Pair-programming has been found to be very beneficial in educational settings. Students who pair in their introductory programming course are more confident, have greater course completion and pass rates, and are more likely to persist in computer-related majors. Although pairing helps all students, we believe that it is particularly beneficial…

This paper summarizes the results of an investigation into whether women and men have different (concrete and abstract) styles of programming, and whether the standard computing curriculum is therefore biased against women. The theory underpinning the hypothesis is critically reviewed in practical programming contexts. A concrete means of testing…

Purpose: This paper proposes solutions to problems related to the maintenance and update of already existing e-learning courseware. Design/methodology/approach: A structured approach in form of a reference model for the re-engineering of existing educational material is presented. In this context, concepts already established in the area of…

In order to capture current educational practices in eLearning courses, more advanced "learning design" capabilities are needed than are provided by the open eLearning specifications hitherto available. Specifically, these fall short in terms of multi-role workflows, collaborative peer-interaction, personalization and support for learning…

Computer operations involving complex numbers, essential in such applications as Fourier transforms or image processing, are normally performed in a "divide-and-conquer" approach dealing separately with real and imaginary parts. A number of proposals have treated complex numbers as a single unit but all have foundered on the problem of the…

This article reports on the growth of blogs in popular culture, and the fact that they are becoming more widely accepted in the media industry. The rise and popularity of blogs--short for "Web logs"--are causing journalism educators to overhaul their teachings. In fact, blogging's influence varies from one university program to the next, just like…

The 9th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2016) is held under the auspices of the International Educational Data Mining Society at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, in the USA. The conference, held June 29-July 2, 2016, follows the eight previous editions (Madrid 2015, London 2014, Memphis…

It is postulated that one of the main problems with e-learning environments is their lack of personalisation. This article presents a comprehensive review of the current work in the field and proposes a framework for research in promoting personalisation in Web-based learning environments. The concepts of adaptability, adaptivity and the…

This booklet is the first in a series of publications that address key themes of UNESCO's work on HIV & AIDS and the education sector. It provides an overview of why HIV and AIDS are important issues for the education sector, identifies weaknesses in current policy and programming responses, and highlights evidence gaps. Intended mainly for…

This study utilized elements of technology-rich ethnography to create a rich description of a multi-user virtual environment in a high school computer programming class. Of particular interest was the transition that took place in classroom culture from one characterized by a well-defined problem solving approach to one more indicative of open…

The Internet is no longer only a place to research information. It is now also a forum through which users can publish and disseminate their own writing. Richardson describes some of the main tools that make this new "Read/Write Web" work--blogs, wikis, really simple syndication, and podcasting--and gives examples of how each can be used to…

The intent of this study was to investigate how to maximize the chances of success of an educational innovation--specifically one based on the implementation of the educational modeling language called EML. This language is both technically and organizationally demanding. Two different implementation cases were investigated, one situated in an…

A model for predicting student performance on introductory programming modules is presented. The model uses attributes identified in a study carried out at four third-level institutions in the Republic of Ireland. Four instruments were used to collect the data and over 25 attributes were examined. A data reduction technique was applied and a…

This paper discusses the role of reduction in computer science and describes a study on undergraduate students' perception of the concept of reduction. Specifically, based on an analysis of students answers to questions addressing different computer science topics, we present several findings regarding the ways in which undergraduate students…

Community-based organizations (CBOs), particularly minority-based CBOs, are instrumental in the delivery of HIV/AIDS prevention programs and services. Despite a tremendous need, many CBOs lack the capacity to plan, implement, and evaluate targeted prevention interventions to serve culturally diverse populations. This article describes a…