WCCCE 2024

Conference Chair: Youry Khmelevsky, Okanagan College, 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, Okanagan College
• Thais Santos Damasceno, Computer Science, OC IEEE Student Branch Chair, OC

WCCCE 2024 Program Committee

• Bill Bird, University of Victoria (Co-Chair)
• Youry Khmelevsky, Okanagan College (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 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    Okanagan College
• 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    Okanagan College
   

The Western Canadian Conference on Computing Education (WCCCE) 2024 May 2 & 3, 2024, Okanagan College, 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 https://www.acm.org/publications/proceedings-template. When preparing your submission, use the ACM reference formats for various citation types as described at https://www.acm.org/publications/authors/reference-formatting.

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 lightning talk. 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 http://nifty.stanford.edu/info.html.

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.

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 https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-26th-western-canadian-conference-on-computing-education-wccce-tickets-804199170367?aff=oddtdtcreator site to complete your registration. Note that you must create an account (if you don't already have an https://www.eventbrite.ca 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 2^nd

Friday, May 3^rd

Paper Session 1a (Thursday at 10:45 am in B129)

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 (Okanagan College)
Albert Wong (Langara College)
Youry Khmelevsky (Okanagan College)

Paper Session 1b (Thursday at 10:45 am in B131)

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 B131)

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)

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)

[Game Name] 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)

Blizzard Talks and Nifty Assignments (Thursday at 1:15 pm in B131)

Addressing Educational Disparities: Assessing the Gap for Indigenous Community
Shafaq Khan (University of Windsor)

Using GitHub Copilot as a Pair Instructional Designer
Ildar Akhmetov (Northeastern University)

Java Parallel Programming Course for Non-Java Students
Xuguang Chen (Saint Martin's University)

CougarStats: An R Shiny App for Statistical Data Analysis
Michael Myer (Mount Royal University)
Ashok Krishnamurthy (Mount Royal University)

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)

Recycling Items Sorting System
Lino Coria (Northeastern University)
Juancho Buchanan (Northeastern University)

Building Bridges in Computer Networks: A Nifty Assignment for Cross-Language Learning and Code Refactoring
Ildar Akhmetov (Northeastern University)
Logan W. Schmidt (Northeastern University)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

“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)

Live Session Gamification using PrairieLearn
Louis Lascelles-Palys (University of British Columbia – Okanagan)
Ramon Lawrence (University of British Columbia – Okanagan)

The Four Rs in a Computer Science Context
Sarah Carruthers (Vancouver Island University)

Paper Session 5 (Friday at 1:15 pm in S104)

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)

GitHub Pages as an LMS Alternative
Joel Coffman (United States Air Force Academy)

An Initial Exploration of Code Diagram Query Effectiveness
Lauren Himbeault (University of Manitoba)
Celine Latulipe (University of Manitoba)

Implementing a Fully WIL Computing Science Program in Canada
Amir H. Chinaei (York University)
Larry Yueli Zhang (York University)