An eLearning Environment for Programming

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An eLearning Environment for Programming

• Nghi Truong
• Faculty of Information Technology
• Queensland University of Technology
• Brisbane, Australia

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The Programming Tasks
Memorizing program syntax
Understanding programming questions
Installing and configuring compiler
Understanding compilation errors
Using text editor
Debugging
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Motivation

• Learning to program is difficult
• Programming cannot be learnt without practice
• Timely and frequent feedback is important in the
  learning process
• Facilitate flexible learning
• Meet the diverse needs of students

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The Environment for Learning to Program (ELP)
Annotation feedback
Web based programming exercises
Exercise Database
Program analysis framework
Feedback compilations, analysis and feedback
from tutor
ELP Web Server
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Five Key Characteristics of ELP

• Supports fill in the gap programming exercises
  (Java, C, C)
• Web based
• Provides timely formative feedback through
  program analysis framework
• Supports configurable exercises
• Provides two-way communication between
  tutors/lecturers and students through annotation

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An Example of fill-in the gap Exercises
Gap Area
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The Impact of ELP

• How students learn to program
• How lecturers deliver tutorial material
• How learning outcomes are assessed

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The Annotation Feedback Engine

• Provides an effective two-way communications
  between teacher and students
• Provides better understanding of students needs
• Three level of annotation
• exercise, file, gap

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The Program Analysis Framework

• Emphasizes the important of software quality and
  testing in the undergraduate courses.
• Analyses fill in the gap programming exercises
• Supports both Java and C
• Consists of static analysis and dynamic analysis
• Static Analysis
• Software Engineering metrics analysis
• Structural similarity analysis
• Dynamic analysis
• Incorporates black box and white box tests

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Program Analysis Feedback

• Combined between static and dynamic analysis
• Quality of solution
• Hints on how to improve it
• Alternative solutions for a programming problem
• Program correctness
• Points out gaps that might not be correct
• Hints on how to fix the problem
• Any run time errors

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Benefits of Framework

• Can be used to
• provide instant feedback on quality and
  correctness of students programs
• help students think about alternative solutions
• teach software testing for students
• assist teaching staff in the marking process

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An Example of Static Analysis
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An Example of Dynamic Analysis
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Evaluation

• Have been used to teach beginners to program in
  Java and C for the last 2 years
• Received positive feedback
• Fill in the gap makes writing programs easier
• Web based allows them to do programming exercise
  at anytime, anywhere
• Program analysis framework help them to think
  about alternative solutions

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Summary

• Five characteristics of ELP
• supports fill in the gap programming exercises
• web based
• provides timely and formative feedback
• supports configurable exercises
• allows communications between students and
  lecturers
• http//elp.fit.qut.edu.au

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Thank you