This paper presents results of a questionnaire focused on investigating students' confidence and behavioral intention in the area of programming, particularly that of structures, problem solving, and programming commands (Conditional--Loop). Responses from 116 1st year students regarding informatics were used. The results indicate that the…

In this paper, we present a method for recognizing algorithms from students programming submissions coded in Java. The method is based on the concept of "programming schemas" and "beacons". Schemas are high-level programming knowledge with detailed knowledge abstracted out, and beacons are statements that imply specific…

In an earlier work I defined an extension of XML called Algorithm Markup Language (AML) for easy and understandable coding in an IDE which supports XML editing (e.g. NetBeans). The AML extension contains annotations and native language (English or Hungarian) tag names used when coding our algorithm. This paper presents a drawing tool with which…

Optimal test-design methods are applied to rule-based item generation. Three different cases of automated test design are presented: (a) test assembly from a pool of pregenerated, calibrated items; (b) test generation on the fly from a pool of calibrated item families; and (c) test generation on the fly directly from calibrated features defining…

The generation of brand new data seems to be an unwritten rule of much social research and the career field is no exception. However, in these austere economic times, we need to urgently reconsider our research norms and to think of creative ways of doing more for less. We would argue that given the "ordinariness" of the career concept…

This article presents the architecture and evaluation of a novel environment for programming education. The design of this programming environment, and the way it is used in class, is based on the findings of constructivist and cognitivist learning paradigms. The environment is evaluated based on qualitative student and teacher evaluations and…

Data integration is a critical component of enterprise system integration, and XML data validation is the foundation for sound data integration of XML-based information systems. Since B2B e-commerce relies on data validation as one of the critical components for enterprise integration, it is imperative for financial industries and e-commerce…

Reporting systems can provide transparency into financial markets necessary for a sustainable, prosperous global economy. The most widely used global platform for exchanging electronic information about companies to regulatory bodies is XBRL. Standards for this platform are in the process of becoming legally harmonized, but not all countries are…

The first years in engineering degree courses are usually made of large groups with a low teacher-student ratio. Overcrowding in classrooms hinders continuous assessment much needed to promote independent learning. Therefore, there is a need to apply some kind of automatic evaluation to facilitate the correction of exercises outside the classroom.…

Automated theorem proving (ATP) for Propositional Classical Logic is an algorithm to check the validity of a formula. It is a very well-known problem which is decidable but co-NP-complete. There are many algorithms for this problem. In this paper, an educationally oriented implementation of Semantic Tableaux method is described. The program has…

Most online courses are offered as "asynchronous" courses and have no real-time contact with students. The Synchronous online alternative provides normal scheduled class time and allows students to login to a virtual online classroom with the instructor. We provide an overview of two different platforms for hosting synchronous classes…

This research study aims at evaluating the suitability of SimReal+ for effective use in teacher education. SimReal+ was originally developed to teach mathematics in universities, but it is has been recently improved to include school mathematics. The basic idea of SimReal+ is that the visualization of mathematical concepts is a powerful technique…

One of the most intriguing objectives when teaching computer science in mid-adolescence high school students is attracting and mainly maintaining their concentration within the limits of the class. A number of theories have been proposed and numerous methodologies have been applied, aiming to assist in the implementation of a personalized learning…

The continued use of traditional lecturing across Higher Education as the main teaching and learning approach in many disciplines must be challenged. An increasing number of studies suggest that this approach, compared to more active learning methods, is the least effective. In counterargument, the use of traditional lectures are often justified…

There is a perception amongst some of those learning computer programming that the principles of object-oriented programming (where behaviour is often encapsulated across multiple class files) can be difficult to grasp, especially when taught through a traditional, didactic "talk-and-chalk" method or in a lecture-based environment. We…