Towards the Effective Use of Educational Program Animations: the Roles of Student's Engagement and Topic Complexity

J. Urquiza-Fuentes, J.Á. Velázquez-Iturbide. Computers & Education, 67, September 2013, Pages 178-192

Abstract. Programming is one of the most complex subjects in computer science degrees. Program visualization is one of the approaches adopted to make programming concepts more accessible to students. In this work we study the educational impact of an active and highly engaging approach, namely the construction of program animations by students. We systematically compared this approach with two instructional scenarios, based on viewing animations and on the traditional instruction without systematic use of animations. A general conclusion of this work is that animations actually improve learning in terms of some educational aspects: short-term and long-term knowledge acquisition, and drop-out rates. Short-term improvements depend on the complexity level of the topic: while there is no impact for simple topics, there is a learning improvement in complex topics using the viewing and constructing approaches, and there is a learning improvement for highly complex topics using the viewing approach. In the long-term, drop-out rates were significantly decreased for students involved in the two most engaging approaches. In addition, both animation viewing and animation construction improved students' passing-rate in the term exam. Nevertheless, we were unable to prove in the long term that students involved in construction tasks yielded higher grades than those involved in viewing tasks.

An approach to effortless construction of program animations

J.A. Velázquez-Iturbide and C. Pareja-Flores and J. Urquiza-Fuentes. Computers & Education 50(1), January 2008, Pages 179-192

Abstract. Program animation systems have not been as widely adopted by computer science educators as we might expect from the firm belief that they can help in enhancing computer science education. One of the most notable obstacles to their adoption is the considerable effort that the production of program animations represents for the instructor. We present here an approach to reduce such a workload based on the automatic generation of visualizations and animations. The user may customize them in a user-friendly way to construct more expressive program animations. These operations are carried out by means of a user-friendly manipulation based on the metaphor of office documents. We have applied this approach to the functional paradigm by extending the WinHIPE programming environment. Finally, we report on the successful results of an evaluation performed to measure its ease of use.

WinHIPE: an IDE for functional programming based on rewriting and visualization

C. Pareja-Flores, J. Urquiza-Fuentes, J.Á. Velázquez-Iturbide. ACM SIGPLAN Notices 42(3), 2007, Pages 14-23 

Abstract. The article describes an IDE for functional programming, called WinHIPE. It provides an interactive and flexible tracer, as well as a powerful visualization and animation system. The former tool is based on the rewriting model of evaluation, and the latter provides automatic generation of visualizations and animations, friendly support for customization, maintenance and exportation of animations to the Web, and facilities to cope with large scale. Its main advantage over other visualization systems is an effortless approach to animation creation and maintenance, based on generating visualizations and animations automatically, as a side effect of program execution. Finally, we briefly describe our experience using the system during several years in educational settings.

An Evaluation of the Effortless Approach to Build Algorithm Animations with WinHIPE

J. Urquiza-Fuentes, J.Á. Velázquez-Iturbide. Electr. Notes Theor. Comput. Sci. 178, 2007, Pages 3-13 

Abstract. The use of algorithm visualizations in computer science education is not a new thing. Although there is a firm belief that graphical representations of algorithms are learning aids, empirical studies show that what is important is what the students do with the animations rather than what they see in them. In this paper we compare to kinds of interaction: viewing animations vs constructing animations. We have conducted a controlled experiment where a group of students (n=15) had to study an algorithm and complete a knowledge test about it and a subjective opinion questionnaire. Students were randomly divided in constructing and viewing groups. Results have been measured by means of learning outcomes, efficiency issues and student's subjective opinion. Results significantly evidence that builders obtained better results than viewers.

Redesigning the Animation Capabilities of a Functional Programming Environment under an Educational Framework

Animation systems not only should be built on technical basis (e.g. a programming model for execution) but also centered on their user. This is particularly important in most current animation systems, which are used for educational use. WinHIPE is a programming environment for functional programming that provides visualization and animation capabilities for expression evaluation. It was designed for education, giving a simple interaction based on the office metaphor. In this paper, we present a systematic redesign of WinHIPE capabilities that takes into consideration three dimensions: a model of program execution, a model of program visualization/animation, and support to build and maintain animations. The last dimension is based on a metaphor of animations as office documents. In addition, Anderson and Naps’ framework is used to assess and refine the animation capabilities of the system for education. After this redesign, the usability of WinHIPE for educators and students has been enhanced in a systematic way.

Proceedings of the 2nd Program Visualization Workshop. DAIMI Report Series, 59-68