Beryl Plimmer, University of Auckland, New Zealand
beryl@cs.auckland.ac.nz
 

Plimmer, B. (2007, Dec), Guest editorial.Humans and Computers: A Puzzle Still... Bulletin of Applied Computing and Information Technology Vol. 5, Issue 2. ISSN 1176-4120. Retrieved from

The New Zealand National Advisory Committee on Computing Qualifications (NACCQ) has a long history of successfully fostering research in the computing departments of New Zealand Polytechnics. The tertiary education landscape has changed in the twenty years since NACCQ was formed. When I was first involved in 1990, as a lecturer at Carrington Polytechnic (now UNITEC), NACCQ focused on maintaining a national curriculum. Government policies and the introduction of degree teaching has meant that curricula have diverged. However, NACCQ remains a central body that strengthens and supports information and communications technologies (ICT) programmes across New Zealand.  Teaching, learning, and reflection on practice, applied research in collaboration with industry are recurring themes across the tertiary sector. These themes are evidenced in this issue of the Bulletin of Applied Computing and Information Technology.

Mark Toleman’s invited article on applying extreme programming practice to research reminds us that research can integrate technologies and methodologies in fresh and appealing ways. Connor et al. report a different approach to research: A collaboration between Auckland University of Technology and bisco, where in a Master's project theoretical learning was applied to solve a real-world problem.

The effective use of technology for learning is certainly one of the challenges of our time.  Lin and Kinshuk discuss pedagogical considerations and teaching strategies for integrating e-learning and classroom learning to extract the best from both approaches, while Blyth & Verhaart review popular online learning management systems and extract a framework of relevant requirements.

Alongside learning technology, the last few years have seen the explosion of computer-based social networking. Email and list-serv have been supplemented by blogs, photoblogs and virtual worlds. Nay Myo Aung’s review of blogs reminds us that there are two sides of these new forms of social communication, and of our responsibilities as ‘technology experts’. The role people play in security systems and effective security training is the focus of Tsui’s report.  

Judith Symond’s book review has inspired me to add it to my ‘to read’ list.  Brian Cusack’s review is of a more serious nature: funology is a serious business.

Research into learning and teaching and human interaction with computers has kept me enthralled for many years. Technology is developing faster than we can make use of it and new adopters outpace our reflections on the effect of the technology on society. For those of us interested in these issues, this issue of the Bulletin adds some more pieces to the complex puzzle.

Copyright © 2007 Beryl Plimmer
The author(s) assign to NACCQ and educational non-profit institutions a non-exclusive licence to use this document for personal use and in courses of instruction provided that the article is used in full and this copyright statement is reproduced. The author(s) also grant a non-exclusive licence to NACCQ to publish this document in full on the World Wide Web (prime sites and mirrors) and in printed form within the Bulletin of Applied Computing and Information Technology. Authors retain their individual intellectual property rights.

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 Copyright © 2007 NACCQ and Krassie Petrova, Michael Verhaart, Beryl Plimmer (Eds.). An Open Access Journal, DOAJ # 11764120.