Trial to Increase Motivation on Programming by Using Hardware Control Functions in the AT Visual Programming Environment

Physical objects (such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) or model cars) can be used in place of abstract variables in order to develop an intuitive understanding of a program's behavior and to generate interest in programming. The AT visual programming environment was developed with functionality to control external hardware. This was accompanied by teaching materials which express the execution of a program using this functionality in terms of turning LEDs on/off. These materials were introduced in university classes and the students' attitude towards programming was assessed before and after the classes using a questionnaire. The results suggest that these materials can increase students' motivation to learn programming.