Thomas H. Park
ABSTRACT
Web development can provide a rich context for exploring computer science concepts and practicing computational creativity. However, little is known about the experiences that people have when first learning web development. In this paper, we investigate the help-seeking activity of forty-nine students in an introductory web development course. By applying content analysis to the help forums of the course, we characterize the challenges they encountered and sought help for, relating them to development, instruction, technology, content, and design issues. We apply a second level of content analysis to the development issues, identifying aspects of learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that challenged students most often. Finally, we identify several computational concepts that relate to these challenges, including notation, hierarchies and paths, nesting, parameters and arguments, and decomposition and abstraction. We conclude with a discussion on the implications of our findings for computing education.
- Ames, C. and Archer, J. 1988. Achievement goals in the classroom: Students' learning strategies and motivation processes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 3, 260--267.Google Scholar
Cross Ref
- Ben-Ari, M. 1998. Constructivism in computer science education. In Proceedings of the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), 257--261. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Blackwell, A. 2002. First steps in programming: A rationale for attention investment models. In Proceedings of the IEEE Symposia on Human-Centric Computing Languages and Environments (HCC), 2--10. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Braun, V. and Clarke, V. 2006. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 2, 77--101.Google ScholarCross Ref
- diSessa, A. 2001. Changing Minds: Computers, Learning, and Literacy. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Dorn, B. and Guzdial, M. 2010a. Discovering computing: Perspectives of web designers. In Proceedings of the International Computing Education Research Workshop (ICER), 23--29. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Dorn, B. and Guzdial, M. 2010b. Learning on the job: Characterizing the programming knowledge and learning strategies of web designers. In Proceedings of the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), 703--712. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Forte, A. and Guzdial, M. 2004. Computers for communication, not calculation: Media as a motivation and context for learning. In Proceedings of the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS). Google ScholarDigital Library
- Forte, A. and Guzdial, M. 2005. Motivation and non-majors in CS1: Identifying discrete audiences for introductory computer science. Transactions on Education, 48, 2, 248--253. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Guzdial, M. 2003. A media computation course for non-majors. In Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE), 104--108. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Hansen, E. 1998. Creating teachable moments... and making them last. Innovative Higher Education, 23, 1, 7--26.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Klassner, F. 2000. Can web development courses avoid obsolescence? In Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE), 77--80. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Ko, A., Myers, B., and Aung, H. 2004. Six learning barriers in end-user programming systems. In Proceedings of the IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), 199--206. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Krippendorff, K. 2004. Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.Google Scholar
- Lenhart, A., Purcell, K., Smith, A., and Zickuhr, K. 2010. Social media and young adults. Pew Internet & American Life Project, http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Social-Media-and-Young-Adults.aspx.Google Scholar
- Lim, B. 1998. Teaching web development technologies in CI/IS curricula. In Proceedings of the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), 107--111. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Linn, M. 1995. Designing computer learning environments for engineering and computer science: The scaffolded knowledge integration framework. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 4, 2, 103--126.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Lu, J. and Fletcher, G. 2009. Thinking about computational thinking. In Proceedings of the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), 260--264. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Mercuri, R., Herrmann, N., and Popyack, J. 1998. Using HTML and JavaScript in introductory programming courses. In Proceedings of the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), 176--180. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Nelson-Le Gall, S. 1985. Help-seeking behavior in learning. Review of Research in Education, 12, 1, 55--90.Google Scholar
- Park, T. and Wiedenbeck, S. 2010. First steps in coding by informal web developers. In Proceedings of the IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), 79--82. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Piaget, J. 1950. The Psychology of Intelligence. Routledge, London, UK.Google Scholar
- Reed, D. 2001. Rethinking CS0 with JavaScript. In Proceedings of the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), 100--104. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Resnick, M. 2001. Closing the fluency gap. Communications of the ACM, 44, 3, 144--145. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Robins, A., Haden, P., and Garner, S. 2006. Problem distributions in a CS1 course. In Proceedings of the Australasian Computing Education Conference (ACE), 165--173. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Rosson, M., Ballin, J., and Nash, H. 2004. Everyday programming: Challenges and opportunities for informal web development. In Proceedings of the IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), 123--130. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Schulte, C. and Knobelsdorf, M. 2007. Attitudes towards computer science-computing experiences as a starting point and barrier to computer science. In Proceedings of the International Computing Education Research Workshop (ICER), 38--49. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Shaffer, D. and Resnick, M. 1999. "Thick" authenticity: New media and authentic learning. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 10, 2, 195--215. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Sridharan, K. 2004. A course on web languages and web-based applications. Transactions on Education, 47, 2, 254--260. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Treu, K. 2002. To teach the unteachable class: An experimental course in web-based application design. In Proceedings of the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), 201--205. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Vygotsky, L., Cole, M., John-Steiner, V., Scribner, S., and Souberman, E. 1978. Mind in Society: The Development of High Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
- Wing, J. 2006. Computational thinking. Communications of the ACM, 49, 3, 33--35. Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
- Learning web development: challenges at an earlier stage of computing education
Recommendations
Teaching web development in the web 2.0 era
SIGITE '09: Proceedings of the 10th ACM conference on SIG-information technology educationWe are experiencing a qualitatively different era of the Web, as evidenced by most Web applications and websites that have emerged and transpired over recent years. The new Web 2.0 era and the technologies beneath it provide both demands and challenges ...
Test-driven development for the web: increasing efficiency of web development
CHI EA '12: CHI '12 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing SystemsWith the rapid growth of World Wide Web, demands on website developers have increased dramatically. At the same time new web development challenges have emerged. These challenges include enabling web developers with a low level of experience, fast paced ...
Teaching Responsive Web Design to Novice Learners
SIGITE '17: Proceedings of the 18th Annual Conference on Information Technology EducationAlthough responsive web design has become a standard industrial requirement in recent years, it is rarely emphasized in introductory courses on web front-end development. This paper presents an integration of responsive web design topics with the ...
Comments