Trials and tribulations of novices working with the arduino

Kayla DesPortes, Betsy DiSalvo

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Physical computing has grown over the past decade leading to diverse experiences and tools for novices. Despite the variety of tools, Arduinos remain a leading choice in education. However, few studies examine how novices are learning about the programming and electronics concepts, and how tools impact their experience. The research presented reports on the qualitative analysis of a laboratory study in which 31 novices work with the Arduino for the first time. Video and audio recordings captured participants’ actions and thoughts as they used the Arduino platform with a blocks-based programming environment, and two electronics prototyping tools—the standard Breadboard and a modular breadboard called BitBlox. The study presents three main contributions to the literature: first, it provides a codebook of the common breakdowns faced by novices; second, it offers insight into the work processes of novices; and third, it demonstrates ways that the tools used by novices can affect their experience.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationICER 2019 - Proceedings of the 2019 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages219-227
Number of pages9
ISBN (Electronic)9781450361859
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 30 2019
Event15th Annual International Computing Education Research Conference, ICER 2019 - Toronto, Canada
Duration: Aug 12 2019Aug 14 2019

Publication series

NameICER 2019 - Proceedings of the 2019 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research

Conference

Conference15th Annual International Computing Education Research Conference, ICER 2019
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityToronto
Period8/12/198/14/19

Keywords

  • Arduino
  • Blocks-Based Programming
  • Novice Programming
  • Physical Computing
  • Think-Aloud

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computational Theory and Mathematics
  • Education
  • Theoretical Computer Science

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