A Block-Based Programming Environment for Teaching Low-Level Computing (Discussion)

Abstract

The block-based programming paradigm has gained popularity across various application areas, including programming education, physical computing, and creative arts and media. While initially targeting young learners, environments such as Scratch have demonstrated the versatility of this paradigm beyond its original audience. This paper explores the potential application of block-based code manipulation in the field of low-level programming, which is a fundamental component of many computer science curricula. However, existing visualization tools for teaching low-level computing do not leverage the benefits of block-based programming, such as eliminating the need to memorize syntax. This paper presents Blocksambler, a prototype of a block-based programming environment for teaching low-level computing. The purpose of this paper is two-fold, in the first theoretical part we explore the potential application of block-based code manipulation in the field of low-level programming, which is a fundamental component of many computer science curricula. In the second part, we introduce Blocksambler, a prototype of a block-based programming environment for teaching low-level computing. Blocksambler is built upon Blockly, a JavaScript library designed for creating customized block-based programming tools and for the purpose of teaching low-level computing. Reflecting the relevance, benefits, and limitations of Blocksambler for educational purposes, we conclude the discussion started in the first part of the paper and outline further steps.