A paper from the 2013 STEM Annual Conference.
The NoobLab online learning environment for computer programming first presented at the HEA STEM Conference 2012 has since been deployed on a first year undergraduate module. This paper discusses how the introduction of the environment had an impact on the student experience. A holistic approach was taken to the development of learning content and the learning environment. Conventional lectures were minimised; instead students were encouraged to spend the majority of their time engaging in practical exploration. The use of the environment for summative assessments allowed for a “zero marking time” paradigm in many cases. Students reacted positively to this and the detachment that arises when there is a lengthy delay between submission of work and feedback was greatly reduced. An improvement in student outcomes was evident and a highly significant correlation was found between students’ final marks and time spent within the environment. These positive results have led to the environment being deployed in several other programming modules. The environment is now expected to become the primary delivery tool for teaching introductory programming in the School of Computing and Information Systems at Kingston University.
