The tremendous popularity of mobile computing and Android in particular has attracted millions of developers who see opportunities for building their own start-ups. As a consequence Computer Science students express an increasing interest into the related technology of Java development for Android applications. Android projects are complex by…

In this design case, we present an instructional design project that resulted in a French language learning game development system. What we describe here is not the game itself, but rather the pedagogical intervention that created what the design team termed a mobile "application farm," which in turn produced the game. The term…

This article is a survey of program visualization systems intended for teaching beginners about the runtime behavior of computer programs. Our focus is on generic systems that are capable of illustrating many kinds of programs and behaviors. We inclusively describe such systems from the last three decades and review findings from their empirical…

How can student self-assessment be used as a tool and become beneficial for both lecturers and students? We used a simple self-assessment tool for pre- and post-testing on a first-semester engineering course. The students graded their knowledge on human-computer interaction based on their ability to understand and explain specific concepts. The…

This paper presents a web-based education platform for the visualization and animation of the digital logic design process. This includes the design of combinatorial circuits using logic gates, multiplexers, decoders, and look-up-tables as well as the design of finite state machines. Various configurations of finite state machines can be selected…

This article's focus is on including computing and computational thinking in K-12 instruction within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, and to provide that instruction in ways that promote access for students traditionally underrepresented in the STEM fields, such as students with disabilities. Providing computing…

This study aims to show the present conditions about the usage of cloud computing in the department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology (CEIT) amongst teacher trainees in School of Necatibey Education, Balikesir University, Turkey. In this study, a questionnaire with open-ended questions was used. 17 CEIT teacher trainees…

Teaching computer information systems via distance education is a challenge for both student and faculty. Much research work has been performed on methods of teaching via distance education. Today we are faced with a variety of options for course delivery. Asynchronous delivery via online or lesson instruction still remains most common. But…

In this design case, an instructor developed a goal-based scenario (GBS) for undergraduate computer fundamentals students to apply their knowledge of computer equipment and software. The GBS, entitled the MegaTech Project, presented the students with descriptions of the everyday activities of four persons needing to purchase a computer system. The…

We describe a procedure that utilizes symmetric curves for building artistic tiles. One particular curve was found to mesh nicely with hundreds other curves, resulting in eye-catching tiling designs. The results of our work serve as a good example of using ideas from 2-D graphics and algorithms in a practical web-based application.

In this paper we present our experiences of teaching an annually organized virtual reality (VR) capstone course. We review three iterations of the course, during which a total of 45 students completed the course and 16 VR applications were implemented. Our comparative analysis describes the students' evaluation of the course, the applications…

Many students are entering Computer Science education with limited exposure to operating systems and applications other than those produced by Apple or Microsoft. This gap in familiarity with the Open Source community can quickly be bridged with a simple exercise that can also be used to strengthen two other important current computing concepts,…

This paper presents Diagram, a learning environment for object-oriented modelling (OOM) with UML class diagrams. Diagram an open environment, in which the teacher can add new exercises without constraints on the vocabulary or the size of the diagram. The interface includes methodological help, encourages self-correcting and self-monitoring, and…

The purpose of this study was twofold: to investigate students' concept images about class, object, and their relationship and to help them enhance their learning of these notions with a visualization tool. Fifty-six second-year university students participated in the study. To investigate his/her concept images, the researcher developed a survey…

We present "Xipx," the first port of a major educational operating system to a processor in the emerging class of many-core architectures. Through extensions to the proven Embedded Xinu operating system, Xipx gives students hands-on experience with system programming in a distributed message-passing environment. We expose the software primitives…