This paper examines undergraduate student use of laptop computers during a lecture-style class that includes substantial problem-solving activities and graphic-based content. The study includes both a self-reported use component collected from student surveys as well as a monitored use component collected via activity monitoring…

The main objective of our study is to determine the challenges faced during the process of teaching Computer Science in a university of a country in transition and make suggestions to improve this teaching process by perfecting the necessary conditions. Our survey builds on the thesis that we live in an information age; information technology is…

This article reports on an experiment undertaken in order to evaluate the effect of a program visualization tool for helping students to better understand the dynamics of object-oriented programs. The concrete tool used was BlueJ's debugger and object inspector. The study was done as a control-group experiment in an introductory programming…

With the support of a grant from the Sloan Foundation, nine computer scientists from liberal arts colleges came together in October, 1984 to form the Liberal Arts Computer Science Consortium (LACS) and to create a model curriculum appropriate for liberal arts colleges. Over the years the membership has grown and changed, but the focus has remained…

The purpose of this dissertation was to gain new insight into video game playing, exposure, and preferences as well as perceptions toward success with computers between students in computer related disciplines (CRD) and students in non computer related disciplines (NCRD). Perceptions toward success with computers were measured using a slightly…

Many researchers investigated the efficacy of using worked examples in classroom instruction and provided evidence in the effectiveness of worked example instruction in mathematics, computer programming, physics, and etc. However, there are limited studies in worked example design. The purpose of this study is to generate the instructional design…

As part of the CETL ALiC initiative (Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning: Active Learning in Computing), undergraduate computing science students at Newcastle and Durham universities participated in a cross-site team software development project. To ensure we offer adequate resources to support this collaboration, we conducted an…

The question/answer-based computer game "Age of Computers" was introduced to replace traditional weekly paper exercises in a course in computer fundamentals in 2003. Questionnaire evaluations and observation of student behavior have indicated that the students found the game more motivating than paper exercises and that a majority of the…

Online learning material that students use by themselves is one of the typical usages of algorithm animation (AA). Thus, the integration of algorithm animations into hypertext is seen as an important topic today to promote the usage of algorithm animation in teaching. This article presents an algorithm animation viewer implemented purely using…

Hypertextbooks for Computer Science contents present an interesting approach to better support learners and integrate algorithm animations into the learning materials. We have developed a prototype for integrating a selection of the functionality of such a hypertextbook into the established Moodle LCMS. This article describes the goals and…

Student attrition and low graduation rates are critical problems in computer science education. Disappointing graduation rates and declining student interest have caught the attention of business leaders, researchers and universities. With weak graduation rates and little interest in scientific computing, many are concerned about the USA's ability…

A history of declining enrollments in university Management Information Systems (MIS) and computer science (CS) departments in the U.S. considerably impacts both college departments and business organizations that hire graduates. In order to reverse the enrollment trend, an understanding of the important similarities and differences that shape a…

This study was designed to explore the effectiveness in student performance and confidence of limited and full device simulators. The 30 employees from an information technology company who participated in this study were assigned to one of three groups. Each group received practice for learning a complex software procedure using traditional…

The design of educational experiences is often mediated by historical, institutional, and social conceptions. Although these influences can initially shape the way that educational opportunities are created and implemented, this preliminary form has the potential to reorganize. In this paper, we illustrate how history shows its presence in the…

In modern learning environments, the lecturer or educational designer is often confronted with multi-national student cohorts, requiring special consideration regarding language, cultural norms and taboos, religion, and ethics. Through a somewhat provocative example we demonstrate that taking such factors into account can be essential to avoid…