In this paper we present a small-scale study investigating the use of the MicroWorlds Pro multimedia programming environment as an authoring tool for constructing models, simulations and multimedia applications with students of Senior High School. We implemented the cross-thematic educational scenario ``Free fall simulation development'' as an open and flexible framework for activities in actual classroom circumstances, exploring two alternate instructional strategies: a) simulation development from scratch and b) use of a preconstructed microworld, and we observed how the students collaborate and interact with the programming environment. The findings highlight the overall process and the differences in the students' levels of engagement and performance, indicating some special features of the programming environment that contribute to or cause difficulty in the creation of an effective learning environment. We attempt to contribute to the discussion on the main parameters of designing, developing and implementing an effective constructionist approach aimed at engaging students in simulation development as a cross-thematic multimedia project.
This qualitative study explores how using Peer Learning Forums (PLF) in an online asynchronous computer programming course can be analyzed to derive information about Student Activity Focus (SAF) for adult Information Technology students. Three instruments are proposed to assist instructors classify questions posted by students on these forums, obtain easy quantitative measures of their SAF, and use it to gain a better understanding of the type of learning barriers they are encountering. In addition, we also look at the difference in SAF between passing and failing students based on their exam performance. The PLF learning activity and the classification instruments are easily adaptable to other disciplines or courses and allow instructors and students alike to gain a better understanding of what kind of participation is helpful in online asynchronous discussion forums.
While educators teach their students about decision making in complex environments, managers have to deal with the complexity of large projects on a daily basis. To make better decisions it is assumed, that the latter would benefit from better understanding of complex phenomena, as do students as the professionals of the future. The goal of this article is to evaluate the relevance of the use of simulation games for learning about the complexity of large-scale socio-technical projects. Relevant concepts from complex adaptive systems will be introduced or described. The conjecture is that complex adaptive systems can be simulated by games, in which players are able to experience the system workings, and retrieve more insight in their complex behaviour as a result. The multiplayer computer game SimPort-MV2 illustrates this by simulating the decision making process revolving around Maasvlakte 2 (MV2), an extension of the Port of Rotterdam into the North Sea. The game has been played by hundreds of students of higher education. Based on this study, we present preliminary indications of learning and conclusions on how simulation games can provide insights in a complex adaptive system and be used to educate both students and professionals.
Aggregating and sequencing of the content units is at the core of e-learning theories and standards. We discuss the aggregating/sequencing problems in the context of using generative learning objects (GLOs). Proposed by Boyle, Morales, Leeder in 2004, GLOs provide more capabilities, focus on quality issues, and introduce a solid basis for a marked improvement in productivity. We use meta-programming techniques to specify GLOs and then to automatically generate LO units on demand. Aggregating of the generated units to form a compound at a higher granularity level can be performed in various ways depending on the selected criteria or their trade-offs (e.g., complexity, granularity level, semantic density, time constraints, capabilities of modelling the learning process, etc.) that enable to evaluate units in advance. We describe aggregating as an internal sequencing of the content units derived from a GLO. Our contribution is a formal graph-based model to specify the problem when the variability of LO units is large. First we formulate the problem and consider properties of the proposed model; and then we analyze a case study, implementation capabilities, and evaluate the approach for e-learning.
The paper addresses the issue of unusual ICT tool application in the development of communicative competences during drama classes. It also presents the practical implementation of a case study method with the application of ICT tools. The case method was used for an interesting combination of acquiring communicative competences including drama skills by means of applying modern computer software. The target group was the 3rd form pupils of Klaipeda primary school. The activities planned to cover skills of language, drama and ICT.
The significance of the presented case is based on the following: pupils' communicative skills are improved; learning is based on the integration of inherently different subjects, such as drama, language and ICT; skills of the three subjects are educated in a creative way. ICT can act as a promoter of educational change only if learners and teachers have an access to the new technology and it is intensively used as a tool for learning in various subject domains.
The paper introduces Verificator, our learning programming interface aimed for learning programming in C++ at the university beginners' level. In teaching programming some specific problems concerning the teaching itself as well as the organization of the teaching process need to be considered. One of the biggest problems is that students tend to adopt certain bad programming habits in their attempt to more easily deal with their examinations, such as trying to write programs without any syntax and logical checking. It is very hard to help them correct those errors once they are deeply rooted. Our students' web questionnaire and its results show that the majority of problems in learning programming among our students arise from the gap between the understanding of programming language syntax and problem-solving algorithms. Verificator prevents students from making a lot of errors they are likely to make in learning programming and helps them to learn programming language syntax and adopt good programming habits.
The first specification for the informatics Matura examination in Poland was published in 2000, and since May 2005 the examination has been organized every year. This article includes some reflections and remarks about formulating examination tasks and pupils' difficulties in solving the tasks collected by the author during her work as an examiner. In the article, four examination tasks from 2008 are considered. These remarks could be useful especially for informatics teachers.
While informatics is a well-established discipline in higher education around the world, it is not the case in secondary education, with the exception of a few countries. Generally, what is taught is not informatics as a subject with its own methods, concepts, and principles, but some software tools with the goal that the use is sufficient for students to acquire skills. In addition, an analysis of the current situation reveals that the real competencies of teachers and students in informatics are far weaker than might be expected in secondary education. This work proposes a concept-based pedagogical approach to school informatics. The aim is to provide the students with a more thorough understanding of informatics as a school subject. The work also explores students' views on the contribution of the pedagogical approach and the implications for the teaching and learning of school informatics in secondary schools.
The notion of ''don't care'', that encapsulates the unimportance of which of several scenarios will occur, is a fundamental notion in computer science. It is the core of non-determinism; it is essential in various computational models; it is central in distributed and concurrent algorithms; and it also is relevant in sequential, deterministic algorithms. It is a valuable tool in algorithmic problem solving. Yet, in the teaching of (deterministic) algorithms it is not made explicit, and left unexplored. Its implicit exposition yields limited student invocations and limited student comprehension upon its utilization. These phenomena are also due to its rather unintuitive ''black-box'' characteristic. In this paper, we illuminate and elaborate on this notion with six algorithmic illustrations, and describe our experience with novice difficulties with respect to this notion.
Internet and its services have become inherent element of the lives of young people. Nevertheless, we observe that educational potential, which the Internet offers for supporting learning processes, is acknowledged and exploited only partially. On that account, for several years we have been involved in developing investigative on-line activities, highly popular interactive events among students of the Slovak schools. In this way, as a value-added benefit, we have created unique opportunity for us to study how students behave when solving problems in the technology enhanced learning situations, how they communicate and cooperate in the teams, which competencies they cultivate. For such educational research, we have made use of the thoroughly projected combination of the intervention design and qualitative non-participant unstructured observations - within the framework of the design-based research methodology.
In this paper we present our initial assumptions and inspirations, methods of our research work and major observations, we clarify what investigative on-line activities are and how we have collected and analyzed data obtained by observing students while solving the investigative tasks. In our research we have focused on the development of three classes of competencies, namely digital competencies (i.e., those that pertain to the area of general digital literacy), computational competencies (i.e., those that correspond to the goals of informatics in education) and social competencies (i.e., those that allow students to communicate, cooperate, create or evaluate their own doings, learning etc.). In our paper we present corresponding observations and also attitudes and reactions of the teachers - who have been involved merely as supervisors, not as members of the teams. We also summarise potential contribution of our investigative on-line activities to education in the modern society.