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COVID-19 presented a challenge to the traditional methods of teaching programming and robotics in a secondary school environment. When campuses were closed around the world in the spring of 2020, it was not possible for students to access the computer labs nor the robotics equipment that was traditionally used to facilitate the instruction of robotics programming units. This paper presents a design research project in which two secondary institutions in Canada and Turkey collaborated to teach computer science and robotics programming, specifically reinforcement learning, through the use of an online simulation environment. The two student cohorts in the study both were successful in developing reinforcement learning models for autonomous vehicles, despite not having any prior experience in machine learning nor artificial intelligence. The implications of this work are that physical robotics kits and dedicated robotics spaces are not essential to the teaching of programming and robotics. This is especially relevant to marginalized communities that do not have the resources to support robotics instruction, further exacerbating the digital divide.

A study was made of the aims governments have with respect to computers and what methods they have at their disposal for achieving these aims. The Canadian experience provided an example. In general, throughout the world, governmental objectives with regard to computers come under three headings: (1) to use computers effectively in governmental operations, (2) to promote an indigenous computer industry, and (3) to direct and regulate computer growth. The methods available for promoting these objectives involve passing legislation and allocating money. In Canada, a redefinition of the powers and a desire to establish a distinctive "Canadian" approach has resulted in a conscious and intense study of information processing and related technologies. However, although it is not difficult to agree on general principles and goals, it is enormously difficult to translate these principles into programs which further national goals. In Canada, the federal government has adopted a decentralized approach of computer services, while at the provincial level, the trend is toward centralization. The general position in Canada is that computer services and software industries are to remain largely unregulated; the problem of whether to participate in a computer network remains unresolved. (WCM)

The papers in this document follow the order of the meeting and consist of two guest lecturers and reports from four working groups; two topic group presentations are noted but not included. One lecture, delivered by Peter Hilton, discusses the nature of mathematics today and implications for mathematics teaching, while, in the other paper, Stephen I. Brown explores the nature of problem generation in the mathematics curriculum. Working group reports concern statistical thinking, training in diagnosis and remediation for teachers, mathematics and language, and the influence of computer science on the undergraduate mathematics curriculum. Topic groups heard presentations by Daniel Kahneman on intuitions and fallacies in reasoning about probability and by Tom Kieren on mathematics curriculum development in Canada. A list of participants is given. (MNS)

The use of computers in bilingual vocabulary processing and the task of compiling a Canadian bilingual legal dictionary are discussed. A model for automating lexicography and an analysis of the variables of bilingual communication are presented. It is emphasized that both human decision-making and computer manipulation are involved in this type of activity. The focus of this work is legal vocabulary which is written, formal, and of standard use in Canada since 1867. (SW)