Informatics Education Europe Montpellier November 2006 The Shape of Informatics Su White University of Southampton Alastair Irons Northumbria University /Session_4/17_Su_White.doc/ /Session_4/17_Su_White.doc/

Informatics Education Europe Montpellier November 2006 Southampton & Northumbria We are looking for a perspective..in Europe ….in the world…

Informatics Education Europe Montpellier November 2006 Informatics: The science of information “ Informatics is the science of information. It studies the representation, processing, and communication of information in natural and artificial systems. Since computers, individuals and organizations all process information, informatics has computational, cognitive and social aspects. Used as a compound, in conjunction with the name of a discipline, as in medical informatics, bio-informatics, etc., it denotes the specialization of informatics to the management and processing of data, information and knowledge in the named discipline ”. International Encyclopaedia of Information and Library Science. Routledge (2002) extended version at

Informatics Education Europe Montpellier November 2006 Motivations and perspectives Falling numbers Changing assumptions –what do we understand about our discipline) BCS/ACM –Accreditation and expectation Bologna –Making us think about change International Curricula Global Mobility Strategic…. and vulnerable

Informatics Education Europe Montpellier November 2006 These areas were identified among UK universities

Informatics Education Europe Montpellier November 2006 Curriculum Framework 1 Representation of information 2 Formalism in information processing 3 Information modelling 4 Algorithmics 5 System design 6Software development 7Potentials and limitations of computing and related technologies 8 Computer systems and architectures 9 Computer-based communication 10 Social and ethical implications 11 Personal and interpersonal skills 12 Broader perspectives and context (includes links with other disciplines) IFIP/UNESCO's Informatics Curriculum Framework 2000 for Higher Education. UNESCO

Informatics Education Europe Montpellier November 2006 Current Educational Practice two year foundation degrees –a relatively new and small offering; three year undergraduate degrees (BA, BSc, BEng) –the most frequently occurring; four year undergraduate masters degrees (MEng) –Bologna Headache one year post-graduate masters degrees (MSc) –Top up or conversion How does this compare with the experience in the rest of Europe?

Informatics Education Europe Montpellier November 2006 Academics’ Perspective Survey at HEA-ICS 2006 Curriculum over burdened with CS theory Curriculum breadth CS, IT, Multimedia, Library and Information Science, Information Sciences, Electronic Publishing and Knowledge Management. balance between education and training? What is the role of programming Policy declining student numbers proportion of male and female students gender distribution of academic staff. enhancing the discipline’s public reputation school experience of ICT misleads students’ understanding of –what our students study –the skills knowledge and understanding they gain

Informatics Education Europe Montpellier November 2006 Academics’ Perspectives Learning and Teaching Academic integrity and student plagiarism How do students go about learning, and how do we engage students more? Thinking beyond assessments Project work and integrated assessment The relationship between student learning and feedback What techniques are most appropriate for which topics? How can we exploit and understand new and emerging technologies Rethinking physical learning environment Understanding the relationship between the physical environment and motivation of students

Informatics Education Europe Montpellier November 2006 When we map Informatics Our picture needs to look beyond the syllabus and curriculum

Informatics Education Europe Montpellier November 2006 Perspectives for future discussion Policy –Governmental, –stakeholders eg: HPCS, BCS, –departmental Curriculum –Levels (content, core, future proofing), –Content (and process) Learning and teaching, –Educational practice

Informatics Education Europe Montpellier November 2006 Conclusions We should begin designing Informatics for the Future Take into accoung Research –Science of the Web –increasing pan-European collaborations Observations… Will be accelerated by administrative changes: Bologna Gains to be made from collaborative working and learning equip our students to be the researchers and informed decision makers of the future

Informatics Education Europe Montpellier November 2006 Future work Pan European collaboration? Future sources of funding? Possible issues A contour map of European Informatics Relationship between teaching and research Web Science and Tomorrow’s Curriculum

Informatics Education Europe Montpellier November 2006 Thank You Dr Su White Electronics and Computer Science University of Southampton

Informatics Education Europe Montpellier November 2006 References [1]Berners-Lee, T., Hall, W., Hendler, J., Shadbolt, N., Weitzner, D.J., Creating a Science of the Web. Science 11 August :5788 (2006) [2]Fincher, S., Lister, R., Pears, A., Sheard, J., Tenenberg, J., Young, A., Multi-Institutional Teaching Communities in Computer Education. [3]Fourman, M., Informatics. In: Feather, J., Sturges, P. (eds.): International Encyclopaedia of Information and Library Science. Routledge (2002) extended version at [4]HEFCE, The Roberts Report on Strategically Important and Vulnerable Subjects: HEFCE 24/05. Higher Education Funding Council for England, Bristol (2005) [5]Kay, D.G., van der Hoek, A., Richardson, D.J., Informatics: A Focus on Computer Science in Context. Proceedings of the 36th SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education (2005) [6]Montgomery, T., Informatics Knowledge Mapping and Curriculum Design: A Clear Role for IFIP and UNESCO. Teleteaching’98: Distance Learning, Training & Education Proceedings of the XV IFIP World Computer Congress (1998) 747–758 [7]Mulder, F., van Weert, T., IFIP/UNESCO's Informatics Curriculum Framework 2000 for Higher Education. UNESCO, Paris (2000) [8]Mulder, F., van Weert, T., Informatics Curriculum Framework 2000 for Higher Education. Proceedings of Conference on Educational Uses of information and Communication Technologies, pp , at 16th World Computer Congress, Beijing, August (2000) [9]Shackelford, R., McGettrick, A., Sloan, R., Topi, H., Davies, G., Kamali, R., Cross, J., Impagliazzo, J., LeBlanc, R., Lunt, B., Computing Curricula 2005: The Overview Report. ACM SIGCSE Bulletin 38:1 (2006) [10]Tenenberg, J., Wang, Q., Using Course Portfolios to Create a Disciplinary Commons across Institutions. Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges 21:1 (2005) [11]van Weert, T.J., Mulder, F., Modern Curriculum Development for Informatics (Computing Science). Proceedings of the IFIP TC3/WG3. 1&3. 2 Open Conference on Informatics and The Digital Society: Social, Ethical and Cognitive Issues on Informatics and ICT (2002)