A game-based approach to the teaching of object-oriented programming languages

Students often have difficulties when trying to understand the concepts of object-oriented programming (OOP). This paper presents a contribution to the teaching of OOP languages through a game-oriented approach based on the interaction with tangible user interfaces (TUIs). The use of a specific type of commercial distributed TUI (Sifteo cubes), in which several small physical devices have sensing, wireless communication and user-directed output capabilities, is applied to the teaching of the C# programming language, since the operation of these devices can be controlled by user programs written in C#. For our experiment, we selected a sample of students with a sufficient knowledge about procedural programming, which was divided into two groups: The first one had a standard introductory C# course, whereas the second one had an experimental C# course that included, in addition to the contents of the previous one, two demonstration programs that illustrated some OOP basic concepts using the TUI features. Finally, both groups completed two tests: a multiple-choice exam for evaluating the acquisition of basic OOP concepts and a C# programming exercise. The analysis of the results from the tests indicates that the group of students that attended the course including the TUI demos showed a higher interest level (i.e. they felt more motivated) during the course exposition than the one that attended the standard introductory C# course. Furthermore, the students from the experimental group achieved an overall better mark. Therefore, we can conclude that the technological contribution of Sifteo cubes – used as a distributed TUI by which OOP basic concepts are represented in a tangible and a visible way – to the teaching of the C# language has a positive influence on the learning of this language and such basic concepts

Two-Language, Two-Paradigm Introductory Computing Curriculum Model and its Implementation

This paper analyzes difficulties with the introduction of object-oriented concepts in introductory computing education and then proposes a two-language, two-paradigm curriculum model that alleviates such difficulties. Our two-language, two-paradigm curriculum model begins with teaching imperative programming using Python programming language, continues with teaching object-oriented computing using Java, and concludes with teaching object-oriented data structures with Java

Less-java, more learning: Language design for introductory programming

Less-Java is a new procedural programming language with static, strong, and inferred typing, native unit testing, and support for basic object-oriented constructs. These features make programming in Less-Java more intuitive than traditional introductory languages, which will allow professors to dedicate more class time to overarching computer science concepts and less to syntax and language-specific quirks

Spartan Daily, December 9, 1947

Volume 36, Issue 46https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/9065/thumbnail.jp

A review into the factors affecting declines in undergraduate Computer Science enrolments and approaches for solving this problem

There has been a noticeable drop in enrolments in Computer Science (CS) courses and interest in CS careers in recent years while demand for CS skills is increasing dramatically. Not only are such skills useful for CS jobs but for all forms of business and to some extent personal lives as Information Technology (IT) is becoming ubiquitous and essential for most aspects of modern life. Therefore it is essential to address this lack of interest and skills to not only fill the demand for CS employees but to provide students with the CS skills they need for modern life especially for improving their employability and skills for further study. This report looks at possible reasons for the lack of interest in CS and different approaches used to enhance CS education and improve the appeal of CS

Building Robust E-learning Software Systems Using Web Technologies

Building a robust e-learning software platform represents a major challenge for both the project manager and the development team. Since functionalities of these software systems improves and grows by the day, several aspects must be taken into consideration – e.g. workflows, use-casesor alternative scenarios – in order to create a well standardized and fully functional integrated learning management system. The paper will focus on a model of implementation for an e-learning software system, analyzing its features, its functional mechanisms as well as exemplifying an implementation algorithm. A list of some of the mostly used web technologies (both server-side and client-side) will be analyzed and a discussion over major security leaks of web applicationswill also be put in discussion.E-learning, E-testing, Web Technology, Software System, Web Platform

EOLANG and φ\varphi-calculus

Object-oriented programming (OOP) is one of the most popular paradigms used for building software systems. However, despite its industrial and academic popularity, OOP is still missing a formal apparatus similar to $\lambda$-calculus, which functional programming is based on. There were a number of attempts to formalize OOP, but none of them managed to cover all the features available in modern OO programming languages, such as C++ or Java. We have made yet another attempt and created $\varphi$-calculus. We also created EOLANG (also called EO), an experimental programming language based on $\varphi$-calculus