2,291 research outputs found

    Introducing Java : the case for fundamentals-first

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    Java has increasingly become the language of choice for teaching introductory programming. In this paper, we examine the different approaches to teaching Java (Objects-first, Fundamentals-first and GUI-first) to ascertain whether there exists an agreed ordering of topics and difficulty levels between nine relatively basic Java topics. The results of our literature survey and student questionnaire suggests that the Fundamentals-first approach may have benefits from the student's point of view and an agreed ordering of the Java topics accompanying this approach has been established

    A Model of an E-Learning Web Site for Teaching and Evaluating Online

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    This research is endeavoring to design an e-learning web site on the internet having the course name as "Object Oriented Programming" (OOP) for the students of level four at Computer Science Department (CSD). This course is to be taught online (through web) and then a programme is to be designed to evaluate students performance electronically while introducing a comparison between online teaching , e-evaluation and traditional methods of evaluation. The research seeks to lay out a futuristic perception that how the future online teaching and e-electronic evaluation should be the matter which highlights the importance of this research

    The mathematical components of engineering expertise: the relationship between doing and understanding mathematics

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    this paper are extracts from our interviews with engineers.) Where, then, is the complex mathematics that certainly exists in modern engineering? Throughout all aspects of engineering design, computer software has an overwhelming presence. Also, in the particular firm that we visited, there a small number of analytical specialists (a few per cent of the professional engineers employed) who act as consultants for the mathematical/analytical problems which the general design engineers cannot readily solve. (In general in structural engineering, such specialist work is often carried out by external consultants, eg. academic researchers

    An Introduction to Programming for Bioscientists: A Python-based Primer

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    Computing has revolutionized the biological sciences over the past several decades, such that virtually all contemporary research in the biosciences utilizes computer programs. The computational advances have come on many fronts, spurred by fundamental developments in hardware, software, and algorithms. These advances have influenced, and even engendered, a phenomenal array of bioscience fields, including molecular evolution and bioinformatics; genome-, proteome-, transcriptome- and metabolome-wide experimental studies; structural genomics; and atomistic simulations of cellular-scale molecular assemblies as large as ribosomes and intact viruses. In short, much of post-genomic biology is increasingly becoming a form of computational biology. The ability to design and write computer programs is among the most indispensable skills that a modern researcher can cultivate. Python has become a popular programming language in the biosciences, largely because (i) its straightforward semantics and clean syntax make it a readily accessible first language; (ii) it is expressive and well-suited to object-oriented programming, as well as other modern paradigms; and (iii) the many available libraries and third-party toolkits extend the functionality of the core language into virtually every biological domain (sequence and structure analyses, phylogenomics, workflow management systems, etc.). This primer offers a basic introduction to coding, via Python, and it includes concrete examples and exercises to illustrate the language's usage and capabilities; the main text culminates with a final project in structural bioinformatics. A suite of Supplemental Chapters is also provided. Starting with basic concepts, such as that of a 'variable', the Chapters methodically advance the reader to the point of writing a graphical user interface to compute the Hamming distance between two DNA sequences.Comment: 65 pages total, including 45 pages text, 3 figures, 4 tables, numerous exercises, and 19 pages of Supporting Information; currently in press at PLOS Computational Biolog

    Student success model in programming course: A case study in UUM

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    The complexity and difficulty ascribed to computer programming has been asserted to be the causes of its high rate of failure record and attrition. It is opined that programming either to novice, middle learner, and the self-branded geeks is always a course to be apprehensive of different studies with varying findings. Studies on factors leading to the success of programming course in higher institution have been carried out. The record at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) shows that 38% of semester one undergraduate students failed the programming course in 2013. This really motivates this study, which aims at investigating the practical factors affecting the success of programming courses, and to position its’ theoretically findings to complement the existing findings. Data were gathered using a quantitative approach, in which a set of questionnaire were distributed to 282 sampled respondents, who are undergraduate and postgraduate students of Information Technology (IT) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Having screened and cleaned the data, which led to the deletion of four outlier records, independent T-test, correlation, and regression were run to test the hypotheses. The results of Pearson correlation test reveal that teaching tools, OOP concepts, motivation, course evaluation, and mathematical aptitude are positively related to academic success in programming course, while fear is found to be negatively related. In addition, the regression analysis explains that all the elicited independent variables except fear are strongly related. Besides, the independent T-test also discovers no deference between groups with and without previous programming experience

    Teaching Java First: Experiments with Pigs-Early Pedagogy

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    Pengembangan Storytelling Untuk Pengenalan Pemrograman Sederhana Dengan Pendekatan Object Oriented Programming Di Sekolah Dasar

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    Abstract and complex material about an introduction to programming if it is based on writing computer programs will be very difficult to understand if it is directly given to elementary school students. The development of the storytelling method with an Object Oriented Programming (OOP) approach for an introduction to simple programming becomes relevant. The OOP approach for an introduction to simple programming in elementary school will lead students to understand programming logic. The stages in developing it include analysis, design and development. The results of the trial show that the media experts gave very appropriate responses to be used, as well as the Material Experts I and II. This can be interpreted that development is very feasible to be tested in the field to get student responses.AbstrakMateri abstrak dan kompleks tentang pengenalan pemrograman jika berbasis penulisan program komputer akan sangat sulit dipahami jika langsung diberikan kepada siswa sekolah dasar. Pengembangan metode storytelling dengan pendekatan Object Oriented Programming (OOP) untuk pengenalan pemrograman sederhana menjadi relevan diterapkan. Pendekatan OOP untuk pengenalan pemrograman sederhana di sekolah dasar akan mengantarkan peserta didik dalam memahami logika pemrograman.  Tahapan dalam mengembangkannya meliputi analisis, desain dan pengembangan. Hasil uji coba menunjukkan bahwa ahli media memberi tanggapan sangat layak untuk dimanfaatkan, begitupula dengan Ahli Materi I dan II. Hal ini bisa dimaknai bahwa pengembangan sangat layak untuk diujicobakan di lapangan untuk memperoleh tanggapan siswa

    Perceptions of Scratch Programming among Secondary School Students in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

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    Scratch programming was designed with the aim of helping students to develop their logical thinking skills as well as enhancing their problem-solving capabilities, without having the technical distractions associated with more advanced programming languages such as Java. This study, guided by the technology acceptance model (TAM), focused on exploring the associations between perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude towards use, and behavioural intention to use the Scratch programming language, with the aim of identifying how Scratch programming was perceived by a group of South African students in Grades 10 and 11 at two high schools. Results indicated, among other things, that Grade 10 students perceived Scratch to be easy to use and useful, and Grade 11 students found it to be easy to use but useful only in learning introductory programming concepts. These and other findings suggest that while Scratch helps students understand logic and problem-solving, it does not assist sufficiently in preparing them for using a higher-level programming language such as Java. The article concludes with recommendations for South African education policymakers, including proposals that a bridging programming language be introduced between Scratch and Java, and that Scratch be introduced much earlier than in Grade 10.CA201

    An Information Technology Instrument to Enhance the Development of Abstract Thinking for Object-Oriented Programming

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    Published ThesisObject-oriented Programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm that offers a more natural and intuitive way to describe, for example, instances of variables by relating them to real world objects with attributes through the creation of classes and their associated instances, called objects. The creation of classes, instantiation of objects, inheritance of other classes and composition are significant abstract topics in OOP that distinguish it drastically from its counterpart, i.e. structured programming. OOP is very abstract in nature and requires abstract cognitive skills, similar to the skills needed to perform well in mathematics, for the proper comprehension of the theoretical constituents associated with OOP as well as the practical application thereof. Several programming languages that implement the OOP paradigm, for example Java, facilitate class creation via abstract data types (ADT), which further points to the abstract nature of this paradigm. The main objectives of this research were to: determine the theoretical concepts related to abstract thinking ability in the human brain and how it is stimulated; determine what evaluation instruments related to assessing abstract thinking ability exist currently and of what an IT software-tool aiming to develop abstract thinking ability should comprise; determine the development of a software tool that will stimulate and assist the development of abstract thinking abilities within the users thereof; provide evidence regarding the effects of such an intervention on the abstract thinking abilities of the users thereof and on that of the academic performance of the users thereof in OOP. To develop such an intervention, the researcher investigated available literature, employed a registered psychologist and incorporated available games, exercises, and questions to bring out the full potential of the working intervention. An experimental case-study research design was used for this project. The GSAT assessment tool formed part of the evaluation tools with the aim to evaluate both the non-verbal (abstract reasoning) as well as the verbal skills of a control and an experimental group. The mixed method methodology, consisting of both quantitative and qualitative research approaches, was used to conduct this research study. Furthermore, the resulting intervention that was developed and deployed as part of this study includes the functionality to data collection, which was analysed, deliberated upon and presented. The objective was to prove the hypothesis that: A custom software tool, designed, developed, introduced and deployed, specifically to stimulate certain cognitive processes in the human brain, has the ability to improve students’ abstract thinking ability and a direct effect on students’ performance in OOP when used for a determined period. The data of the pre and post-psychometric assessments indicated measurable improvement in the abstract thinking abilities of the experimental group when compared to that of the control group. Subsequently, the institutional assessment results regarding OOP supported this data and indicated improvement in the academic performance of the members of the experimental group in OOP as a subject, when compared to that of the members of the control group. The study concluded with the presentation of a set of guidelines for developers who aim to develop interactive Information Technology tools to stimulate abstract thinking abilities within the users thereof
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