PAPERS PRESENTED AT THE FIFTH AUSTRALASIAN COMPUTING EDUCATION CONFERENCE (ACE2003), 4-7 FEBRUARY 2003, ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA Note: the following abstracts are taken from the early versions of the papers, which were submitted for refereeing. The authors of the accepted papers were given an opportunity to revise their papers. Consequently, the following abstracts are an indication of the content of the paper, not the actual abstract of the final apper. :::::::::::::: details103.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 103 Title: Adaptive Learning Environments for CS Education - From AMLE to Live Spaces Contact: jill.slay@unisa.edu.au Jill Slay, University of South Australia Gerald Quirchmayr, University of Vienna, Austria Frank Kurzel, University of South Australia The move to online learning environment for the global delivery of Australian CS programs has heightened the need for adaptive interactive learning environments. Research has indicated that adaptive and interactive online CS learning environments play a useful role in the provision of lifelong learning but these needs are not being fully met by current tools or COTS systems. This paper builds on a previous implementation of an adaptive multimedia learning environment, (AMLE), a networked multimedia learning environment which attempts to provide the functionality of a traditional intelligent tutoring system and looks at the support of CS learning by the provision of new highly-integrated and context aware tools. :::::::::::::: details105.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 105 Title: Programming students NEED instant feedback! Contact: liz.haywood@vu.edu.au Anne Venables Victoria University of Technology Liz Haywood Victoria University of Technology This paper describes the work that has been undertaken to improve the quantity and quality of feedback given to students studying introductory Java programming. An on-line submission program (submit) was developed that specifically addresses the needs of beginning programming students by providing automatic and instant feedback to a student's programming efforts. Traditionally, this feedback was provided by staff in scheduled laboratory sessions, yet the amount of individual attention a particular student received was haphazard. In addition, the introduction of the submit program has reduced the marking and administrative load associated with providing timely feedback to students for participating staff. submit is more than just an on-line letter box for students to post their programs. submit also provides instant feedback which encourages students to improve their programs to meet all given requirements as well as to improve programming style. In order to assess the effectiveness of the submit program over four trials, student responses to questionnaires were collated and support some tentative conclusions as to the effectiveness of submit as a learning aid to students. Staff opinion from those involved in the day-to-day teaching of Java programming was also solicited. These responses have been very positive, especially from the staff that supervise laboratory work. :::::::::::::: details107.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 107 Title: Language Tug-Of-War: Industry Demand and Academic Choice Contact: deraadt@usq.edu.au Michael de Raadt, University of Southern Queensland Richard Watson, University of Southern Queensland Mark Toleman, University of Southern Queensland This paper seeks to inform instructors responsible for designing introductory programming courses within a university setting. In particular, guidelines for choosing programming language to be taught are presented. We ask the question: are instructors wanting to teach industry demanded languages and if so, are they choosing the correct languages? The guidelines produced to answer this question are based on a census of introductory programming teaching in Australian universities, coupled with a survey of employer demand based on newspaper job advertisements. :::::::::::::: details110.txt :::::::::::::: Paper number: 110 Title: Teaching Secure Communication Protocols Using a Game Representation Contact: len@ics.mq.edu.au Leonard G. C. Hamey, Macquarie University The Security Protocol Game is a highly visual and interactive game for teaching secure data communication protocols. Students use the game to simulate protocols and explore possible attacks against them. The power of the game lies in the representation of secret and public key cryptography. Specifically, the game provides representations for plain text and encrypted messages, message digests, digital signatures and cryptographic keys. Using these representations, students can construct public key certificates and perform multiple encryption, tunnelling and encrypted key transmission. They can simulate a wide range of protocols including authentication, key exchange and blind signature protocols. Application protocols such as Transport Layer Security and Pretty Good Privacy can be simulated in detail. The game clearly reveals the key issues of confidentiality, integrity, authentication and non-repudiation in secure data communications. Used as a small group learning activity, students gain a deep understanding of protocol design and operation issues. The game is suitable for use in tertiary and professional education courses for managers and information technology students at all levels. :::::::::::::: details111.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 111 Title: Starting from Scratch - Creating a New Computer Science Department Contact: khawick@bangor.ac.uk Prof K.A. Hawick, University of Wales, Bangor Dr H.A. James, University of Wales, Bangor We describe our experiences in setting up a new Computer Science department in an established University within the UK. We drew upon our experiences in teaching Computing in Australia, the USA and the UK. We discuss cultural differences and constraints upon us in designing and teaching a BSc in Computer Science. We also relate teaching and culture bootstrap effects from having to start a whole new department from origins in an Engineering and Mathematics School. We relate our design decisions and experiences in setting up teaching and learning methods and appropriate assessment practices for the rapidly broadening discipline of Computer Science. We also describe our PhD programme and our early experiences of a taught MSc programme. :::::::::::::: details112.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 112 Title: Experiences in Teaching Computing Theory via Aspects of Problem-based Learning Contact: jah@cs.rmit.edu.au Margaret Hamilton, RMIT James Harland, RMIT Lin Padgham, RMIT Computing Theory is a compulsory subject that many computer science students find difficult, and for which there is a wide range of abilities and backgrounds amongst students. In this paper we describe the evolution of this subject at our university over the past decade, which has resulted in a much more student-centred approach to learning. This has not only enhanced the learning experience of the students but also has simplified the development of teaching modes and resources involving on-line replacements for lectures. :::::::::::::: details113.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 113 Title: Successful Studio-based Real-World Projects in IT Education Contact: matts@itee.uq.edu.au Matthew Simpson, University of Queensland Jay Burmeister, University of Queensland Alan Boykiw, University of Queensland Jihan Zhu, University of Queensland An important aspect of University teaching is to promote deeper learning by ensuring students have good exposure to problems they will encounter in their working life. While it is not possible to reproduce every situation that will occur in an area of employment, it is possible to provide students with experience from which they can utilise principles and approaches in order to gain the necessary skills to address whatever scenario may arise. This paper looks at the nature of studio-based teaching and the pedagogy that supports it, through examining two case studies as a catalyst for exploring real-world projects. It is through the discussion of aspects such as real-world clients, user involvement, sequencing and integration that the success of studio-based teaching in IT can be revealed. :::::::::::::: details114.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 114 Title: An IT degree combining the strengths of University and TAFE Contact: simon@newcastle.edu.au Simon, The University of Newcastle As a partnership of University and TAFE, the Ourimbah Campus of the University of Newcastle is ideally placed to take advantage of the best that each sector has to offer. The new Applied Information Technology degree is unusual in two respects: first, students' programs are constrained to consist of half IT and half some other discipline; and second, two-thirds of the IT is provided directly by TAFE NSW, a provider of Vocational Educational Training. The latter feature has provoked renewed consideration of the different roles of TAFE and University in IT education. :::::::::::::: details115.txt :::::::::::::: Paper number 115 Title: A Case for Teaching Computer Architecture Contact: e.bem@uws.edu.au Ewa Z. Bem, University of Western Sydney Abstract Both national and international professional bodies acknowledge computer architecture and organisation as an inherent part of computer science body of knowledge. Despite that fact computer architecture and organisation courses, especially at an advanced level, are disappearing from the computer science academic curricula of many Australian universities. In this paper we attempt to identify the reasons why this happens, and we argue against this trend. We present our approach to teaching an advanced computer architecture course, in such a way that it is relevant to the students' future professional life, and can also be implemented without specialised resources. We also describe the experience of delivering this course to undergraduate computer science students over a period of three years. :::::::::::::: details116.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 116 Title: The WEBWORKFORCE - a learning repository to support educators, trainers and Information Technology courses Contact: john.bell@infotech.monash.edu.au John Bell, Monash University Don Schauder, Monash University This paper is an initial account of the WEBWORKFORCE Learning Repository, a major deliverable of the Building the Internet Workforce project. The user and system requirements of the Building the Internet Workforce are discussed and the resulting system is described. In an action-research sense the project yielded an emergent model that closely resembles specialist library models. The model features rich contextualisation based on curriculum and body-of-knowledge frameworks. :::::::::::::: details117.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 117 Title: A Methodology for the Design of Courses in Information Systems Contact: k.bryant@mailbox.gu.edu.au Kay Bryant, Griffith University A wealth of literature exists on the use of Internet technologies for Information Systems education; however, there is little research on course design methodologies that are particularly suited to Information Systems courses. This paper reviews several generic frameworks for course design and develops one that incorporates the important elements of each for use in designing Information Systems courses. The development process revealed that there was a framework within a framework, that is a higher order cyclical framework and the lower level design/redesign framework. The results of initial research on the applicability of the framework for the design/redesign of Information Systems courses suggest support for the usefulness of the approach. :::::::::::::: details120.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 120 Title: Student satisfaction with group work in undergraduate computer science : do things get better? Contact: judy@it.usyd.edu.au Helen Drury, University of Sydney Judy Kay, University of Sydney Group work has a large and important role in computer science courses and skills in team work are among the most important generic attributes that students should develop during their studies as a preparation for the world of work (Dearing, 1997). At the same time, all who have been involved in teaching that involves group work will be aware that it brings challenges. So, it is important to support student learning of group skills, to develop instruments for evaluating this aspect of teaching and learning explicitly and to measure student development in group work skill as well as student perceptions of their group work experiences. This paper describes an instrument for assessing student perceptions of and satisfaction with group work. It has value as both a teacher's measurement tool and as a basis for student activities and discussion to encourage students to reflect upon and learn from their groupwork experiences. We report results of both this instrument and group interviews at four points in a three year programme: two points in the semester unit where group work skills are explicitly taught and assessed; one at the end of the first year and again at the end of the third year. We also describe how we have used this evaluation to develop additional resources for teaching about group work. One important contribution of this work is the instrument which could be readily used in quality assurance elsewhere. Another contribution derives from the results of our study. They provide reassuring indications that students do perceive increasing group work skill and value in group work. They also provide insight into the different perceptions of students according to academic ability. :::::::::::::: details121.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 121 Title: Assessing the Assessment: an Empirical Study of an Information Systems Development Subject Contact: i.box@uws.edu.au Ilona Box, University of Western Sydney Abstract Universities need to respond to a change in student profile from the traditional academically committed student to a student who seeks a qualification for a job. The latter type of student lacks study skills such as an ability to structure his learning experience and to engage actively and continuously with the material to be learnt. This study reports on the application of educational re-search to the use of formative, continuous assessment. The aims were to engage students in deep learning; increase a learner's responsibility for learning by structuring the learning effort; and encourage better study practices. Statistical results presented indicate that the aims were to some extent achieved. Several fur-ther improvements and research are identified. :::::::::::::: details126.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 126 Title: Using Counter-Examples in the Data Structures Course Alan Fekete, University of Sydney Contact: fekete@it.usyd.edu.au In many computer science courses, students face a sequence of activities that is quite monotonous in style: most assignments and labs ask the student to write a program that does something, to follow a procedure, or else to prove something. We advocate varying the pattern by including different types of activity which bring students to reflect on their ideas and especially to confront directly common misconceptions. We use the traditional "data structures" subject as the domain in which to present this approach to teaching. We give detailed accounts of several activities that include debugging wrong code and explaining the misconception in an argument. :::::::::::::: details131.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 131 Title: Open Ended Group Projects a 'Tool' for More Effective Teaching Ian Newman, Loughborough University, UK. Mats Daniels, Uppsala University, Sweden. Christine Faulkner, South Bank University, UK. Contact: I.A.Newman@lboro.ac.uk Open Ended Group Projects [OEGP] offer an educational 'model', or tool, that has many benefits in terms of how and what students learn. This paper contains an explanation of the ideas that underlie OEGP and relates them to the concepts of problem based learning and educational constructivism. It shows how OEGPs can be used to encourage reflection on and application of the fundamental, subject specific, principles the students have learned and can contribute to the development of professional and 'social' skills which will be essential for their future careers. The holistic approach promoted by OEGP is argued to reduce the 'techie' flavor of CS education and thus help in attracting and keeping female students. The paper discusses the role of OEGP in increasing student motivation, reinforcing other educational approaches and allowing new 'fast breaking' topics to be explored in some depth without changing the curriculum. Finally the issues of fairly assessing group projects is considered with particular emphasis on the social skills aspects. The ideas are based on the experiences of the authors working in different institutions. They are illustrated using one course (IT in Society), which will be given for the fifth time this fall. This course is based on the idea that to make efficient use of Computer Science knowledge and skills in real life also requires the use of soft skills. Teachers from different disciplines supervise student groups solving real world problems with an emphasis on communication and group working and the application of acquired CS knowledge. :::::::::::::: details133.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 133 Title: Using Online Discussion Boards to Enhance the Learning Experience Sandra Barker School of Accounting and Information Systems, U. of SA Contact: Sandra.Barker@unisa.edu.au The availability of technology has seen the development of online asynchronous discussion boards for use in teaching and learning. This paper identifies the use of this medium within a second year undergraduate business course at the xxxx to enhance the student experience. This medium can be used to enhance the development of communication, critical analysis, problem-solving and collaboration skills. :::::::::::::: details134.txt :::::::::::::: Paper 134 Identifying Salient Learning Experiences: A Scenario-Based Method Enabling Industry-University Partnerships in IT Nicola J. Bidwell University of Queensland Mia B. O'Brien University of Queensland Simon M. Kaplan University of Queensland Contact: n.bidwell@mailbox.uq.edu.au A generalisable method to inform the design of learning experiences responsive to, and empathetically located within, relevant contexts is described. The purpose of the method's preliminary implementation was to design a post-graduate program for mid-career IT professionals which acknowledges the inherently situated nature of knowledge, skills and behaviours and authentically reflects the field of IT practice. The method frames its activities by creating scenarios and exploring a company's responses to challenges within it. The scenario-based framework is conceptualised as a four stage progression which begins with a company creating a brief description of its own business context and specific situations that arise in it. The second stage draws upon a more extensive range of perspectives to discover alternative responses to challenges in the scenario and articulate some of the values that influence these responses. The third stage identifies the professional understandings required for each response and potential learning goals and indicators of attainment for these. The final stage enables one-to-one or one-to-many mapping of professional understandings to learning goals and attainment-indicators across the set of responses. The scenario-based method proved to be an effective tool for identifying and articulating industry-situated gaps in the understandings of mid-career IT professionals. The educational bridges required to foster better involvement of technological expertise in the evolution and execution of business decisions became more apparent to curriculum designers by immersion in the company's responses to genuine challenges it faces it made. :::::::::::::: details135.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 135 Title: Natural Language Processing in the Undergraduate Curriculum Robert Dale, Macquarie University Diego Molla Aliod, Macquarie University Rolf Schwitter, Macquarie University Contact: rdale@ics.mq.edu.au The paper has two purposes: first, we argue that natural language processing, and particularly those aspects of that field often referred to as language technology, should play an important role in the computer science curriculum; second, we describe in broad terms the content of an undergraduate program we have developed that covers this material. We question the industrial relevance of much that is taught in NLP courses, and emphasize the need for a practical orientation as a means to growing the size of the field. We argue that a more evangelical approach, both with regard to students and industry, is required. The paper provides an overview of the material we cover, and makes some observations for the future on the basis of our experiences so far. :::::::::::::: details136.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 136 Title: Managing the managers: Collaborative virtual teams with large staff and student numbers Dr. Kathy Egea, Central Queensland University Contact: k.egea@cqu.edu.au Virtual teaming for online presentations and peer reviews support the notion of collaborative student learning, whilst preparing them for the virtual work environment. However, the academic administration and coordination of virtual teaming for large student cohort, set within a complex multi-campus structure, needs careful planning and management. This paper discusses the design and implementation features of an in-house database computer program intended, in part, to address this problem. The program creates the teams, facilitates staff and team administering, supports email communication, accepts team submissions, and records marks for all students in the course. Further, the program enables the coordinator to view virtually, each campus, their team structures and activities, thus highlighting operational or organisational errors. A central concept is that the student 'view' is minimal: each student only views one group of six small teams. While the design is being continually updated and improved, the existing program supports both virtual academic management and administration requirements in a complex collaborative learning environment. :::::::::::::: details137.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 137 Title: A Pattern-Based Problem-Solving Process for Novice Programmers Ron Porter Flinders University of South Australia Paul Calder Flinders University of South Australia Contact: ron.porter@infoeng.flinders.edu.au Learning to program involves the application of programming language features to the solving of novel problems, and the experience of educators suggests that it is this factor that causes novice programmers the most difficulty. Because software patterns are descriptions of common problems and their solution written in a standardised format that facilitates reuse, their use in the novice context is indicated. This paper suggests a process for applying patterns to problems that derives from the relationships between patterns in a pattern language, and demonstrates its use in a simple problem. This approach suits the pedagogical model based on Bloom's taxonomy as it enables the required knowledge to be partitioned and dealt with in stages. :::::::::::::: details140.txt :::::::::::::: Paper number: 140 Title: Submit! A Web-Based System for Automatic Program Critiquing Yusuf Pisan, Macquarie University Debbie Richards, Macquarie University Anthony Sloane, Macquarie University Helena Koncek, Macquarie University Simon Mitchell, Macquarie University Contact: richards@ics.mq.edu.au This paper presents the Submit! project which aims to enhance teaching and learning in computing by developing automated web-based tools that assist in providing critical feedback to students about the computer programs they write. By developing sophisticated computer-based tools that will improve our monitoring of student progress and maintenance of consistent standards we aim to provide structured assessment with a level of detail and consistency that would be difficult or impossible to provide manually. By allowing students to use the critiquing tools before final submission of an assignment we offer formative assessment that supports self-directed learning. Submit! has been integrated into many of our computing units. Usability evaluations show that Submit!.is generally effective while needing improvement in certain areas. A preliminary study of the impact of Submit! on student results shows that students who make use of the system to get feedback on assignment submissions do better than those who don't. :::::::::::::: details141.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 141 Title: A New Approach to a First Year Undergraduate Information Systems Course Denise Tolhurst, University of New South Wales Bob Baker, University of New South Wales Contact: d.tolhurst@unsw.edu.au This paper describes the development, implementation and evaluation of a new teaching approach for a large first year undergraduate in information systems course at University XXX. Poor quality of experience for students attending large lecture courses was recognised, and an alternative approach developed that aimed to improve the first year experience by minimising large formal lectures and encouraging both student independent learning and quality small group interactions. A course structure based on small regular workshop groups, weekly web-supported independent activities (WSIA) completed by students before attending class and occasional lectures was initially implemented in first session 2002. A variety of course evaluation approaches were used to assess the success of the course design and implementation, including student focus groups, student feedback questionnaires, standard university course and teaching evaluations, weekly meetings of staff, observations and informal conversations with students. :::::::::::::: details142.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 142 Title: iWeaver: Learning Style-based instruction in Computer Science Contact: chris.wolf@gmx.ch Chris Wolf, RMIT Although learning style theory is widely accepted amongst educational theorists in the context of traditional classroom environments, there is still little research on the adaptation to individual styles in an e-learning environment. In particular the possibility of fluctuations in a learning style with changing tasks or content has not yet been addressed. The described PhD project named iWeaver was designed to provide a flexible, yet manageable environment for the learner by implementing adaptive hypermedia techniques. iWeaver draws upon the established Dunn & Dunn learning style model and derived learning strategies. It uses database-driven JavaServer Pages, which generate media experiences (e.g. interactive Flash animations or streaming audio) and other specifically developed learning tools to teach the Java programming language. This paper describes the system architecture of iWeaver and gives technical details on the implementation of specific media experiences and learning tools. An approach to predict :::::::::::::: details143.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 143 Title: Student Learning Experience with an Industry Certification Course at University Andy Simmonds, Faculty of IT, University of Sydney, UTS Contact: simmonds@it.uts.edu.au This is an analysis of the computer generated feedback from an industry certification course, as taught as part of a university teaching unit. Statistical analysis is not complete, as raw or full results are not available. However, a method for extracting useful information from the available results is proposed, and the method is shown to be effective and reasonable on real results. Conclusions for the particular unit are drawn. It is shown that there is a high degree of correlation between student enjoyment and the professionalism of the instructor. :::::::::::::: details145.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 145 Title: Teaching the Evaluation of Object-Oriented Designs Robert Biddle, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand James Noble, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand Ewan Tempero, University of Auckland, New Zealand Contact: Robert.Biddle@vuw.ac.nz This paper describes an approach to teaching evaluation of object-oriented designs, using well known design heuristics along with a process for heuristic evaluation. This is based on work introducing object-orientation to industry groups, and is motivated by our observations about the needs for design evaluation in industry, but we have applied the same approach in our university teaching. We have found the approach useful in explicitly addressing an undervalued step in software development, and one that deals with object-oriented design explicitly, while not involving any unproven radical elements. :::::::::::::: details146.txt :::::::::::::: Paper number: 146 Title: Applying the Cognitive Flexibility Theory to Teaching Web Engineering Emilia Mendes, The University of Auckland Contact: emilia@cs.auckland.ac.nz Web engineering constitutes the employment of an engineering approach to the development of Web applications. Its main teaching objectives are for students to learn what an engineering approach represents and how measurement can be applied. This paper presents the application of the Cognitive Flexibility Theory as an instructional theory to teach Web Engineering principles. Results obtained over the last three years suggest that the CFT seems valuable for teaching Web engineering, as indicated by the boxplots of exam marks (regarding the Web engineering part of the exam). :::::::::::::: details147.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 147 Title: An Online Programming Assessment Tool Graham H.B. Roberts, Flinders University of South Australia Janet L.M. Verbyla, Flinders University of South Australia Contact: graham@infoeng.flinders.edu.au The role of assessment in modern university curricula has become far more diverse and open to scrutiny in recent years. Although its most significant role is as a measure of a student's knowledge and skills, the role as a learning device has become increasingly important and as a consequence informative and useful feed back is critical to achieve good learning outcomes This paper describes a tool that provides a self-contained, easy to use, programming environment that facilitates the development, testing and marking of programming tasks in addition to the presentation and marking of "standard" examination questions. The tool takes responsibility for many of the tasks that program development normally requires so that the student can focus on the task of writing program source code. It has been used in a Java programming topic for two consecutive years. :::::::::::::: details149.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 149 Title: The neglected battle fields of Syntax Errors Judy Kay, University of Sydney Sarah Kummerfeld, University of Sydney Contact: judy@it.usyd.edu.au Syntax error correction is an essential part of the debugging process. Yet there has been little research investigating how programmers approach syntax error correction and how to help beginner programmers learn to fix errors efficiently. This paper describes development and evaluation of a tool to support students learning how to correct syntax errors. We collected both quantitative and qualitative data for a small but varied group of students as they corrected syntax errors. This showed that even the more experienced students took significant time to correct some syntax errors. It also indicated that general and language specific programming experience provides both strategic skill in correcting errors and greater depth of understanding of the error messages themselves. At the same time, we observed that beginners can be almost as efficient as more expert users when they have access to our tool for explanations of the less intuitive compile error messages. :::::::::::::: details150.txt :::::::::::::: Paper number: 150 Title: Determination of factors which impact on IT students' propensity to cheat. Judy Sheard, Monash University Angela Carbone, Monash University Martin Dick, Monash University Contact: judy.sheard@csse.monash.edu.au There is a large body of research that indicates the practice of cheating amongst students in the tertiary sector is widespread. Various studies have also attempted to determine reasons why students decide to cheat, or not to cheat. Although some common factors have been identified, there are indications that the level of cheating varies across disciplines of study, suggesting that there may be factors in specific learning situations that have influence on a student's propensity to cheat. This paper reports on two studies, one which investigates the cheating practices of IT students and their attitudes toward cheating, and the other which investigates the work practices of these students. These studies identify particular problems that IT students face in their learning and give insights into situations which can lead to poor learning practices and, in the worst cases, cheating. :::::::::::::: details152.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 152 Title: First Year Programming: Let All the Flowers Bloom Raymond Lister, University of Technology, Sydney John Leaney, University of Technology, Sydney Contact: raymond@it.uts.edu.au We describe our criterion-referenced grading scheme for a first year programming subject, which has been designed to allow all participating students to achieve their full potential. Traditional assessment approaches, where all students work on the same assessment tasks, result in tasks that may be effective for the middle-achieving student, but the tasks do not allow the weakest students to engage effectively, nor do these tasks stretch the strongest students. Our criterion-referenced scheme uses a mix of several assessment strategies to overcome this problem. The strategies have been used before in traditional assessment environments, but in isolation, whereas we combine the strategies into a coherent, explicit grading philosophy based on Bloom's taxonomy. :::::::::::::: details154.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number 154 Title: Teaching image processing using minimal mathematics Alasdair McAndrew, Victoria University of Technology Contact: Alasdair.McAndrew@vu.edu.au Image processing is often presented as a two dimensional version of signal processing, and as such, assumes for its background several years of undergraduate engineering-style mathematics. But such heavy mathematics does not form the background of many students of computer science. In Australia, some tertiary courses are phasing formal mathematics out of their computer science courses completely. This means that the effective teaching of image processing to students of computer science must use as little mathematics as possible. In this paper we discuss the undergraduate subjects taught at XYZ University, and our methods of keeping the mathematics in them to a minimum. :::::::::::::: details155.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 155 Title: Talking about watching: Using the Video Card Game and wiki-web technology to engage IT students in developing observational skills. Margot Brereton, University of Queensland Jared Donovan, University of Queensland Stephen Viller, University of Queensland Contact: margot@itee.uq.edu.au Designers need to develop good observational skills in order to conduct user studies that reveal the subtleties of human interactions and adequately inform design activity. In this paper we describe a game format that we have used in concert with wiki-web technology, to engage our IT and Information Environments students in developing much sharper observational skills. The Video Card Game is a method of video analysis that is suited to design practitioners as well as to researchers. It uses the familiar format of a card game similar to Happy Families to help students develop themes of interactions from watching video clips. Students then post their interaction themes on wiki-web pages, which allows the teaching team and other students to edit and comment on them. We found that the tangible (cards), game, role playing and sharing aspects of this method led to a much larger amount of interaction and discussion between student groups and between students and the teaching team, than we have achieved using our tr In the paper we describe the motivations, method and results in full. We also describe the research context in which we collected the videotape data, and how this method relates to state of the art research methods in interaction design for ubiquitous computing technology. :::::::::::::: details156.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 156 Title: Applying NAILS to Blackboard Andrew Solomon, University of Technology, Sydney Contact: andrews@it.uts.edu.au This paper is a desultory litany of complaints written by a first-time user of the enterprise education software Blackboard. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry ... and it will make you mistrust any button that looks like a useful feature. :::::::::::::: details157.txt :::::::::::::: Paper Number: 157 Title: Online Assessment of SQL Query Formulation Skills Julia Prior, University of Technology, Sydney Contact: julia@it.uts.edu.au Being able to formulate useful SQL queries is a fundamental skill required by any software development professional. Mastering of this skill is a difficult process, requiring considerable practice and effort on the part of the student. In addition, assessment of SQL query formulation skills is a process that does not appear to have been thoroughly researched, and numerous problems are inherent with the approaches commonly taken in universities to do this assessment. This paper examines two of these approaches, identifies problems with them, and then proposes another method of assessment. The online assessment method proposed is described, and the benefits of using it are discussed. This is a work-in-progress, and thus possible ways of validating its use and the advantages are suggested, and the conclusion includes other possible areas of research and development.