Proceedings of the 16th annual joint conference on Innovation and technology in computer science education

Abstract

Darmstadt is a small town well-placed in the infrastructural center of Germany, roughly half-way between Frankfurt with its large international airport and banking center, and Heidelberg with its many cultural offerings. Both Darmstadt and the TU Darmstadt look back on a long history where they played larger or smaller roles in history or science. We are proud that the 16th ACM Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE) conference has chosen Darmstadt and the TU Darmstadt as their host. This is the first time the conference is held in Germany, and we are sure that Darmstadt will prove to have been a great choice for this! ITiCSE 2011 welcomes all researchers and professionals interested in the use of technology in support of learning and teaching in the computing field including the practice of teaching and research. The program consists of invited keynotes, working groups, exhibits, and technical sessions featuring papers, panels, posters, demonstrations, tips, techniques, and student posters. Keynote speakers include Prof. Dr. Ulrik Schroeder from the RWTH Aachen (Germany) and Prof. Mark Guzdial, Georgia Institute of Technology and winner of the 2010 Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award. The conference offers a variety of opportunities to learn from and interact with computing colleagues from around the world. The conference opens with a plenary presentation by an invited speaker and includes three parallel tracks with paper presentations, invited panels, working groups and special project presentations. We accepted 66 excellent papers for presentation from among the 169 submitted---an acceptance rate of 39%. Each paper received at least four reviews. We could easily have filled another conference day with very good paper submissions if we had had the time! Additionally, 52 posters and 16 tips, techniques, or courseware presentations were accepted, possibly setting a new record for this category. Working groups start on Saturday and will work in earnest throughout the conference, with a presentation of their preliminary results on Monday. The conference itself will start with a keynote, followed by parallel paper sessions, a panel and the Working Group reports. Tuesday afternoon and evening is kept free to allow participants to join one of the two excursions, to explore the city on their own, to mingle with colleagues on city tours or simply to relax. The conference will end with a great conference dinner in the ruins of a nearby castle. The conference is also framed by the FIFA Women's World Cup, with Germany facing Nigeria on the evening following the conference, and the Darmstadt City "Heinerfest" festival.