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A Survey of Successful Evaluations of Program Visualization and Algorithm Animation Systems

Published:01 June 2009Publication History
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Abstract

This article reviews successful educational experiences in using program and algorithm visualizations (PAVs). First, we survey a total of 18 PAV systems that were subject to 33 evaluations. We found that half of the systems have only been tested for usability, and those were shallow inspections. The rest were evaluated with respect to their educational effectiveness. Script-based systems seem to be well suited for the viewing, responding, and changing engagement levels, while compiler-based systems do well for the construction and presenting engagement levels. Finally, we analyze additional PAV features of successful evaluations and hypothesize that they are relevant.

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        cover image ACM Transactions on Computing Education
        ACM Transactions on Computing Education  Volume 9, Issue 2
        Special Issue on the 5th Program Visualization Workshop (PVW’08)
        June 2009
        116 pages
        EISSN:1946-6226
        DOI:10.1145/1538234
        Issue’s Table of Contents

        Copyright © 2009 ACM

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        Publication History

        • Published: 1 June 2009
        • Revised: 1 April 2009
        • Accepted: 1 April 2009
        • Received: 1 September 2008
        Published in toce Volume 9, Issue 2

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