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Comparing Textual and Block Interfaces in a Novice Programming Environment

Published: 09 August 2015 Publication History

Abstract

Visual, block-based programming environments present an alternative way of teaching programming to novices and have proven successful in classrooms and informal learning settings. However, few studies have been able to attribute this success to specific features of the environment. In this study, we isolate the most fundamental feature of these environments, the block interface, and compare it directly to its textual counterpart. We present analysis from a study of two groups of novice programmers, one assigned to each interface, as they completed a simple programming activity. We found that while the interface did not seem to affect users' attitudes or perceived difficulty, students using the block interface spent less time off task and completed more of the activity's goals in less time.

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cover image ACM Conferences
ICER '15: Proceedings of the eleventh annual International Conference on International Computing Education Research
July 2015
300 pages
ISBN:9781450336307
DOI:10.1145/2787622
Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than the author(s) must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected].

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Published: 09 August 2015

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Author Tags

  1. block programming
  2. drag-and-drop
  3. programming interface

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ICER '15 Paper Acceptance Rate 25 of 96 submissions, 26%;
Overall Acceptance Rate 189 of 803 submissions, 24%

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Cited By

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  • (2024)Exploring Novices' Problem-Solving Strategies in Computing and Math DomainsProceedings of the 24th Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research10.1145/3699538.3699557(1-8)Online publication date: 12-Nov-2024
  • (2024)Block-Based Programming for Mobile with Conventional Exceptions and Automatic EvaluationProceedings of the 2024 on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education V. 110.1145/3649217.3653549(597-603)Online publication date: 3-Jul-2024
  • (2024)Using multimodal learning analytics to understand effects of block‐based and text‐based modalities on computer programmingJournal of Computer Assisted Learning10.1111/jcal.1293940:3(1123-1136)Online publication date: 9-Jan-2024
  • (2024)Programming Learning Panorama in Typical Higher Education in Mozambique - Challenges and Perspectives2024 International Symposium on Computers in Education (SIIE)10.1109/SIIE63180.2024.10604564(1-6)Online publication date: 19-Jun-2024
  • (2024)Enhancing Algorithmic Assessment in Education: Equi-Fused-Data-Based SMOTE for Balanced LearningComputers and Education: Artificial Intelligence10.1016/j.caeai.2024.100222(100222)Online publication date: Apr-2024
  • (2024)Parallel Instruction of Text-based and Block-based Programming: On Novice Programmers’ Computational Thinking PracticesTechTrends10.1007/s11528-024-00993-8Online publication date: 5-Sep-2024
  • (2024)Block-based versus text-based programming: a comparison of learners’ programming behaviors, computational thinking skills and attitudes toward programmingEducational technology research and development10.1007/s11423-023-10328-8Online publication date: 2-Jan-2024
  • (2023)Impact of Coding Educational Programs (CEP) on Digital Media Problematic Use (DMPU) and on Its Relationship with Psychological Dependence and Emotional DysregulationInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health10.3390/ijerph2004298320:4(2983)Online publication date: 8-Feb-2023
  • (2023)Research on the Applicability of Makecode Arcade from the Perspective of Resource AllocationProceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Internet, Education and Information Technology (IEIT 2023)10.2991/978-94-6463-230-9_88(741-747)Online publication date: 31-Aug-2023
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