Middle school experience with visual programming environments

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Walters ◽  
Vicki Jones
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Visual Programming ◽  
School Experience ◽  
Programming Environments

scholarly journals Hybrid Java: The creation of a Hybrid Programming Environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Noone ◽  
Aidan Mooney ◽  
Keith Nolan
Keyword(s):  
Programming Languages ◽  
Programming Language ◽  
Visual Programming ◽  
First Year ◽  
Programming Environment ◽  
Programming Environments ◽  
Hybrid Programming ◽  
Java Language ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Visual Programming Language

This article details the creation of a hybrid computer programming environment combining the power of the text-based Java language with the visual features of the Snap! language. It has been well documented that there exists a gap in the education of computing students in their mid-to-late teenage years, where perhaps visual programming languages are no longer suitable and textual programming languages may involve too steep of a learning curve. There is an increasing need for programming environments that combine the benefits of both languages into one. Snap! is a visual programming language which employs “blocks” to allow users to build programs, similar to the functionality offered by Scratch. One added benefit of Snap! is that it offers the ability to create one’s own blocks and extend the functionality of those blocks to create more complex and powerful programs. This will be utilised to create the Hybrid Java environment. The development of this tool will be detailed in the article, along with the motivation and use cases for it. Initial testing conducted will be discussed including one phase that gathered feedback from a pool of 174 first year Computer Science students. These participants were given instructions to work with the hybrid programming language and evaluate their experience of using it. The analysis of the findings along with future improvements to the language will also be presented.

Automatic generation of visual programming environments

Computer ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 56-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Costagliola ◽  
G. Tortora ◽  
S. Orefice ◽  
A. de Lucia
Keyword(s):  
Automatic Generation ◽  
Visual Programming ◽  
Programming Environments

Learning With Games and Digital Stories in Visual Programming

2019 ◽  
pp. 132-140
Author(s):  
Wilfred W. F. Lau
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Visual Programming ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Game Development ◽  
Programming Environments ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Programming Tools ◽  
Digital Stories

This chapter traces the recent development and the use of games and digital stories for engaging students in learning in visual programming environments. It reports on the application of game development-based learning and educational digital storytelling to engage students in learning in visual programming environments. The empirical findings support the positive effects of these two learning approaches on a range of student learning outcomes. Because many available visual programming tools are free of charge and provide a low-floor, high-ceiling learning environment, teachers should encourage students to venture into the programming world with these tools. Such practice is beneficial to student learning both within the computer science discipline and across disciplines.

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