SIGCSE: ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (go to Home) Go to the ACM web site
Norfolk, Virginia USA March 3 - 7, 2004
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Special Sessions: Proposal Submission Guidelines


Special sessions are 75 minutes in length and provide a flexible format for presentations or discussions.  For example, a special session might be a tutorial or seminar to introduce a new topic, a committee report, a forum on curricular or accreditation issues, or a series of papers related to a specific theme. Sample topic areas might include management of large classes, projects and assignments, teaching computer science in high schools, experiments on collaborative learning, report of an ACM committee addressing issues at two-year colleges, or special issues arising when teaching computing outside North America.

Important Dates

  • Proposal Submission Deadline:  Friday, September 12, 2003
  • Author Notification:  Monday, November 3, 2003
  • Final Versions for Proceedings: Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Proposal Format

The proposal is limited to two (2) pages that conform to the Special Session section of the SIGCSE 2004 Publication Guidelines with the following modifications and exceptions:

  • Do not include an abstract. Instead, the first section should be titled Summary and should provide a summary of the session.
  • References where appropriate are encouraged, but not required. If they are included, they should be placed in a separate section titled References and should follow the formatting guidelines.

Special Session proposal review is not blind. Criteria used in reviewing the proposals will include the likely level of interest of the topic.

Cover Sheet (1 page)

The cover sheet must include the following information:

  • Topic of the Special Session

  • Nature of The Proposal (e.g., committee report, tutorial, seminar, series of papers, ...)
  • A Brief Overview of the Session
  • Contact Person

    • name
    • department
    • college, university, or other affiliation
    • address
    • telephone number
    • fax number
    • e-mail address

  • Complete list of participants.  For each participant include the following information

    • name
    • department
    • college, university, or other affiliation
    • e-mail address

      If this proposal is a committee report,  please include the names of ALL committee  members and designate which members will be participants in the special session.

    Special Session Description (2 pages)

    • Overall objective of the session
      • Give a brief description that justifies the inclusion of this presentation as a special session.
    • Outline of the session
      • Organize by subtopics, activities, or similar scheme.
      • If more than one participant is involved, label each section of the outline with the name of the participant who will be presenting that section.
         
    • Expectations
      • State the intended audience.
      • Tell why the proposed special session is important.
      • Indicate how much the session will cover and what the audience should learn.  This is particularly important if your proposed special session is a tutorial.
      • If feedback is desired, indicate how it will be elicited.


      We suggest that you allow at least 40 - 50% of the time for questions and answers or other interaction with the attendees. All sessions are 75 minutes in length.
       

    How Do I Submit My Special Session?

    Electronic Submissions (requires Netscape or Internet Explorer 3.0 or higher):

    Step 1: Write your proposal using the format specified above.

    Step 2: Convert your paper into Adobe PDF format. Refer to our Preparing PDF page for help if needed.

    Step 3: Submit your proposal using the online Submission Form. Please do not wait until the last minute to submit your documents because that is when everyone else will be connecting to our server!

    Step 4: Make note of the paper ID number and password assigned to your submission. You will receive an e-mail message confirmation.

    Step 5: After receiving confirmation, go to the Author Verification Form to review your submission for accuracy. Warning! Several authors have reported problems viewing their PDF files using Internet Explorer. If you experience similar problems, you might want to try another browser such as Netscape or try to download the file and use Acrobat Reader directly.

    Questions?

    Contact Myles McNally with any questions about panels via email, telephone, or mail at:

    Myles McNally
    Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
    Alma College
    Alma, MI 48801
    Phone: 989-463-7163
    E-mail: mcnally@alma.edu

    last modified April 4, 2003