LETTER TO THE EDITOR

 

After-conference report: SACLA '17

 

 

Estelle Taylor

Computer Science and Information Systems, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa. estelle.taylor@nwu.ac.za

 

 

Dear editor of SACJ and academic colleagues,

The 46th Annual Conference of the Southern African Computer Lecturers' Association (SACLA 2017) was held at Valley Lodge in Magaliesburg from 3-5 July 2017. The goal of SACLA conferences is to provide participants with an opportunity to share ideas, while maintaining a high level of academic input from all involved. The accepted papers reflect current trends in teaching and learning in Computer Science and Information Systems. The theme of SACLA 2017 was 'Keeping education relevant - Infinite possibilities'.

We were fortunate to have an international keynote speaker from the USA, Grandon Gill. The topic of the keynote presentation was 'Blending IT research and teaching to create a more locally relevant curriculum'. In addition, a workshop was held by André Calitz on 'The South African Computing Accreditation Board (SACAB) - Implementation and documentation'.

For SACLA 2017 we received 63 papers for review. The program committee consisted of both local and international experts in the fields of Computer Science and Information Systems Education, with the necessary expertise and interest in subjects relevant to the theme of the conference. The program committee had 53 members, of which 30 were international members. Each paper was reviewed by 3 reviewers in a rigorous double-blind peer review process. The 22 best papers were selected to be published in Springer-Verlag's reputed CCIS series (Vol. 730): Communications in Computer and Information Sciences (editors: Stefan Gruner and Janet Liebenberg). Because of the high quality of submissions, it was decided to accept 18 more papers to be presented at the conference, and those papers were published in the SACLA 2017 proceedings (editor: Janet Liebenberg). This means that 40 papers were presented at SACLA 2017.

Anwar Parker and Jean-Paul Van Belle received the conference's Best Paper Award for their paper, 'iGeneration as Students: Exploring the relative access, use of, and perceptions of IT in higher education'.

Papers published in the CCIS series:

Eduan Kotzé. Augmenting a data warehouse curriculum with emerging big data technologies.

Ariel Rosenfeld, Abejide Ade-Ibijola and Sigrid Ewert. Regex Parser II: teaching regular expression fundamentals via educational gaming.

Daniel Le Roux and Douglas Parry. A new generation of students: Digital media in academic contexts.

Eleftherios Nicolau and Lisa Seymour. Mobile and game usage, gender and attitude towards computing degrees.

Glenda Barlow-Jones and Duan van der Westhuizen. Problem solving as a predictor of programming performance.

Eduan Kotzé. A survey of data scientists in South Africa.

Colin Pilkington. Questioning the value of vodcasts in a distance learning theoretical computer science course.

Glenda Barlow-Jones and Duan van der Westhuizen. Pre-entry attributes thought to influence the performance of students in computer programming.

Linda Marshall. A comparison of the core aspects of the ACM/IEEE computer science curriculum volumes - How do the topics compare?

Anwar Parker and Jean-Paul Van Belle. iGeneration as students: Exploring the relative access, use of, and perceptions of IT in higher education.

Apostolos Paul Giannakopoulos. Programming: A wicked subject?

Alta Van der Merwe, Aurona Gerber and Hanlie Smuts. Mapping a design science research cycle to the postgraduate research report.

Anine Kruger, Machdel Matthee and Marita Turpin. Information systems as creative products: What are industry's expectations?

Estelle Taylor and Kobus van Aswegen. Students' approaches to learning: Is it changing?

Nitesh Harry and Sumarie Roodt. The effect of using YouTube in the classroom for student engagement of the net generation on an information systems course.

Roelien Goede. A critical systems perspective on project-based learning: Guidelines for using industry data for BI student projects.

Leila Goosen and Ronell van der Merwe. Keeping ICTs in education community engagement relevant: Infinite possibilities?

Hussein Suleman, Stephan Jamieson and Maria Keet. Testing test-driven development.

H.W. Pretorius and M.J. Hattingh. Reflections of summer school learners on the factors influencing their poor performance in systems analysis and design course.

André Calitz, Jean Greyling and Margaret Cullen. Industry vs post-graduate studies: CS and IS alumni perceptions.

Wai Sze Leung. Cheap latex, high-end thrills: A fantasy exercise in search and seizure. Romeo Botes and Imelda Smit. The infinity approach: A case study.

Papers published in the SACLA proceedings:

Maureen van Den Bergh and Erica Pretorius. Cybercitizenship awareness module designed for first year university students.

Abejide Ade-Ibijola. Automata-aided estimation of similarity in novice programs.

Bennett Kankuzi, Bassey Isong and Lucia Letlonkane. Using the spreadsheet paradigm to introduce fundamental concepts of programming to novices.

Carin Venter. Critical reflection on a data warehouse/business intelligence course: Does it prepare students to be successful practitioners?

Vreda Pieterse, Hein S Venter and Stefan Gruner. Students' over-estimation of their academic ability: A case study in undergraduate computer science.

Katherine Malan and Vreda Pieterse. Authorised cheat-sheets as an educational tool in computer science examinations.

Lynette Drevin, Albie Le Grange and Martin Park. The concept of mobile applications as educational tool to enhance information security awareness.

Hamzh Alaiat and Isabella Venter. Graduate attributes for computer science in Libya.

Sibusisiwe Dube. The new generation of students' ICT needs and learning expectations: Case of a developing country.

Arthur James Swart. Undergraduate students who regularly complete online self-reflective assessments reap academic success.

Johan Vorster and Leila Goosen. Towards a framework for university partnerships promoting continued support of e-schools.

Roelien Goede. Using Minesweeper to teach data structures and algorithms: A problem-based learning perspective.

Petri Jooste. A general purpose computer lab with Linux and virtual machines.

Ruber Hernandez Garcia, Yeleny Zulueta Veliz and Tulimevava Kauna Mufeti. Contributing to the teaching-learning process through the use of competitive programming. Experience of School of Computing at University of Namibia.

Duane Boucher and Roxanne Piderit. Application of an action research process: Reflections on an undergraduate information systems software development project.

André Calitz, Jean Greyling and Arthur Glaum. Evaluating alumni satisfaction of a CS/IS department.

Liezel Cilliers and Roxanne Piderit. Perceptions of postgraduate students on the writing of reflective journals as a means for personal, professional and research development.

Appointments

During the Annual General Meeting at SACLA 2017 the constitution of SACLA was changed to add the position of a SACLA Chair / President to the executive committee of SACLA. André Calitz (NMU) was elected to fill this new position. Linda Marshall (UP) was elected as the new Secretary. Susan Campher (NWU) was elected as the new Treasurer, and Stefan Gruner was elected as SACLA Publications Chair.

In my role as Conference Chair of the committee for SACLA 2017, I want to thank all my colleagues who made scientific contributions towards SACLA 2017. On behalf of the SACLA community, I also wish to express my deepest appreciation to our sponsors: AdaptIT, IITPSA, IBM and SAP

The SACLA 2018 conference will be hosted by UCT in the Cape Town region.

Estelle Taylor

SACLA 2017 Conference Chair

Computer Science and Information Systems, Potchefstroom Campus, North-West University