Paper Submission Information

ACM Policy : Prior Publication and Simultaneous Submissions

Under no circumstances shall a paper (or substantially the same paper) be simultaneously submitted to two or more publications, or to a second publication while still under review elsewhere, without a letter of notification to the Editor-in-Chief (EiC) or Program Chair (PC) of each affected publication. Failure to adhere to this policy is cause for rejection of the manuscript. Repeated violations may lead to a ban on future submissions at the discretion of the EiC or PC.”

The ACM website has the full policy.

SIGCSE Technical Symposium Paper Types

Papers describe an educational research project, classroom experience, teaching technique, curricular initiative, or pedagogical tool. All papers should explicitly state their motivating questions, relate to relevant literature, and contain an analysis of the effectiveness of the interventions. An abstract submission is required for all papers and it is due a week before the full paper is due.

Paper submissions are expected to be original and polished work. While there will be the opportunity for authors of accepted papers to revise work considering the feedback from reviewers, those revisions should be minor since there is no “review-revise-review” cycle for the SIGCSE Technical Symposium. Additionally, we expect submissions will include a review of previous, related work.

Dual-Anonymous Review Process

Initial submissions to the Papers track are reviewed with the dual-anonymous review process, in which authors must anonymize their submissions — thus reviewers (and APCs for papers) are unaware of the author — and reviewers and APCs are anonymous to each other and to the authors. During the discussion of a submission in EasyChair, reviewers can refer to each other by their reviewer number on that submission’s review.

Paper Tracks

Please ensure that you submit your paper to the correct paper track. Papers will be reviewed for the track they are submitted to and will not be moved between tracks.

• Computing Education Research. Papers should adhere to rigorous standards, describing research questions, hypotheses, methods, results, and limitations, as is typical and expected of research studies. These papers normally focus on topics relevant to computing education with emphasis on educational goals and knowledge units/topics; teaching and learning methods or techniques; evaluation of pedagogical approaches; studies of the many different populations that are engaged in computing education, including (but not limited to) students, instructors; and issues of gender, diversity, equity, and underrepresentation. We welcome replication papers and papers that present null or negative results that meet the criteria below.

• Experience Reports and Tools. Papers should carefully describe the development and use of a computing education approach or tool, the context of use, and provide a rich reflection on what did or didn’t work, and why. This track accepts experience reports, teaching techniques, and pedagogical tools. All papers in this track should provide enough detail to enable the approach or tool to be adopted by others.

• Position and Curricula Initiatives. Position papers should engender fruitful academic discussion through a defensible opinion about a computing education topic, substantiated with evidence. Curricula Initiative papers discuss new and revised curricula, programs, degrees and include position papers. Papers about curricula, programs, and degrees should describe the motivating context before the new initiative was undertaken, what it took to put the initiative into place, the impact, and suggestions for others wishing to adopt it.

Selecting a Track

Please select the most appropriate track for your work. The Program Chairs will not move papers between tracks. Any submissions made to more than one track will be desk rejected from both tracks.

Authors may find “What is a SIGCSE Symposium Paper?” useful as they consider which track to submit to.

• Computing Education Research papers report on work that addresses one or more research questions and where studies are pre-planned.
• Experience Reports and Tools papers are a deeply reflective case study or experience that is of interest to the community; they typically don’t have research questions, but instead, provide a reflection on the goal of the experience.
• Papers that are describing a tool and its use should be submitted to the Experience Reports and Tools track. A research study on a tool should be submitted to the Computing Education Research track.

Paper Resources

There are many resources for writing high quality papers for submission to the SIGCSE Technical Symposium. We encourage authors to read and evaluate papers from prior SIGCSE Technical Symposium, especially those designated as best papers, which were selected both due to content and high quality reporting (for example the SIGCSE TS 2020 best papers). Authors will also likely find the paper review guidelines beneficial for identifying how reviewers will assess papers for each track. Below, we list additional resources that you may find useful as you write your papers, especially computing education research papers.

• Writing a research question (csedresearch.org)
• Reporting Tips (csedresearch.org)
• Checklist for Research Articles (csedresearch.org)
• Evaluation Instruments (csedresearch.org)
• What’s the difference between a research paper and an experience report? (Amy Ko)

Paper Topics

Computing Topics

• Accessibility
• Algorithms
• Architecture/Hardware
• Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning
• Compilers/Programming Languages
• Computers and Society
• Cyber Security
• Data Science
• Data Structures
• Database/Data Mining
• Discrete Mathematics
• Distributed/Parallel Computing/HPC
• Ethics
• Games
• Graphics/Visualization
• History of Computing
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Information Systems
• Information Technology
• Mobile Apps
• Multimedia
• Networking
• Object-oriented Issues
• Open Hardware
• Open Source Software
• Operating Systems
• Privacy/Security
• Real-Time/Embedded Systems
• Robotics
• Software Engineering
• Theory
• Web-Based Technology

Education and Experience Topics

• Active Learning
• API and Library
• Assessment
• Classroom Management
• Communication Skills
• Computational Thinking
• Course Management Systems
• Gender and Diversity
• Graduate Instruction
• Instructional Technologies
• K-12 Instruction
• Laboratory Experience
• Learning Environment
• Managing Enrollment Growth
• Outreach
• Problem Solving
• Teamwork and Collaboration
• Tools and Tool Use
• Undergraduate Instruction

Methods Topics

• Case Study
• Descriptive
• Experience Report
• Experimental
• Mixed Methods
• Qualitative
• Quantitative
• Quasi-Experimental
• Survey

Curriculum Topics

• ABET and Accreditation
• ACM and IEEE-CS Curricula
• AP Computer Science A Course/Exam
• AP Computer Science Principles Course/Exam
• AP/IB Courses & Curriculum
• Capstone Courses
• CS1/CS2
• Curriculum Addressing Gender and Diversity
• Curriculum Issues
• Distance/Online Education
• Faculty Development
• Graduate Studies
• HS Teacher Development
• Internships and Co-ops
• K-12 Curriculum
• New Degree Initiatives
• New Interdisciplinary Programs (CS + X)
• Non-majors
• Non-traditional Students
• Professional Practice
• Undergraduate Research
• Undergraduate Studies

Details about your abstract

Your abstract can be up to 250 words and must be submitted by the paper abstract deadline of Friday, August 21, 2020. There are no formatting requirements for the abstract. When you log in to EasyChair to submit the abstract, you may paste the abstract text into the form field. The abstract submission is required to have an opportunity to submit your paper; the full paper is due by Friday, August 28, 2020.

The abstract helps reviewers bid for papers that they are qualified and interested in reviewing. To help the bidding and reviewing process, please submit an abstract that is as close to the finished version as possible. The Program Chairs reserve the right to desk reject abstracts that do not contain content that can help a reviewer during bidding.

How Should The Paper Be Formatted?

Authors must submit ONLY an anonymized version of the paper. The goal of the anonymized version is to, as much as possible, provide the author(s) of the paper with an unbiased review. The anonymized version should have ALL mentions of the authors removed (including author’s names and affiliation plus identifying information within the body of the paper such as websites or related publications). Self-citations need not be removed if they are worded so that the reviewer doesn’t know if the writer is citing themselves. That is, instead of writing “We reported on our first experiment in 2017 in a previous paper [1]”, the writer might write “In 2017, an initial experiment was done in this area as reported in [1].

If the paper is accepted for the conference and for publication, authors will be asked to complete a camera-ready copy that will include all appropriate author names, citations, and references.

The paper is limited to a maximum of 6 pages + 1 page for references. The seventh page must only contain references, no other content is accepted. The Program Co-Chairs will desk reject any submissions that deviate from this or other formatting requirements. Submissions must adhere to ACM’s publication guidelines:

Be sure to use US letter size pages that measure 8.5” by 11”, that’s 215.9mm by 279.4mm.

SIGCSE 2021 is not participating in the new ACM workflow, template, and production system. Word Authors, please use the Interim Template. LaTeX Authors, please use the official ACM Master with the ACM_SigConf template.

If your paper is accepted you will have a chance to modify your publication version before it is published.

How Do I Submit My Paper?

SIGCSE TS 2021 is not participating in the new ACM workflow, template, and production system. MS Word Authors, please use the Interim Template. LaTeX Authors, please use the official ACM Master with the ACM_SigConf template.

Submissions use the English language. If you desire editing services, consider the following from the ACM.

ACM has partnered with International Science Editing (ISE) to provide language editing services to ACM authors. ISE offers a comprehensive range of services for authors including standard and premium English language editing, as well as illustration and translation services. Editing services are at author expense and do not guarantee publication of a manuscript.

• Write your paper using the format specified above. Within the anonymized paper, you must provide Category and Subject Descriptors, General Terms, and Keywords based on the ACM classification system. These requirements are described in more detail in the ACM Computing Classification System.

• Recall that you will also need to copy-and-paste or type your text abstract description into a text box in the submission form. Be sure that the same text appears in the submission and in the abstract text box in the submission form.

• Be sure to choose the appropriate topic areas when submitting. Your choices help in assigning appropriate reviewers to your submission, and assist the reviewers in evaluating the paper from an appropriate perspective.

The opening of submissions will be announced through the SIGCSE mailing list, social media, and the front page of this website.

Follow the SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Twitter and SIGCSE on Facebook.

By SIGCSE policy, at least one contributor is required to register, attend, and present a paper. Our full policy (to be posted) has more information.

Questions

If you have questions about anything discussed above, please contact:

Program Co-Chairs

Email: program@sigcse2021.org

• Pam Cutter
  Kalamazoo College
• Alvaro Monge
  California State University, Long Beach
• Judithe Sheard
  Monash University

Presenting at SIGCSE TS 2021

Important Dates

• January 22 - Submit video presentation through submission form emailed to corresponding authors

How will I be presenting my work? (Paper Tracks)

Technical session presentations for all paper tracks (Computing Education Research, Experience Reports and Tools, and Position and Curricula Initiatives) will be split into two parts – a prerecorded video presentation of no more than 20 minutes in length and a 20-minute live discussion and Q&A session during your assigned slot the week of the Technical Symposium.

Presenters are asked to prerecord a 20 minute presentation of their work that will be made available to attendees roughly two weeks before the Technical Symposium begins on Pathable. Attendees will have the opportunity to access all available content during the weeks leading up to the Symposium and will have access for a year following the end of the Symposium.

Five papers will be assigned to each technical session during the Symposium. Each presenter in a technical session will be given 20 minutes for their work – 5 minutes for a short recap with two or three slides and then 15 minutes of Q&A. Pathable embeds Zoom in the web application for video presentations, so the experience will be familiar to most presenters. A session chair will moderate the session and technical support will be available all week to assist as needed. You will also have the opportunity to upload a copy of your presentation slides, which will be made available with your session in Pathable. All technical sessions will be recorded and made available on-demand through Pathable for a year following the end of the Symposium.

More information regarding the live technical sessions, including which session each paper is assigned to, will be available in January.

How do I submit my video presentation?

A link to the submission form will be sent to the corresponding authors identified in EasyChair. If you did not receive the email by January 8th or if you have any questions, please email videosubmission@sigcse2021.org.

What rights do I keep to my video?

We are not asking for any rights release on your videos. They remain your work to do with as you please. We only ask, as a courtesy, that you do not post them publicly until one week after the end of the Technical Symposium (March 27, 2021).

Why do you need the presentation so soon (January 22)?

Our goal is to make the prerecorded content of the Technical Symposium available a few weeks before the Symposium starts so that attendees can view materials when convenient to them and so they can better build their schedule for the week of the Symposium. In order to meet that goal, we need to preprocess all the videos as soon as possible to ensure they are ready for the Symposium for reasons including, but not limited to:

• Closed-captioning for all videos (authors do not need to do this on their own - our production company is providing this service)
• Checking format to ensure videos can play properly in Pathable
• Validating the length of videos matches the requirements

Update: We have moved the due date from January 15 to January 22 for all presenters to provide more time for those who wish submit to ITiCSE (https://iticse.acm.org/for-authors/) or who have more than one video submission they need to make. However, we would very much appreciate videos to be sent in as soon as possible so that we can ensure we have enough time to process all the submissions.

Presentation Guidelines

Video presentations must follow these technical guidelines:

• MP4 format encoding
• 1920x1080 (i.e. HD resolution) - If this is not possible for you, please at least record in a 16:9 ratio size
• 30 frames per second (approximately) is preferred to keep file size more reasonable

Please follow the SIGACCESS Guidelines to create a presentation that all attendees can enjoy and learn from. Below, we summarize these guidelines and add a few more:

• Choose a high contrast color scheme that supports color blind readers
• Use more than color coding to communicate information
• Keep text brief
• Keep graphics simple and verbally describe images, animations, videos
• Avoid using a pointer
• Caption videos (NOTE: we will provide a closed-captioning service for you, but there may be points that you want to highlight)
• Speak clearly, use a microphone, face the audience, and use common, understandable terms
• Post your slides early and provide a link them them on the slides (NOTE: we will provide space in Pathable for your slides, but feel free to post them on your own webspace as well)
• Share your contact information

Best Practices for Recording / Remote Presentations

Here are some best practices to consider as you record your video and prepare for your live session:

• Find a quiet room with as little background noise as possible.
• Make sure you are professionally dressed.
• Sit in the center of the camera shot to ensure proper camera framing.
• Make sure your face is well lit by sitting in a room with plenty of light. If you can’t find a well-lit room, place a small lamp in front of you but out of the camera view.
• Do not sit in front of a window. This will cause the camera to adjust for the light, making your face look very dark. Similarly, avoid other light sources behind you.
• Adjust the camera to be level with your eyes. This will produce the best camera angle. If using a laptop, you may need to put your laptop on an elevated surface in order to get the camera level with your eyes.
• Always be aware of what is in the camera shot. Make sure there is nothing sitting in the background that you wouldn’t want viewers to see.
• Use headphones or earbuds to listen to the audio. This helps with the sound quality and ensures you will always be able to hear clearly.
• Keep your microphone muted during the call unless you are speaking.
• When speaking and not wearing a headset or earbuds, keep your speaker volume at the lowest setting while still being able to hear. This helps get rid of echoes coming back through your microphone.
• Use a cabled internet connection when possible. Most connection issues are due to a bad wireless connection.
• Do a test call beforehand to make sure your microphone, speakers and webcam are all working properly.

How do I record my presentation?

An excellent writeup on recording presentations authored by David Ayman Shamma from the SIGCHI community can be found here: https://medium.com/sigchi/a-remote-video-presentation-guide-93957c63aa7a

Using Zoom:

The simplest option is to use Zoom, as it will automatically create the proper file format for you and most of the SIGCSE community is already familiar with the tool.

• Start a meeting with just you as the only participant
• Open your slides and start screen sharing as you normally would in a standard Zoom meeting
• Click “Record” on the main Zoom toolbar at the bottom of the window and select “Record on this Computer”
• Give your presentation, following the best practices for video recordings
• When you are done, stop recording, then stop sharing and end the meeting
• Zoom will automatically convert the video to an .mp4 file format
• Rename the file as instructed and submit via the form emailed to authors from EasyChair

Using OBS:

If you would like to have more control over the presentation, including things such as:

• Smoother transitions between your camera full screen and slides
• Multiple audio/video sources
• Graphic borders around your camera
• Sharing multiple windows at the same time

you may want to try the open source Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) at http://obsproject.com, available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. OBS does require more configuration and setting up than Zoom, but offers a lot of flexibility and options for free. Note that OBS records .mkv files by default. To convert to .mp4, use the “Remux Recordings” option in the File menu.

Using Powerpoint/Keynote:

If you would prefer to not be on camera at all, it is possible to use the “Record Slide Show” option in Powerpoint or Keynote to record a screencast of just your slides.

Converting to .mp4:

If the tool you use does not natively create a .mp4 file for you, you can transcode it for free using Handbrake, found at https://handbrake.fr/. Choose “Fast 1080p30 preset” to generate the proper file format and size.

Closed-Captioning:

Please note that the Technical Symposium is providing a closed-captioning service for all prerecorded videos and live sessions at no cost to you. We are doing this to ensure a standard experience across all aspects of the Symposium.