Creating Visualizations from Multimedia Building Blocks: A Simple Approach to Teaching Programming Concepts

Abstract

Academics teaching programming are faced with the challenge of teaching dynamic concepts using static media. Despite multiple tools developed in the past to support learning of programming concepts, access to these tools is very limited and many educators have to create their own support materials and tools which is often time-consuming, complex and expensive. In this paper we share our experience of producing simple animations using widely and/or freely available software packages to develop small building blocks that are customizable and reusable and can be mixed and matched to meet the learning requirements of individual students. Positive student feedback from using these tools has encouraged the continued exploration of options for developing animations illustrating programming concepts.