products.
There are many places on campus. Search for anything particular that you're looking for!
The 26th WCCCE 2024 conference photos: /sites/default/files/2024-06/2024-05-21wccce2024photos.pdf
Official WCCCE 2024 conference photos from ߲Ƶ:
Date and time
May 2-3, 2024
Location
߲Ƶ
1000 KLO Road, Kelowna, BC
Important dates
- Submissions are due: extended to Monday, March 25th, 2024 (midnight), but because we use the Oxford Abstracts based in the UK, we can't change the submission time (sorry). We used March 26th, 2024, at midnight UK (GMT).
- Author notifications: early April 2024
- Conference: May 2-3, 2024
Venue
The 26th WCCCE 2024 will occur in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, May 2-3, 2024 (Thursday and Friday). The conference sessions will be held on the ߲Ƶ Kelowna campus in Theater (S Building — see the campus map here: /sites/default/files/2023-11/kelowna-campus-and-parking-map.pdf). The 26th WCCCE 2024 will have an in-person format.
About the organizer
The 2024 conference is being hosted by the Department of Computer Science at ߲Ƶ.
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. (), 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.
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.
Submit your contribution
Bringing together educators, industry and students
The 26th Western Canadian Conference on Computing Education at ߲Ƶ 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.
via Oxford Abstracts
Sponsors
To sponsor the 26th Western Canadian Conference on Computing Education at ߲Ƶ, contact Dr. Youry Khmelevsky at ykhmelevsky@okanagan.bc.ca.
Platinum sponsors
Gold sponsors
Silver sponsors
Patron sponsors
TBD
In-Kind sponsorship
Cooperating organizations
WCCCE 2024 is presented in cooperation with the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education ( - approved on Feb. 9th, 2024) and Sponsored by the IEEE Okanagan Subsection and IEEE Vancouver Section (Approved by the IEEE Vancouver Section in January 2024). For more information about the WCCCE conferences, please visit the .
Contact us
For more information contact Computer Sciences Chair Dr. Youry Khmelevsky at ykhmelevsky@okanagan.bc.ca