Authors:
Olivier Camp
and
Richard Woodward
Affiliation:
GRI and ESEO, France
Keyword(s):
Teaching, Learning, Object oriented programming, Java, Unit testing, Plagiarism detection, Computer-aided assessment.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Assessment Software Tools
;
Computer-Aided Assessment
;
Computer-Supported Education
;
Domain Applications and Case Studies
;
Learning/Teaching Methodologies and Assessment
;
Supervising and Managing Student Projects
;
Virtual Labs: Examples, Architecture and Organization
Abstract:
Anyone used to teaching programming is aware of the difficulties that are behind this discipline. This, of course, is also true for students who find programming very hard to learn. These difficulties are of many orders: the teaching of the theoretical aspects of the language, the elaboration of adapted and relevant practical labworks, the constant fight against plagiarism (either between learners in the same class, from work done by learners in previous years or from the Internet) and finally the accurate assessment of the students’ programs. This paper presents a case study in which an online tool was used during a beginner’s course on “Object Oriented Programming in Java” to help counter balance these difficulties. The tool we present here, not only supports the students by giving them constant feedback on their work and on its adequacy with what is expected, but also helps the instructors in charge of the course in following the students’ progression, detecting potential cases of
plagiarism and assessing the practical work done by the students. This tool was developped using simple Java APIs and opensource applications, and was made available to the learners through the course’s page on the school’s Moodle e-campus.
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