Learn Programming++: The Design, Implementation and Deployment of an Intelligent Environment for the Teaching and Learning of Computer Programming

Abstract

We discuss the demand for intelligent systems to assist both teachers and students in the teaching and learning of computer programming, then describe the design, implementation of Nooblab, an integrated system offering instruction, a programming test bed and assessment for several programming languages, and its deployment in real university classroom situations. The system also logs every interaction which each student has with it, providing a rich set of data for analysis. Initial results from its use within real courses are presented and discussed, along with proposals for future developments involving incorporating machine learning paradigms into the system.

CLOUD-BASED LEARNING SYSTEM FOR IMPROVING STUDENTS’ PROGRAMMING SKILLS AND SELF-EFFICACY

“…Teaching and learning programming has been a well-known challenging issue faced by students and instructors in higher institutions (Hunter, Livingstone, Neve, & Alsop, 2013;Neve, Hunter, Livingston, & Orwell, 2012). Some students regard computer programming as a difficult subject and less interesting to learn (Hunter et al, 2013;Neve et al, 2012). Similarly, some instructors find it challenging to balance lectures on programming concepts (e.g.…”

“…), the language syntax (e.g. PHP, Java syntaxes) and practical aspects to help students develop their programming skills (Hunter et al, 2013). Furthermore, it might become even more difficult for students to learn programming in a large class size and students who are occupied with other commitments (e.g.…”

“…other courses) (Neve et al, 2012). With the circumstances mentioned above, some studies proposed the need for online and cloud based learning systems that can assist in the teaching and learning programming courses (Hunter et al, 2013;Neve et al, 2012;Wu, Qian, Bhattacharya, Guo, & Hu, 2011).…”

“…According to Hunter et al (2013), a learning system should provide students an ideal environment to learn programming. The learning environment should provide the essential concepts of programming and the relevant syntax to facilitate learning (Hunter et al, 2013).…”

“…According to Hunter et al (2013), a learning system should provide students an ideal environment to learn programming. The learning environment should provide the essential concepts of programming and the relevant syntax to facilitate learning (Hunter et al, 2013). Other than providing concepts and theoretical foundations of programming languages, a learning system typically allow students to write, edit and test their codes (Hunter et al, 2013).…”