Matthew C. Jadud

Towards concrete concurrency: occam-pi on the LEGO mindstorms

In a world of ad-hoc networks, highly interconnected mobile devices and increasingly large supercomputer clusters, students need models of computation that help them think about dynamic and concurrent systems. Many of the tools currently available for introducing students to concurrency are difficult to use and are not intrinsically motivating. To provide an authentic, hands-on, and enjoyable introduction to concurrency, we have ported occam π, a language whose expressive powers are especially compelling for describing communicating dynamic reactive processes, to the LEGO Mindstorms.

IRB reviews required

It is my hope that SIGCSE will someday require that all published research declares itself to be in compliance with institutional IRBs, but until then it is up to us individually to be engaged, informed, and ethical professionals when we engage in the study of our fellow human beings. As ethical members of the ACM, when we study our students or colleagues (via survey, their submitted code, or any other means), we should engage with our Institutional Review Board (IRB) and proceed as ethical professionals engaged in the research of human subjects. The subject of the institutional review of research involving human subjects was explored by Garfinkel and Cranor in the Communications of the ACM in 2010 [1]. The most recent SIGCHI proceedings, Brown et al. provokes us to think about the legal and practical ethical distinctions we must consider as researchers [2]. I encourage all SIGCSE researchers and reviewers to read these articles. Each year the SIGCSE Chair writes an annual report to submit to ACM. The following is a sneak preview of parts of this 1. Awards that were given out: The SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education was presented to Jan Cuny, Program Officer of CISE BPC at the National Science Foundation. Her vision and principled leadership that has transformed computer science education and moved the United States closer to making computing education accessible to everyone. Barbara was selected for her extraordinary record of service to the computing education community in working relentlessly to grow the effectiveness of SIGCSE as a global leader in computer education. ICER 2015 had two best paper awards.