pBot: An Active and Accelerated Introduction Programming using Mobile Devices

Andrew Ray

Keywords

Education about HCI, Visual Programming, Mobile Learning, Programming Languages

Abstract

In this paper, we describe a new approach for introducing the principles of programming to students. Students in introductory CS courses (CS0/CS1) often have minimal exposure to or experience with programming and may struggle for weeks while creating their initial programs. We present a tool called pBot, which is designed to provide a guided and highly interactive introduction to programming. pBot consists of a custom teaching language, an IDE designed for iPod touches, and a simulator that allows for a robot to explore and manipulate its world. This paper deals with motivation for creating pBot, its features, how it has been used in our introductory classes, and feedback we have received on its use.

Important Links:

• DOI: 10.2316/P.2012.772-022
• From Proceeding (771) Imaging and Signal Processing in Health Care and Technology / 772: Human-Computer Interaction / 773: Communication, Internet and Information Technology - 2012

Go Back