Critters in the Classroom: A 3D Computer-Game-Like Tool for Teaching Programming to Computer Animation Students

The brewing crisis threatening computer science education is a well documented fact. To counter this and to increase enrolment and retention in computer science related degrees, it has been suggested to make programming "more fun" and to offer "multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary programs" [Carter 2006]. The Computer Visualisation and Animation undergraduate degree at the National Centre for Computer Animation (Bournemouth University) is such a programme. Computer programming forms an integral part of the curriculum of this technical arts degree, and as educators we constantly face the challenge of having to encourage our students to engage with the subject. We intend to address this with our C-Sheep system, a reimagination of the "Karel the Robot" teaching tool [Pattis 1981], using modern 3D computer game graphics that today's students are familiar with. This provides a game-like setting for writing computer programs, using a task-specific set of instructions which allow users to take control of virtual entities acting within a micro world, effectively providing a graphical representation of the algorithms used. Whereas two decades ago, students would be intrigued by a 2D top-down representation of the micro world, the lack of the visual gimmickry found in modern computer games for representing the virtual world now makes it extremely difficult to maintain the interest of students from today's "Plug&Play generation". It is therefore especially important to aim for a 3D game-like representation which is "attractive and highly motivating to today's generation of media-conscious students" [Moskal et al. 2004]. Our system uses a modern, platform independent games engine, capable of presenting a visually rich virtual environment using a state of the art rendering engine of a type usually found in entertainment systems. Our aim is to entice students to spend more time programming, by providing them with an enjoyable experience. This paper provides a discussion of the 3D computer game technology employed in our system and presents examples of how this can be exploited to provide engaging exercises to create a rewarding learning experience for our students

Do Robots Dream of Virtual Sheep: Rediscovering the "Karel the Robot" Paradigm for the "Plug&Play Generation"

We introduce ”C-Sheep”, an educational system designed to teach students the fundamentals of computer programming in a novel and exciting way. Recent studies suggest that computer science education is fast approaching a crisis - application numbers for degree courses in the area of computer programming are down, and potential candidates are put off the subject which they do not fully understand. We address this problem with our system by providing the visually rich virtual environment of ”The Meadow”, where the user writes programs to control the behaviour of a sheep using our ”CSheep” programming language. This combination of the ”Karel the Robot” paradigm with modern 3D computer graphics techniques, more commonly found in computer games, aims to help students to realise that computer programming can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience and intends to help educators with the teaching of computer science fundamentals. Our mini-language-like system for computer science education uses a state of the art rendering engine offering features more commonly found in entertainment systems. The scope of the mini-language is designed to fit in with the curriculum for the first term of an introductory computer program ming course (using the C programming language)

Reverse Skew-T - A Cloudmaking Tool for CG

We present 'Reverse Skew-T', a tool that allows users to direct a physically inspired simulation of layered clouds. To achieve this, we extend existing models for cloud simulation and provide a graphical user interface for providing important simulation parameters to our system

C-Sheep: Controlling Entities in a 3D Virtual World as a Tool for Computer Science Education

One of the challenges in teaching computer science in general and computer programming in particular is to maintain the interest of students, who often perceive the subject as difficult and tedious. To this end, we introduce C-Sheep, a mini-language-like system for computer science education, using a state of the art rendering engine, usually found in entertainment systems. The intention is to motivate students to spend more time programming, which can be achieved by providing an enjoyable experience. Computer programming is an essential skill for software developers and as such is always an integral part of every computer science curriculum. However, even if students are pursuing a computer science related degree, it can be very difficult to interest them in the act of computer programming, the writing of software, itself. In the C-Sheep system this is addressed by using the visual gimmickry of modern computer games, which allows programs to provide instant visualisation of algorithms. This visual feedback is invaluable to the understanding of how the algorithm works, and - if there are unintended results - how errors in the program can be debugged. The C-Sheep programming language is a (100% compatible) subset of the ANSI C programming language. Apart from just being a tool for learning the basics of the C programming language, C-Sheep implements the C control structures that are required for teaching the basic computer science principles encountered in structured programming. Unlike other teaching languages which have minimal syntax and which are variable free to provide an environment with minimal complexity, C-Sheep allows the declaration and use of variables. C-Sheep also supports the definition of sub-routines (functions) which can be called recursively. "The Meadow" virtual environment is the virtual world in which entities (in our case sheep) controlled by C-Sheep programs exist. This micro world provides a graphical representation of the algorithms used in the programs controlling the virtual entities. Their position and orientation within the virtual world visualise the current state of the program. "The Meadow" is based on our proprietary "Crossbow" game engine which incorporates a virtual machine for executing CSheep programs. The Crossbow Engine is a compact game engine which is flexible in design and offers a number of features common to more complex engines. The Crossbow Virtual Machine used with C-Sheep in "The Meadow" - an improvement on the ZBL/0 virtual machine - is a module of the Crossbow Engine. The C-Sheep system also provides a counterpart library for C, mirroring the CSheep library functions of the virtual machine. This allows C-Sheep programs to be compiled into an executable using a normal off-the-shelf C/C++ compiler. This executable can then be run from within the native working environment of the operating system. The purpose of this library is to simplify the migration from the educational mini-language to real-world systems by allowing novice programmers to make an easy transition from using the C-Sheep system to using the C programming language

Turds, traitors and tossers : the abuse of UK MPs via Twitter

There has been growing public attention around the abuse of MPs online including criminal convictions for violent threats, regular coverage of racist and misogynistic language directed at representatives. Yet, the extent of the problem and patterns of abuse remain relatively under-researched. So far, much of coverage of the problem is anecdotal or based on self-reporting from MPs. This research sets out to provide a more rigorous benchmark measure of abuse. It also examines targets and triggers for social media abuse – how far is abuse connected to contentious debates such as Brexit or targeted at specific groups of MPs (e.g. female representatives)? Our results indicate that whilst the overall volume of abuse appears low, social media abuse has become ubiquitous and is highly public. Furthermore, whilst some abuse is undoubtedly targeted and gendered, the biggest proportion of abuse follows a reactive response to political discussions and public interventions of MPs

Serious Games in Cultural Heritage

Although the widespread use of gaming for leisure purposes has been well documented, the use of games to support cultural heritage purposes, such as historical teaching and learning, or for enhancing museum visits, has been less well considered. The state-of-the-art in serious game technology is identical to that of the state-of-the-art in entertainment games technology. As a result the field of serious heritage games concerns itself with recent advances in computer games, real-time computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, the main strengths of serious gaming applications may be generalised as being in the areas of communication, visual expression of information, collaboration mechanisms, interactivity and entertainment. In this report, we will focus on the state-of-the-art with respect to the theories, methods and technologies used in serious heritage games. We provide an overview of existing literature of relevance to the domain, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the described methods and point out unsolved problems and challenges. In addition, several case studies illustrating the application of methods and technologies used in cultural heritage are presented

A Case Study of Instructor Scaffolding Using Web 2.0 Tools to Teach Social Informatics

In the 21st century, also known as the digital era, higher education needs to face the changing technological contexts and to adopt pedagogies and tools for more engaging forms of learning. Despite much publicized enthusiasm about new media and its role in transforming learning in ways aligned with advances and contemporary socio‐cultural perspectives, limited changes have occurred. Nevertheless demand for eLearning worldwide is pushing the boundaries of education and professional activity systems. The central aim of this article is to gain a deeper understanding of how to create successful learning environments with technology-based tools. A model of scaffolded e‐learning, based on current thinking and constructivist learning theory, was adopted for teaching social informatics in a university context. The focus was on evidence-based pedagogies including: (1) authentic learning by applying Pedagogy 2.0 tasks and social media (2) the adoption of scaffolded pedagogy by the instructor to achieve learning outcomes. The methodology used was qualitative, based on teacher pedagogical tasks and activities designed for students in order to establish the success of the types of scaffolding offered and student perceptions of their effectiveness in promoting collaboration and learning. The research demonstrates that technological innovations which are accompanied by pedagogical scaffolding promote effective teaching of social informatics. The research concludes that while Web 2.0 tools can enable engaged, self-regulated learning, students may not always be familiar with the tools or cognitive strategies to support their learning processes. Digital tools such as Twitter and blogs were found to engage students’in real-world activities to learn key concepts, and that task scaffolding was an effective pedagogical approach