We performed an empirical study of the perceived quality of scientific graphics produced by beginning R users in two plotting systems: the base graphics package ("base R") and the ggplot2 add-on package. In our experiment, students taking a data science course on the Coursera platform were randomized to complete identical plotting…

Learning the fundamentals of programming languages has always been a difficult task for students. It is equally challenging for lecturers to teach these concepts. A number of methods have been deployed by teachers to teach these concepts. This article analyses the result of a class test to identify fundamental programming concepts that students…

Modern robots, like today's smartphones, are complex devices with intricate software systems. Introductory robot programming courses must evolve to reflect this reality, by teaching students to make use of the sophisticated tools their robots provide rather than reimplementing basic algorithms. This paper focuses on teaching with Tekkotsu, an open…

This paper describes the framework for the development of OER-based learning materials "TCC121/05 Programming Fundamentals with Java" for ODL learners in Wawasan Open University (WOU) using three main development phases mainly: creation, evaluation and production phases. The proposed framework has further been tested on ODL learners to…

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) shows demonstrable signs of simplifying software integration. It provides the necessary framework for building applications that can be integrated and can reduce the cost of integration significantly. Organizations are beginning to architect new integration solutions following the SOA approach. As such,…

Current E-Learning technologies primarily follow a data and metadata-centric paradigm by providing the learner with composite content containing the learning resources and the learning process description, usually based on specific metadata standards such as ADL SCORM or IMS Learning Design. Due to the design-time binding of learning resources,…

Simulation is the process of executing a model that describes a system with enough detail; this model has its entities, an internal state, some input and output variables and a list of processes bound to these variables. Teaching a simulation language such as general purpose simulation system (GPSS) is always a challenge, because of the way it…

Present Educational Modelling Languages are used to formally specify abstract learning scenarios in a machine-interpretable format. Current tooling does not provide teachers/designers with some graphical facilities to help them in reusing existent scenarios. They need human-readable representations. This paper discusses the UML4LD experimental…

This study investigates perceptions of 29 prospective teachers about a course based on Project-Based Learning (PBL) approach. The course, "Authoring Languages in PC Environment (B-320)" lasted in 14 weeks in fall semester of 2004-2005. In this course each prospective teacher carried out a project that requires designing and developing courseware…

The last decade has brought about a major change in higher education. Course design has developed from a craftsmanship-like process to a structured production, which involves interdisciplinary teams and requires more complex communication skills. This conceptual article introduces E[superscript 2]ML--Educational Environment Modeling Language--a…

This paper examines the impact the use of the Java programming language has had on the way our students learn to program and the success they achieve. The importance of a properly constructed first course in programming cannot be overstated. A course well experienced will leave students with good programming habits, the ability to learn on their…

Semantic Web and Adaptive Hypermedia come from different backgrounds, but it turns out that actually, they can benefit from each other, and that their confluence can lead to synergistic effects. This encounter can influence several fields, among which an important one is Education. This paper presents an analysis of this encounter, first from a…

Advances in information and communication technologies give us the ability to reach out beyond the time and place limitations of the traditional classroom. However, effective online teaching is more than just transferring traditional courses to the World Wide Web (WWW). We describe how we have used "off the shelf" software and the infrastructure…