Almost all collegiate programs in Computer Science offer an introductory course in programming primarily devoted to communicating the foundational principles of software design and development. The ACM designates this introduction to computer programming course for first-year students as CS1, during which methodologies for solving problems within…

Constructionism places an emphasis on the process of constructing shareable artefacts. Many virtual worlds, such as "Second Life", provide learners with tools for the construction of objects and hence may facilitate in-world constructionist learning experiences. However, the construction tools available present learners with a significant barrier…

The robotics field represents the integration of multiple facets of computer science and engineering. Robotics-based activities have been shown to encourage K-12 students to consider careers in computing and have even been adopted as part of core computer-science curriculum at a number of universities. Unfortunately, for students with visual…

In this paper, we present a framework for the development of collaborative design games that can be employed in participatory design sessions with students for the design of educational applications. The framework is inspired by idea generation theory and the design games literature, and guides the development of board games which, through the use…

Fundamental concepts and definitions of electronic learning (eLearning) continue to emerge, and theories of eLearning that have been advanced thus far cover an array of academic perspectives including training and education, learning and knowledge, and technology and applications to specific market segments. Any study of the effectiveness and…

A collaboration between three higher education institutions in Ireland and two European partners has resulted in the design and development of reusable learning objects for undergraduate programming students that would assist in their learning. This international project conducted extensive research of over 600 students' examination scripts in…

In an interview, Dr. Deborah W. Proctor, eCurriculum Director for Academic Innovations/ Minnesota Online and Co-Chair for the MERLOT International Conference, outlines her academic path that led to her current position and interests. As e-Curriculum Director for Academic Innovations in the Office of the Chancellor she works with system…

The problem of learning programming subjects, especially through distance learning and E-Learning, has been widely reported in literatures. Many attempts have been made to solve these problems. This has led to many new approaches in the techniques of learning of programming. One of the approaches that have been proposed is the use of virtual pair…

Researchers and educators have been developing tutors to help students learn by solving problems. The tutors vary in their ability to generate problems, generate answers, grade student answers, and provide feedback. At one end of the spectrum are tutors that depend on hand-coded problems, answers, and feedback. These tutors can be expected to be…

Background: Many of the agent-based products available to education today have been largely confined to games and instructional media that are often produced commercially by non-instructional professionals. Most of them lack customizability and are difficult to integrate into individual subject curriculum. With more agent authoring tools available…