saw@ecs.soton.ac.ukInformatics Education EuropeMontpellier November 2006 http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

The Shape of Informatics

Su WhiteUniversity of Southampton

Alastair IronsNorthumbria University

http://www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk/education_europe/Session_4/17_Su_White.doc/

saw@ecs.soton.ac.ukInformatics Education EuropeMontpellier November 2006 http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

Southampton & Northumbria

We are looking for a perspective

..in Europe….in the world…

saw@ecs.soton.ac.ukInformatics Education EuropeMontpellier November 2006 http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

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 http://publish.inf.ed.ac.uk/publications/online/0139.pdf

saw@ecs.soton.ac.ukInformatics Education EuropeMontpellier November 2006 http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

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

saw@ecs.soton.ac.ukInformatics Education EuropeMontpellier November 2006 http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

These areas were identified among UK universities

saw@ecs.soton.ac.ukInformatics Education EuropeMontpellier November 2006 http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

Curriculum Framework

1 Representation of information

2 Formalism in information processing

3 Information modelling4 Algorithmics5 System design6 Software development7 Potentials 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

saw@ecs.soton.ac.ukInformatics Education EuropeMontpellier November 2006 http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

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?

saw@ecs.soton.ac.ukInformatics Education EuropeMontpellier November 2006 http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

Academics’ PerspectiveSurvey 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

saw@ecs.soton.ac.ukInformatics Education EuropeMontpellier November 2006 http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

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

saw@ecs.soton.ac.ukInformatics Education EuropeMontpellier November 2006 http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

When we map Informatics

Our picture needs to look beyond the syllabus and

curriculum

saw@ecs.soton.ac.ukInformatics Education EuropeMontpellier November 2006 http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

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

saw@ecs.soton.ac.ukInformatics Education EuropeMontpellier November 2006 http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

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

saw@ecs.soton.ac.ukInformatics Education EuropeMontpellier November 2006 http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

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

saw@ecs.soton.ac.ukInformatics Education EuropeMontpellier November 2006 http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

Thank You

Dr Su White

Electronics and Computer Science

University of Southampton

saw@ecs.soton.ac.uk

saw@ecs.soton.ac.ukInformatics Education EuropeMontpellier November 2006 http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

References

[1] Berners-Lee, T., Hall, W., Hendler, J., Shadbolt, N., Weitzner, D.J., Creating a Science of the Web. Science 11 August 2006 313:5788 (2006) 769 - 771

[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 http://publish.inf.ed.ac.uk/publications/online/0139.pdf

[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) 551-555

[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, pp151-156, at 16th World Computer Congress, Beijing, August (2000) 21-25

[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) 456-457

[10] Tenenberg, J., Wang, Q., Using Course Portfolios to Create a Disciplinary Commons across Institutions. Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges 21:1 (2005) 142-149

[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) 285-296