An Experience with and Reflections on Live Coding with Active Learning

In this paper I report and reflect on a concrete experience with changing an introductory programming course from being based on "classical lectures" to being based on live coding with active learning. The experiment is built on learnings found in the literature and the pedagogical theories of scaffolding, think-pair-share and teaching as facilitation of learning. I reflect on the students\u27 reaction to the experiment, the difficulty of the active learning, how to keep time, coverage of learning objectives, the degree of improvisation and student involvement. The experiment was well received by the students, and I report also on the feedback. My hope is that educators who want to introduce live coding with active learning will be able to draw inspiration from my preparation of, execution of and reflections on the experiment

The why, when, and how of computing in biology classrooms [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

Many biologists are interested in teaching computing skills or using computing in the classroom, despite not being formally trained in these skills themselves. Thus biologists may find themselves researching how to teach these skills, and therefore many individuals are individually attempting to discover resources and methods to do so. Recent years have seen an expansion of new technologies to assist in delivering course content interactively. Educational research provides insights into how learners absorb and process information during interactive learning. In this review, we discuss the value of teaching foundational computing skills to biologists, and strategies and tools to do so. Additionally, we review the literature on teaching practices to support the development of these skills. We pay special attention to meeting the needs of diverse learners, and consider how different ways of delivering course content can be leveraged to provide a more inclusive classroom experience. Our goal is to enable biologists to teach computational skills and use computing in the classroom successfully

Scaffolding Java Programming on a Mobile Phone for Novice Learners

The ubiquity of mobile phones provides an opportunity to use them for learning programming beyond the classroom. This would be particularly useful for novice learners of programming in resource-constrained environments. However, limitations of mobile phones, such as small screens and small keypads, impede their use as typical programming environments. This study proposed that mobile programming environments could include scaffolding techniques specifically designed for mobile phones, and designed based on learners’ needs. A six-level theoretic framework was used to design scaffolding techniques to support construction of Java programs on a mobile phone. The scaffolding techniques were implemented on an Android platform. Using the prototype, three experiments were conducted with 182 learners of programming from four universities in South Africa and Kenya. Evaluation was conducted to investigate: (i) which scaffolding techniques could support the construction of Java programs on a mobile phone; and (ii) the effect on learners of using these scaffolding techniques to construct Java programs on a mobile phone. Data was collected using computer logs, questionnaires, and image and video recordings. It was found that static scaffolding, such as a program overview and constructing a program one part at a time, supported the construction of programs on a mobile phone. It was also found that automatic scaffolding, such as error prompts and statement dialogs, and user-initiated scaffolding, such as viewing of the full program while creating parts of a program, supported learners to construct programs on the mobile phone. The study also found that the scaffolding techniques enabled learners to attempt and complete more tasks than a non-scaffolded environment. Further, the scaffolding techniques enabled learners to complete programs efficiently, and captured syntactical errors early during program creation. The results also indicated that after the initial familiarization with the scaffolded environment, the scaffolding techniques could enable faster completion of programs. Learners’ feedback indicated that they found the scaffolding techniques useful in supporting programming on a mobile phone and in meeting learners’ needs. This study provides empirical evidence that scaffolding techniques specifically designed for mobile phones and designed based on learners’ needs could support the construction of programs on a mobile phone

How Electrical Engineering Students Design Computer Programs

When professional programmers begin designing programs, we know they often spend time away from a computer, using tools such as pens, paper, and whiteboards as they discuss and plan their designs (Petre, van der Hoek, & Baker, 2010). But, we're only beginning to analyze and understand the complexity of what happens during such early-stage design work. And, our accounts are almost exclusively about what professionals do. For all we've begun to understand about what happens in early-stage software design, we rarely apply the same research questions and methods to students' early-stage design work. This dissertation tries to redress that imbalance. I present two case studies — derived from my 10 study participants — of electrical engineering (EE) students designing computer programs in a second-semester computer programming course. In study 1, I show how analyzing a student's code snapshot history and conducting clinical interviews tells us far more about her design trajectory than either method could alone. From that combined data I argue students' overall software designs can be consequentially shaped by factors — such as students' stances toward trusting their code or believing a current problem is a new instance of an old one — that existing code snapshot research is poorly equipped to explain. Rather, explanations that add non-conceptual constructs including affective state and epistemological stance can offer a more complete and satisfactory account of students' design activities. In study 2, I argue computer science and engineering education should move beyond conceptual-knowledge and concept deficit explanations of students' difficulties (and capabilities) in programming. I show that in doing design students do, say, write, and gesture things that: – Are outside the phenomenological scope of most (mis)conceptions accounts of programming – Would be explained differently under frameworks that emphasize manifold epistemological resources. Some student difficulties can be recast as epistemological blocks in activity rather than conceptual knowledge deficits. Similarly, some students' productive capacities can be understood as epistemologically-related stances toward an activity, rather than evidencing particular knowledge of specific computational concepts. – Would suggest different instructional interventions if teachers attended to the stabilizing aspects — such as epistemological dynamics — that help these episodes of activity cohere for students

Enfrentando la interfaz, nuevas perspectivas en las artes vivas

Este trabajo muestra la experiencia de diseño, desde la concepción, pasando por la depuración y final implementación de las interfaces usadas por artistas, músicos y entusiastas de varios colectivos artísticos de la ciudad de Medellín durante el periodo comprendido entre 2013 a 2017; Los colectivos con los que se trabajó fueron: Colectivo CICLUX, Semillero de investigación creación CINEVIVO, Semillero de investigacion-creacion ACORDE, Colectivo Algo0ritmos. También, la Cybernetic Orchestra de la Universidad McMaster en Hamilton, Ontario, Canadá. La tesis centra sus esfuerzos en el trabajo \en vivo" y especialmente en la producción audiovisual que intenta analizar desde varias perspectivas, la evolución de cada interfaz, desde los prototipos hasta los diseños finales y como estos cambios fueron afectando la evolución de la obra producto del trabajo con la interfaz bien sea esta una interfaz gráfica, física o basado en la idea del código de programación computacional como interfaz para el trabajo en tiempo real. Los capítulos podrán verse de forma independiente y no es necesaria una lectura lineal.This work shows the design experience, from conception to debugging and the nal implementation of the interfaces used by artists, musicians and enthusiasts of various artistic groups in the city of Medellín during the period from 2013 to 2017; groups with which we worked were: Colectivo CICLUX, Semillero de investigacion-creacion CineVivo, Semillero de investigacion-creacion ACORDE, Colectivo Algoritmos. Also the Cybernetic Orchestra of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont ario, Canada. This thesis focuses on live works and especially on audiovisual production and tries to analyze from various perspectives the evolution of each interface, from prototypes to nal designs and how these changes were a recting the evolution of the artwork as a product of the work with the interface, either it is a graphical interface, physical or based on the idea of computational programming as interface for the work in real timeMagister en Artes Digitale

Software Engineering Taxonomy of Team Processes: A Completeness and Usefulness Validation

RÉSUMÉ Objectif: Délibérer les études sur le travail d'équipe en génie logiciel (GL) et trouver un moyen de mieux comprendre la dynamique des équipes dans le domaine. Contexte: Plusieurs cadres et modèles théoriques ont été présentés dans la littérature sur le travail en équipe: des cadres généraux, des cadres spécifiques de travail et des modèles pour des fonctions spécifiques. Stratégie: Étude sur les équipes et l'équipe de travail dans la littérature du génie logiciel. Étude sur la programmation en paire (PP) comme un échantillon du travail en équipe en GL. Développement d'un processus itératif revu systématique de la littérature (iSR), utilisé comme un outil de recherche pour la collecte et la synthèse des données de la littérature. Méthodologie: Une revue systématique de la littérature sur le travail en équipe en GL et sur la programmation en paires est effectuée. Les résultats de l'examen de la littérature sont utilisés pour une validation d'une taxonomie de GL des processus d'équipe. Résultats: La taxonomie de GL des processus d'équipe est un outil approprié pour la présentation des observations des pratiques d'équipe dans le domaine du GL. Conclusion: Selon la méthodologie et les articles soumis, la taxonomie de GL des processus d'équipe a été validée. Les variables contextuelles des pratiques de PP ont également été identifiées et Le processus ISR a été jugée utile pour les novices. Application: La taxonomie de GL est un outil qui peut être utilisé par les chercheurs ainsi que les gestionnaires de projets logiciels pour identifier et signaler tout type d'interactions observées dans les équipes et pour améliorer les performances de la gestion des équipes.----------ABSTRACT Objective: To deliberate the studies on teamwork in Software Engineering (SE) and to find a way to better understand team dynamics in the SE domain. Background: Several theoretical frameworks and models have been presented in the teamwork literature: general frameworks, task specific frameworks and function-specific models. Strategy: Study on teams and team working in the software engineering literature. Study on pair programming as a sample practice of teamwork. Development of an iterative systematic literature review (iSR) process used as a research tool for gathering and synthesizing data from the literature. Methodology: A systematic literature review on team working in SE and on pair programming is performed. The literature review results are used for an evaluation of current team working practices (namely PP practices) and for the validation of the SE taxonomy of team processes. Results: The SE taxonomy of team processes is an appropriate tool for the report of observations in teamwork practices in the SE domain. Conclusion: According to the employed methodology and submitted articles, the software engineering taxonomy of team processes was validated. The contextual variables of PP practice were also identified. The iSR process was found to be useful for novices. Application: The SE taxonomy is a tool which can be used by researchers as well as software project managers for identifying and reporting any kind of observed teamwork interactions. Report and analysis of team activities could improve team management performance