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Expressiveness of programming languages and environments: a comparative study
111-141Views:11In written and oral communication tools, the support of the understanding of our message have an important role: we can increase the expressiveness and the level of understanding of our topic by approaching it in several ways, i.e. in written methods by highlighting the important parts; in oral by changing tone and other elements of non-verbal communication. In this paper programming languages and developing environments are compared with each other in terms of their methods and their level of support to the solution of programming tasks.
There is a need to have these tools in programming and, of course, in teaching programming. What are the factors that define the distinctness and the legibility of a program? What are the basic principles which give an instrument in programmers' and students' hands in order to create a properly working program from already existing algorithms in the most efficient way? We search for the answers to these questions in this paper. -
Methods of teaching programming
247-257Views:28Programming methodology is one of the oldest fields of IS education, and thus various methods have evolved for its teaching. While some of them could be used effectively in primary or secondary education, others are more suited for students in higher education. The methods themselves determine the structure and curricula of courses such as Programming methodology, Data types and algorithms, Programming technology. -
Increasing the popularity and efficiency of distance education by old-new methods
211-228Views:15In our essay we aim to provide suggestions to develop distance education and we decisively focus on programmed education that is supported by e-learning environment. We both think that the shortage of programmed educational methods is causeless in Hungary's distance education. The widespread usage of info-communication devices and of the Internet makes the programmed educational methods (not as an exclusive method) possible to use in distance education together with e-learning environment. In our work we summarize the possible solutions and at the same time we also provide a case study, as an insight into our e-learning project (called Logical Programming) by Moodle. -
Teaching multiparadigm programming based on object-oriented experiences
171-182Views:18Multiparadigm programming is an emerging practice in computer technology. Co-existence of object-oriented, generic and functional techniques can better handle variability of projects. The present paper gives an overview of teaching multiparadigm programming approach through typical language concepts, tools in higher education. Students learning multiparadigm-oriented subjects would gain considerable expertise, which is highly needed by the industrial side in large-scale application development. -
Live & Learn: When a wrong program works
195-208Views:6In this paper an interesting and surprising case study of my programming education practice is presented. This case underlines the importance of methods, standards and rules of thumb of the programming process. These elements of the programming technology can be taught well in education and they can guarantee the quality of the implemented programs. However the case described in this paper brings an anomaly when a programming standard is violated during the programming process and, although it should imply that the implemented program code works badly, the program works perfectly. This anomaly is caused by a typical implementation problem: the boundary and rules of the machine representation of numbers. This anomaly is going to be analyzed and the appropriate conclusions of our case study will be deducted. -
Delusions in informatics education
151-161Views:9In the following article our intention is to try to introduce the negative ideas that exist today in Hungary regarding informatics education within the secondary education system. [Zs] As far as we know, these delusions are characteristic of not only Hungary, but we believe that we should look for our own mistakes, that is why we refer to Hungarian examples.
We have examined the informatic knowledge taught in the first 10 years of secondary education, the possible curriculum of the general informatics subject.
To reach our aim, first we have to deviate a bit from our original topic, because without this, it would be more difficult to understand the core subject of the article. In the deviation we will explain what is called informatics, what is called informatics subject. Then we will deal with the main topic and in the summary we will explain what we believe is the aim of general informatics education. -
How to teach testing?
215-232Views:11Testing methodology is an important part of IT education. It is desired to show the beginner programmer students the advantage of testing by having them do only a small amount of work. In this paper, we will show how to make testing as a part of programming in simple exercises. These exercises are solved with the analogous programming technique, which is based on programming theorems over enumerators. We have elaborated grey-box test cases for the programs which have been developed based on programming theorems. These test cases can be taught together with the programming theorems, and they can serve as a standard testing procedure for programmers. We also suggest a test tool to automatize test runs, and we will discuss its usage in a short case study. -
Let's learn database programming in an active way
213-228Views:6This paper introduces how I applied the "learning by doing" method in the education of advanced knowledge of database systems in Software Engineering BSc program. The first goal of my method is to enable the students to use the PL/SQL and SQL as a skill, namely they get a practical competence which can be immediately used in business. In the laboratory the students independently practise the material learnt on the lecture. They get feedback for all their activities from the teacher. A software system helps administer the solutions, automatically verifies the syntax of them and helps the teacher to evaluate them. The paper summarises the results of three semesters. In the last year I compared the active learning method with the traditional method. I asked the students in a voluntary survey about the active learning method. -
A case study of the integration of Algorithm Visualizations in Hungarian programming education
51-66Views:113In this study, I will introduce how Algorithm Visualizations (AV) can help programming education or, in this case, the acquisition of basic programming theorems. I used two di erent methods to test this: in the first round, I examined in a larger group how much the students' ability to solve specific tasks changes after being introduced to a visualization tool, and then, what was their motivation and experience during this process. In the second round, I looked for the components that could be important when choosing a tool with the help of an in-depth interview with a smaller number of individuals. In both cases, I describe the research, experience, and results of the study, and then summarize them at the end.
Subject Classification: 97P10
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Cultivating algorithmic thinking: an important issue for both technical and HUMAN sciences
107-116Views:9Algorithmic thinking is a valuable skill that all people should master. In this paper we propose a one-semester, algorithm-oriented computer science course for human science students. According to our experience such an initiative could succeed only if the next recipe is followed: interesting and practical content + exciting didactical methods + minimal programming. More explicitly, we suggest: (1) A special, simple, minimal, pseudo-code like imperative programming language that integrates a graphic library. (2) Interesting, practical and problem-oriented content with philosophical implications. (3) Exciting, human science related didactical methods including art-based, inter-cultural elements. -
Software engineering education in cooperation with industrial partners
133-148Views:8This paper presents our experiences on teaching software engineering in teams which are organized around different R+D projects. These long-running, innovative projects are carried out in cooperation with industrial partners, and are supported by student exchange. While MSc and PhD students work together with faculty staff members on the projects in an industrial-like environment, the students develop skills that would be otherwise very hard for them to obtain. The methodological contributions of the paper are illustrated by, and substantiated with, the description of a concrete software engineering project. -
Better understanding mathematics by algorithmic thinking and computer programming
295-305Views:104Tamás Varga’s mathematics education experiment covered not just mathematics, but also other related topics. In many of his works he clearly stated that computer science can support the understanding of mathematics as much as mathematics supports informatics. On the other hand, not much later than the introduction of the new curriculum in 1978, personal computers started to spread, making it possible to teach informatics in classes and in extracurricular activities. Varga’s guided discovery approach has a didactic value for other age groups as well, not only in primary school. Its long-lasting effect can be observed even in present times. Having reviewed several educational results in the spirit of Tamás Varga, we have decided to present an extracurricular course. It is an open study group for age 12-18. Students solve problems by developing Python programs and, according to our experiences, this results in a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts.
Subject Classification: 97B10, 97B20, 97D50, 97N80, 97P20, 97P30, 97P40, 97P50, 97U70
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Shall we use one more representation? Suggestions about establishing the notion of recursion in teaching informatics in primary schools
209-229Views:8Among the most prominent developmental tasks of primary school education one finds increasing pupils' cognitive capacity with especial regard to observing, interpreting, coding and proving skills, which form an integral part of information and communication culture.
Info-technology (problem solving with the tools and methods of informatics), a subject matter within informatics, provides outstanding opportunities to reach the aims outlined above.
This study presents methodological ideas related to the subfield Algorithmization and data modelling of Info-technology. More specifically, it presents teaching methods to be applied while establishing the notion of recursion in grades 3–8 of primary education, and at the same time it also focuses on various realization possibilities of the prominent developmental tasks mentioned above. -
Difference lists in Prolog
73-87Views:7Prolog is taught at Bradford University within the two-semester module Symbolic and Declarative Computing/Artificial Intelligence. Second year undergraduate students are taught here the basics of the functional and the logic programming paradigms, the latter by using the Linux implementation of SWI Prolog [6]. The topic 'Difference lists' is mentioned in traditional textbooks such as [2] and [5] but it was felt that the available texts do not quite serve our purposes. We present here a lecture handout and a laboratory sheet for the teaching sessions on Difference lists. It is believed that the lectures and lab sessions together with the handouts shown here are a gentle, self-contained and reasoned introduction into the topic. The figures here shown to illustrate the concepts are considered a special feature of the handouts which in this form do not seem to be well known. -
Modelling and simulation in education and the NetLogo simulation environment
229-240Views:8Just like real experimentation, computer simulation is a method for understanding the world. In the present paper I will demonstrate its possible didactic advantages and application potentials. The displayed simulations, which will be analyzed in a separate section, were all made in the NetLogo environment, one of them by the author himself. -
Young women's barriers to choose IT and methods to overcome them - A case study from Hungary
77-101Views:159Women's scarcity in the STEM, especially in the IT sector is pronouncedly evident. Young women are obstructed from entering and remaining in IT by a broad range of social, educational, and labor market factors. In our paper, we would like to analyze the main barriers girls face in choosing IT, while also proposing potential methods to help them overcome these obstacles. In the second part of the paper, we will present a case study to illustrate in detail how the combination of the above methods can be put into practice to address and tackle the complex set of barriers girls face. We will first introduce a Hungarian annual program, Girls' Day ("Lányok napja"), specifically aimed to promote STEM to girls, then we will present two specific events organized for the 2020 edition of the program and designed with the above principles in mind. The interactive presentation, exposing girls to female role models of the field in a gamified way, and a game development exercise, building Scratch programming skills, have attempted to provide young women both with positive perspectives and experiences in IT, which are instrumental in helping them to surmount entrenched obstacles and raise their interest in the field.
Subject Classification: 97P10, 97U30