Game-Based Coding Challenges to Foster Programming Practice

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

Authors

Paiva, JC (Author) Other; José Paulo Leal (Author) FCUP; Ricardo Queiros (Author) Other

Conference proceedings International

Title: First International Computer Programming Education Conference, ICPEC 2020, June 25-26, 2020, ESMAD, Vila do Conde, Portugal (Virtual Conference).

Initial page: 18:1

1st International Computer Programming Education Conference, ICPEC 2020

25 June 2020 through 26 June 2020

Indexing

Scopus - 2 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00S-DD9

DOI: 10.4230/oasics.icpec.2020.18

Abstract (EN): The practice is the crux of learning to program. Automated assessment plays a key role in enabling timely feedback without access to teachers but alone is insufficient to engage students and maximize the outcome of their practice. Graphical feedback and game-thinking promote positive effects on students' motivation as shown by some serious programming games, but those games are complex to create and adapt. This paper presents Asura, an environment for assessment of game-based coding challenges, built on a specialized framework, in which students are invited to develop a software agent (SA) to play it. During the coding phase, students can take advantage of the graphical feedback to complete the proposed task. Some challenges also encourage students to think of a SA that plays in a setting with interaction among SAs. In such a case, the environment supports the creation and visualization of tournaments among submitted agents. Furthermore, the validation of this environment from the learners' perspective is also described. 2012 ACM Subject Classification Applied computing ! Interactive learning environments; Applied computing ! E-learning.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific