A Microlearning Online Framework for Teaching Programming Basics

This lightning talk describes the authors' initiative to deliver effective and enjoyable online learning of programming-basics to middle-school and beyond students with no programming background. With the COVID-19 long-term implications that have driven school systems to online learning, students face new challenges as they struggle to maintain their focus during long online sessions, with some experiencing physical impacts (e.g., 'zoom fatigue'). Microlearning, a set of small (5-8 min of length) learning units targeting small learning objectives and usually delivered online, appears as a promising direction for educators to face these challenges. However, because of its fragmented nature, and difficulty to provide immediate 'value-based' feedback to the learner, it is hard to apply microlearning in complex domains such as Computer-Science and programming. We are looking to develop a task-driven online microlearning environment for learning programming-basics. The environment will include motivating microtasks as well as formative feedback per microlearning unit. In a pilot study, we included short recorded lectures and project-driven activities. For the learning Integrated Development Environment (IDE) we used the application Tinkercad, which enables building programmable electronic devices. This learning IDE enabled the students to exercise 'micro-projects' (involving software and simulated hardware) in which their code had to 'operate' electronic device. We believe this concept can inspire a pedagogical framework that utilizes Microlearning for teaching programming and we will welcome the audience's input.