SACLA 2021 provides a forum for the presentation and discussion of original research and practical experiences in teaching and learning of Computing and related disciplines. The conference programme will include full academic papers, short and discussion papers, panels/workshops, plenary keynote addresses, and demonstrations of innovative tools from researchers and industrial partners.

The conference theme for 2021 is Post Pandemic Pedagogy. In August 2020, the United Nations published a policy brief discussing how COVID-19 has led to unparalleled disruptions in education, citing an urgent need to concentrate efforts in co-ordination and resilience-building to ensure the continued sustainability and equity of education systems. Now, more than ever, change in teaching and learning in the Computing discipline must be reimagined and accelerated.

Against this backdrop, we invite national and international submissions that focus on practical experiences and successes in computing education at tertiary level that can help its lecturers to overcome challenges, the impact of which, will no doubt, continue to make its presence known in the years to come. Examples of topic areas include:

- Classroom innovation, and assessment of the impact thereof

- Novel tools developed, or novel use of existing tools, for learning and/or assessment

- Research undertaken to investigate aspects of computing education

As is tradition in SACLA, the intention is to foster a community of practice, helping each other become better computing lecturers. Following on from SACLA 2020, a track general research in Computer Science and Information Systems will be offered to encourage participation from early-career academics who are looking for a less formal setting to present their research. Papers for this track may be submitted in any of the submission categories below and will go through the same reviewing processes.

Submissions

- FULL PAPERS (maximum of 16 pages) that report on completed research, inclusive of results.

- SHORT PAPERS (maximum of 8 pages) that report on works in progress with significant intermediate results.

- DISCUSSION PAPER ABSTRACTS (maximum of 3 pages) that cover the conference theme and are of a basic academic standard.

- PROPOSALS FOR PANEL DISCUSSIONS AND WORKSHOPS (maximum of 3 pages). Panel discussion proposals should include the names of panel members.

Review Process

- Full paper submissions will be reviewed by at least three reviewers following a double-blind peer-review process.

- Papers will be evaluated according to their novel research contribution, methodological soundness, theoretical framing and reference to related work, quality of analysis, and quality of writing and presentation.

- Only unpublished research papers in English will be considered.

- Papers will be evaluated for originality by using an online tool such as Turnitin.

- Short papers and discussion paper abstracts will be evaluated by programme committee members but will not be double-blind peer-reviewed.

All accepted papers must be presented by at least one author at the conference.

Publications

- It is planned that a selection of the conference’s best papers will be published in a Scopus-indexed volume (for example, see the SACLA 2019 publication).

- Full papers not selected for the Scopus-indexed publication will be included in the SACLA 2021 proceedings, to be made available on the SACLA 2021 web site. These papers are DHET subsidy-bearing.

- Full papers not accepted for either the Scopus-indexed volume or the SACLA 2021 proceedings may be reworked to a short or discussion paper. All accepted short papers (author agreement required) will be included in Addendum A in the SACLA 2021 proceedings, to be made available on the SACLA 2021 web site. These papers are not DHET subsidy-bearing.

- Accepted discussion paper abstracts will be included (author agreement required) in Addendum B in the SACLA 2021 proceedings, to be made available on the SACLA 2021 web site. These papers are not DHET subsidy-bearing.

Author Guidelines

- All papers must follow the Springer template.

- Authors should guarantee the anonymity of their submissions by removing names and affiliations from the first page and elsewhere in the paper that would allow reviewers to easily identify authors.

- All papers must be submitted via Easy Chair.

- The deadline for paper submission is 28 February 2021, with notification of paper acceptance no later than 23 April 2021.

Any queries about the conference should be directed to the conference secretariat.