The World Conference on Computers in Education

The World Conference on Computers in Education took place in Switzerland last month. This Congress brought together more than 1000 people concerned with their development and use in primary, secondary and university education, as well as in vocational training. This Conference was organized by the Swiss Federation of Automatic Control, on behalf of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), and had the backing of UNESCO and the Intergovernmental Bureau for Informatics (IBI, Rome), which were offering to support participants from developing countries, preferentially those who wished to present a paper.

In addition to the Congress, a youth world computer programming tournament was being held in different countries; the national winners were invited to present their entry at the Conference. At the same time, an exhibition was set up to present educational material and a range of hardware and software, going from the smallest personal computer to the largest distributed informatics network, a concrete illustration of the multiple resources of these techniques applied to teaching and education.

The Conference put the accent on the relations between informatics and the teaching of other disciplines (computers in the teaching of physics, humanities at school, engineering, economics and social sciences), on instructional techniques (large scale experiments in computer aided learning - CAL) and on the impact of new technologies. Moreover, the social impact of informatics on teachers and students, as well as on leisure was discussed during the conference. Other contributions presented reviews of national policies and models of computer education; a special emphasis was put on the identification of the needs of developing countries and on the definition of the means to meet them.

 

Exercise 60. Read the text again and find the answers to the following questions:

1. When did the World Conference on Computers in Education take place?

2. This Congress brought together people concerned with the development of computers in education, didn’t it?

3. How many participants took part in the Conference?

4. The Conference was organized by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), wasn’t it?

5. What organization offered support to participants from developing countries?

6. A youth world computer programming tournament was being held in different countries, wasn’t it?

7. The national winners of this tournament were invited to present their entry at the Conference, were they not?

8. What exhibition was set up at the Conference?

9. What did the Conference put the accent on?

10. The social impact of informatics on teachers and students, as well as on leisure was discussed during the Conference, wasn’t it?

11. Did other countries present reviews of national policies and models of computer education?

12. Special emphasis was put on the needs of developing countries, wasn’t it?

 

Exercise 61. Make up dialogues on the following situation. If possible use the terminology of your own field of science.

A Ukrainian scientist is introducing his young collaborate to a foreign colleague. The young researcher has heard a lot about the foreign scientists.

Key phrases: congratulations; to be a real success; I’d like you to meet my young colleague; to be one of the best young researchers at the university; How do you do? I’m very happy to meet you; I’ve read many of your papers and books on computers in education; to find them extremely interesting; I’ve just finished a new book; to be published next year; I’ll send it over to you as soon as it comes out; it would be wonderful; We are trying not to miss anything interesting in this field; to have a good command of three foreign languages; Oh, I wish I could read Russian literature.

Exercise 62. Read the text and answer the questions.

What is a Scientific Paper?

A scientific paper is a written and published report describing original research results. In many ways it is an effort to answer a question or a series of questions. From this the researcher forms a main idea (that is, a thesis) on which to base the writing of the paper. So a scientific paper is a form of writing based upon a thesis supported by facts, figures, statistics, and other writers’ carefully documented ideas. Its purpose is to analyze and interpret information while making valid conclusions based upon the research.

Remember that to write a scientific paper you must:

1. Rely on more than your own personal opinions and experiences.

2. Choose a topic and explore it:

• Narrow down the topic.

• Formulate a research focus.

• Gather data.

• Write a thesis statement.

3. Make an argument:

• Select the supporting details, facts, and statistics.

• Prepare a working outline.

4. Bring a conclusion:

• Bring together the main ideas of the paper.

• Repeat the thesis on the paper.

5. Write your notes, records, and plans in English.

6. Always ask your instructor for make sure of the direction of your paper before proceeding with the research.

Once you have collected and analysed the information you need you can begin to determine your article design. When writing a scientific paper you must communicate your own ideas, but you must also include other writers’ and speakers’ ideas. In addition, you will need to refer to facts, figures, statistics, and other information from other sources. Therefore, it is your responsibility to document your writing by making clear which ideas are your own and which ideas belong to others. All of this must follow special rules for documenting sources that are not your own opinion by making references.

Another concern is how to illustrate your writing. Most people are familiar with tables, charts, and graphs – they are a common staple of business reports, newspapers, and even television news. But few people understand why par­ticular data are shown using particular kinds of tables, charts, or graphs. In determining when to use words and when to use tables and other illustrations, keep the follow­ing criteria in mind as you are developing a draft. Tables, charts, and graphs are better than words when:

1. You have complex numerical or statistical data to convey;

2. You are describing something that requires the reader to form a mental image in order to understand it;

3. You want to present information in a form the reader will be able to recall easily.

Abstracts (an article) are far more than a one- or two- page piece of writing on a particular subject written for publication in scientific journals. They are also consid­ered as a way to answer a particular question but only one in contradistinction to the scientific paper. Abstracts should contain at least an introduction to the matter, its brief description, and sometimes probable benefits for the interested party. As a rule, they lack illustrations and references.

Abstracts, theses, conference reports, and many other types of literature are published, but only the scientific paper normally meets the test of valid publication.

scientific paper	наукова стаття
article	публіцистична стаття
abstract	резюме, короткий огляд на початку статті
abstracts	тези
citation/ quotation	цитата, посилка на щось, цитування
outline	головний зміст
reference	посилка на літературне джерело
revise	перевіряти і виправляти; змінювати текст
thesis	коротке формулювання; тези, кандидатська дисертація, курсова робота
summarize	резюмувати, підводити підсумки
valid	вагомий, достовірний

1. What is the purpose of a scientific paper?

2. How should one document the ideas of other writers?

3. How should one communicate their own ideas?

4. Is it necessary to explain and clarify information?

5. What is the main idea of a scientific paper called?

6. When does one use illustrations instead of words?

7. What does the term ‘valid publication’ mean?