IS THERE A PLACE FOR INFORMATICS IN THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM?THE BULGARIAN EXPERIENCEAssoc. Prof. PhD Krassimir ManevFaculty of Mathematics and Informatics,Sofia University, BULGARIAmanev@fmi.uni-sofia.bg

CONTENT1. Introduction2. Informatics and IT3. Teaching I&IT in Bulgaria4. My conception 5. Conception of Bulgarian authorities6. Conclusion

1. INTRODUCTION PERSONAL INFO My first program National Math School, 1966, the machine language of MINSK-2 Graduated from Sofia University in 1974, diploma work written in Assembly language of MINSK-32Teaching assistant in Programming since 1976 FORTRAN, PL/I, Assembly language of IBM-360Since late 70s PDP-11(UNIX, C)

1. INTRODUCTION PERSONAL INFOSince 1980 national competitions in programmingSince 1985 national Olympiad in InformaticsSince 1989 IOI, BOI, JBOI, many times Team leader, 10 years member of International Committee of IOISince 2000 coach of Sofia University, 4 World Finals of ICPC of ACMNow Im teaching Discrete Mathematics and Algorithms in Sofia University

1. INTRODUCTION SOME HISTORYEarly (IBM 360) stage Starts in the middle of 70s of past centurySome of the Mathematical schools ES Series (IBM 360 compatible)Fortran (PL/I)Call of standard subprograms linear programming simplex method, etc.sorting (external, magnetic tapes)

PRAVETZ 82, THE COMPUTER OF FIRST INTERNATIONAL OI

1. INTRODUCTION SOME HISTORYApple stage Starts in 1982-83, all secondary schoolsApple II compatible Pravetz 82BASIC, UCSD PascalEducation in programming no curriculum, no textbooksBacktracking, exhaustive searchTeaching of some algorithms

PC COMPATABLE PRAVETZ 16

1. INTRODUCTION SOME HISTORYPC stage Starts in the beginning of 90sExpensive PC compatible Pravetz 16 available in some math schools Borland IDEs for C/C++ and PascalReal education in programming moved out of class and even out of schools

1. INTRODUCTION SOME HISTORYChanges of 90s had a destructive effect for education and especially for new discipline InformaticsBoom of private software companiesMany teachers left the school Quality of teaching gone downNumber of PCs in institutions and companies increased dramatically The term Information technologies become popular and replaced term Informatics!!!

2. INFORMATICS AND ITInformatics - the set of scientific disciplines, that investigate the processes of automated (i.e. computer aided ) collecting, storage and processing (incl. transmission) of information (rather data)Computer architecturesOperating systemsProgramming languages & environmentsData Base Management SystemsComputer Networks etc.and the mathematical base of all this disciplines Discrete mathematics

2. INFORMATICS AND ITThe English word Informatics was derived from the Latin nominative informatio: this noun is in its turn derived from the verb informare (to inform) in the sense of to give form to the mind, to discipline, to instruct, to teach (Wikipedia)Another conception (French): informatique comme from information + automatique

2. INFORMATICS AND ITInformation technologies (more correct computer aided technologies) - the technological instruments provided by Informatics for solving the tasks of the day: Text processingData visualizationImage processingData storage and retrievalNetwork technology Public communications, etc.

Software technology not to confuse with IT

2. INFORMATICS AND ITThe world population is divided into 3 categories : Computer programmersComputer users (mobile devices, TV sets, etc. considered computers also)People that still not joined to one of the two mentioned above categories Near the end of 20th century we recognized 2 universal disciplines mother language and mathematics (philosophy?!?)Nowadays we have to append a new universal discipline linked with our abilities to program/use computers in our life

2. INFORMATICS AND ITWHICH IS THE DISCIPLINE?Are Informatics and Information technologies different disciplines? (see, for example, Language and literature) My answer: Not! How much I&IT to teach in school? (see, for example, Language and literature) My answer: Universal disciplines have to be learned from the first to the last year! What to include in the school curriculum and in which proportion? (is, for example, Discrete mathematics part of I&IT) My answer: We have to discuss it!, etc.

3. TEACHING I&IT IN BULGARIA - 1999

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3. TEACHING I&IT IN BULGARIA - 2006

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3. TEACHING I&IT IN BULGARIA - 2008

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3. TEACHING I&IT IN BULGARIAMany disciplines I(M) and IT(M) with different curricula in regular and special schoolsStudent passed IT(E) in 1th-4th are far beyond those starting IT(M) in 5thMost of the students change the school after 7th but IT(M) continue in 8th but no too much new material for IT(M) 8thCurriculum of IT(M) in 9th-10th repeats 70-80% of material of IT(M) in 5th-8th No enough teachers for I(M) 9thNo teaching of DB&IS in IT(M) 10thAnd so on, and so on, and so on .

4. OUR CONCEPTIONSingle discipline in mandatory education first IT and then Informatics and & IT - changed after 7th

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4. OUR CONCEPTIONProfiled education in 11th-12th of special Math schools only to prepare the student that will apply in the University CS, IF, SE or CS

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4. OUR CONCEPTIONFacultative profiled education in 8th-10th of the special not mathematical schools for student that have interest

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4. OUR CONCEPTIONDetailed analysis of the 12 years experienceTotal revision of the existing curricula for:Deleting doubled topicsIncluding missing topicsDefining of mechanism for regular updating of the curriculaElective education in IT for 5th-7th is acceptable only if extend the mandatory, not to go forward of it for example, 10-finger typing

4. OUR CONCEPTIONState exam in I&IT the successful first attempt was neglected by the Ministry (only 1 excellent mark out of 60 student) Profiled education to be precisely regulated as content mandatory and elective modulesProfiled education to be precisely regulated as expected result beside the state exam an professional exam and regulating of a profession programmer with secondary educationCreation of text books for profiled education have to be sponsored by the state for the small countries it is crucial

4. OUR CONCEPTIONPart of our conception is the role of teachers in I&IT and their treatment from the community:No another discipline with such dynamics! The teacher in I&IT has to work much more then the other teachers No other such domain where the teachers to have an alternative on the job market like the teachers of informatics the software industrySalaries of teachers in I&IT a hard problem for the state and the industry

5.CONCEPTION OF BULGARIAN AUTHORITIES

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I INFORMATICS, IT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

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5.CONCEPTION OF BULGARIAN AUTHORITIES

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6. CONCLUSIONThe answer of the question of the title: no place for Informatics in the curriculum of the Bulgarian school The alternative out of class preparation Programming contest BeaverInternational Olympiads in InformaticsRegional Olympiads in Informatics Balkan OI, Central-European OI, Baltic OI, South-Pacific OI, OI of America Latina,

5. CONCLUSIONOther Contests Development of IT Projects Russian contest presented hereScratch ContestSpecial announcement: Junior Olympiads in InformaticsJBOI2007 Belgrade, SerbiaJBOI2008 Shumen, BulgariaJBOI2011 Bistrica, RoumaniaFall Tournament, Shumen, November!!!

Thank you for your attention!Questions?

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