Service-Oriented Computing (SOC) is a new computing paradigm that has been adopted by major computer companies as well as government agencies such as the Department of Defense for mission-critical applications. SOC is being used for developing Web and electronic business applications, as well as robotics, gaming, and scientific applications. Yet,…

This study explored the development of student's conceptual understandings of limit and derivative when utilizing specifically designed computational tools. Fourteen students from a secondary Advanced Placement Calculus AB course learned and explored the limit and derivative concepts from differential calculus using visualization tools in the…

In this paper, we propose a grouping strategy to enhance the learning and testing results of students, called Pairing Strategy (PS). The proposed method stems from the need of interactivity and the desire of cooperation in cooperative learning. Based on the social networks of students, PS provides members of the groups to learn from or mimic…

This paper researches the computer languages taught in the first, second and third programming courses in Computer Information Systems (CIS), Management Information Systems (MIS or IS) curricula as well as in Computer Science (CS) and Information Technology (IT) curricula. Instructors teaching the first course in programming within a four year…

This paper examines the effectiveness of a technique that first appeared as a Teaching Tip in the Journal of Information Systems Education. In this approach the same problem is used in every programming assignment within a course, but the students are required to use different programming techniques. This approach was used in an intermediate C++…

Advances in technology have yielded computer numerical control (CNC) machines and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software that saves time and increases productivity in today's industrial world. Training students to understand and use these technologies has become a key ingredient in preparing them for work in industry. Teachers of machining…

Debugging is often difficult and frustrating for novices. Yet because students typically debug outside the classroom and often in isolation, instructors rarely have the opportunity to closely observe students while they debug. This paper describes the details of an exploratory study of the debugging skills and behaviors of contemporary novice Java…

"Geomlab" is a functional programming language used to describe pictures that are made up of tiles. The beauty of "Geomlab" is that it introduces students to recursion, a very powerful mathematical concept, through a very simple and enticing graphical environment. Alongside the software is a series of eight worksheets which lead into producing…

A quasi-experiment was conducted at an elementary school to investigate if guided collaboration would facilitate programming learning of 6 graders. Sixty-six students of two intact classes learned to program in KPL (kid's programming language) for 18 weeks during the experiment. One class was randomly assigned to the control group (i.e.,…

Skype, Edmodo, iApps, and Shutterfly may sound like fantasy characters or mythical creatures from some futuristic novel. But the students at Paine Primary School in Trussville, Alabama, will gladly explain that these odd-sounding names belong to the Web 2.0 applications in which they are fast becoming fluent. For these kids--and those at other…

Conventional introduction to computer science presents individual algorithmic paradigms in the context of specific, prototypical problems. To complement this algorithm-centric instruction, this study additionally advocates problem-centric instruction. I present an original problem drawn from students' life that is simply stated but provides rich…

The current paper describes an empirical study with the aim of producing insights about how students experience programming and software engineering. The research aims to investigate the students' world, and hence, we have chosen a phenomenographic approach. Our questions focus on the students' experiences of concepts related to a realistic…

Web-based learning environments are becoming increasingly popular in higher education. One of the most important web-learning resources is the virtual laboratory (VL), which gives students an easy way for training and learning through the Internet. Moreover, on-line collaborative communication represents a practical method to transmit the…

Many researchers have advocated the use of games (and simulations) to enhance students' learning. Research has shown that in order to promote a deeper understanding of material, students ought to be engaged with what they are doing. However, there are limited interactive games for classroom teaching, especially within the operations management…

This paper examines how students' experiences of learning to program are affected by feelings of fear, using a phenomenological approach to elicit rich descriptions of personal experiences from the narratives of final year undergraduate students. In the course of reviewing current work concerning learning or teaching programming, certain focal…