Given the ubiquity of interfaces on computing devices, it is essential for future Information Systems (IS) professionals to understand the ramifications of good user interface (UI) design. This article provides instructions on how to efficiently and effectively teach IS students about "fit," a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) concept,…

Background and Context: In this theory paper, we explore the concept of translanguaging from bilingual education, and its implications for teaching and learning programming and computing in especially computer science (CS) for all initiatives. Objective: We use translanguaging to examine how programming is and isn't like using human languages. We…

This paper presents Diagram, a learning environment for object-oriented modelling (OOM) with UML class diagrams. Diagram an open environment, in which the teacher can add new exercises without constraints on the vocabulary or the size of the diagram. The interface includes methodological help, encourages self-correcting and self-monitoring, and…

The support of technological resources in teaching and learning has contributed to make them more efficient and enjoyable. Through this support has become quite common to use media resources before explored only for entertainment for educational purposes, among them the TV. The interactive Digital TV (iDTV) provides resources that make possible…

Educational robotics proposes the use of robots as a teaching resource that enables inexperienced students to approach topics in fields unrelated to robotics. In recent years, these activities have grown substantially in elementary and secondary school classrooms and also in outreach experiences to interest students in science, technology,…

In October 2012, Microsoft will release the commercial version of its next operating system, presently called "Windows 8." This version represents a significant departure from the past. Microsoft wants this operating system to meet user needs regardless of physical platform (e.g., desktop, notebook, tablet, mobile phone). As part of this mission,…

Scratch is a visual programming environment that allows users (primarily ages 8 to 16) to learn computer programming while working on personally meaningful projects such as animated stories and games. A key design goal of Scratch is to support self-directed learning through tinkering and collaboration with peers. This article explores how the…

The menu has become an integrated component within nearly all professionally designed websites. This teaching tip presents a no-code way to design either a vertical or a horizontal fly-out menu by using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) within Microsoft Visual Studio 2008. The approach described in this tip helps students fully understand how to…

Students in all areas of computing require knowledge of the computing device including software implementation at the machine level. Several courses in computer science curricula address these low-level details such as computer architecture and assembly languages. For such courses, there are advantages to studying real architectures instead of…

PatternCoder is a software tool to aid student understanding of class associations. It has a wizard-based interface which allows students to select an appropriate binary class association or design pattern for a given problem. Java code is then generated which allows students to explore the way in which the class associations are implemented in a…

In this paper, we present a data-based user modeling framework that uses both unsupervised and supervised classification to build student models for exploratory learning environments. We apply the framework to build student models for two different learning environments and using two different data sources (logged interface and eye-tracking data).…

Program animation systems have not been as widely adopted by computer science educators as we might expect from the firm belief that they can help in enhancing computer science education. One of the most notable obstacles to their adoption is the considerable effort that the production of program animations represents for the instructor. We…

Neelu Sinha, Laila Khreisat, and Kiron Sharma describe how learner-interface interaction promotes active learning in computer science education. In a pilot study using technology that combines DyKnow software with a hardware platform of pen-enabled HP Tablet notebook computers, Sinha, Khreisat, and Sharma created dynamic learning environments by…

Modern computing systems exploit graphical user interfaces for interaction with users; as a result, introductory computer science courses must begin to teach the principles underlying such interfaces. This paper presents an approach to graphical user interface (GUI) implementation that is simple enough for beginning students to understand, yet…

Various schools are struggling with the introduction of Object Oriented (OO) programming concepts and GUI (graphical user interfaces) within the traditional COBOL sequence. OO programming has been introduced in some of the curricula with languages such as C++, Smalltalk, and Java. Introducing OO programming into a typical COBOL sequence presents…