Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of an Educational Software for the Teaching of the Programming Variable Concept

Abstract

This study deals with the design, implementation, and evaluation of an educational software for the teaching of the programming variable concept to 14-year-old students (third class of junior high school in Greece). The software consists of various activities in order to contribute to the students and help them understand the specific concept. The results of the research showed that the representation implemented through the software, of the computer RAM memory as one-column array storing the variables, helped the students to overcome their misconceptions and deeply understand the concept of the programming variable. Also the design of the software and the activities motivated the students and gave them the chance to learn and understand deeper than those who were taught with the suggested way through the school book.