The combined use of lego mindstorms NXT and app inventor for teaching novice programmers

Abstract

Both in Greece and abroad, students in school and in introductory computer science courses perceive programming as a difficult task. Introductory programming courses are often disappointing both for students and for teachers. One of the major factors to which these difficulties in learning programming has been attributed is the traditional approach to teaching the fundamentals of programming, which is unable to provide students with an interesting and richly stimulating environment through which problems and concepts are the subject of investigation in a creative and enjoyable way. In contrast, several studies claim that teachings robotics is suitable to students regardless of age and background and is a way of encouraging learning. This paper presents an alternative use of robotic Lego Mindstorms constructions and the visual programming environment App Inventor for teaching programming with the goal of understanding basic programming structures.