Experiences on Teaching Alloy with an Automated Assessment Platform

• Type: Article in International Conference Proceedings Book
• Date: 2020

Authors

Nuno Macedo (Author) FEUP; Alcino Cunha (Author) Other; José Pereira (Author) Other; Renato Carvalho (Author) Other; Ricardo Silva (Author) Other; Ana C. R. Paiva (Author) FEUP; Miguel Sozinho Ramalho (Author) Other; Daniel Silva (Author) Other

Conference proceedings International

Title: Rigorous State-Based Methods - 7th International Conference, ABZ 2020, Ulm, Germany, May 27-29, 2020, Proceedings

Pages: 61-77

7th International Conference on Rigorous State-Based Methods, ABZ 2020

27 May 2020 through 29 May 2020

Indexing

Scopus - 6 Citations

INSPEC

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00S-6MQ

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-48077-6_5

Abstract (EN): This paper presents Alloy4Fun, a web application that enables online editing and sharing of Alloy models and instances (including dynamic ones developed with the Electrum extension), to be used mainly in an educational context. By introducing secret paragraphs and commands in the models, Alloy4Fun allows the distribution and automated assessment of simple specification challenges, a mechanism that enables students to learn the language at their own pace. Alloy4Fun stores all versions of shared and analyzed models, as well as derivation trees that depict how they evolved over time: this wealth of information can be mined by researchers or tutors to identify, for example, learning breakdowns in the class or typical mistakes made by Alloy users. Alloy4Fun has been used in formal methods graduate courses for two years and for the latest edition we present results regarding its adoption by the students, as well as preliminary insights regarding the most common bottlenecks when learning Alloy (and Electrum). © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 17