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The Appropriateness of Scratch and App Inventor as Educational Environments for Teaching Introductory Programming in Primary and Secondary Education

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  • Stamatios Papadakis

    (Secondary Education Teacher, Crete, Greece)

  • Michail Kalogiannakis

    (Department of Preschool Education, Faculty of Education, University of Crete, Crete, Greece)

  • Vasileios Orfanakis

    (Secondary Education Teacher, Crete, Greece)

  • Nicholas Zaranis

    (Department of Preschool Education, Faculty of Education, University of Crete, Crete, Greece)

Abstract

Teaching programming is a complex task. The task is even more challenging for introductory modules. There is an ongoing debate in the teaching community over the best approach to teaching introductory programming. Visual block-based programming environments allow school students to create their own programs in ways that are more accessible than in textual programming environments. These environments designed for education allow students to program without the obstacle of syntax errors (errors in typing commands) found in traditional text-based languages. In this paper, the authors focus on the use of App Inventor and Scratch as blocks-based programming environments designed explicitly with novices in mind. In the authors' analysis, both Novice Programming Environments (NPEs) seemed to be attractive platforms for introducing fundamental concepts in computer programming and both look appealing for both majors and non-majors.

Suggested Citation

  • Stamatios Papadakis & Michail Kalogiannakis & Vasileios Orfanakis & Nicholas Zaranis, 2017. "The Appropriateness of Scratch and App Inventor as Educational Environments for Teaching Introductory Programming in Primary and Secondary Education," International Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies (IJWLTT), IGI Global, vol. 12(4), pages 58-77, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:igg:jwltt0:v:12:y:2017:i:4:p:58-77
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    Cited by:

    1. Jan Skalka & Martin Drlik & Lubomir Benko & Jozef Kapusta & Juan Carlos Rodríguez del Pino & Eugenia Smyrnova-Trybulska & Anna Stolinska & Peter Svec & Pavel Turcinek, 2021. "Conceptual Framework for Programming Skills Development Based on Microlearning and Automated Source Code Evaluation in Virtual Learning Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-30, March.
    2. Belkis Díaz-Lauzurica & David Moreno-Salinas, 2019. "Computational Thinking and Robotics: A Teaching Experience in Compulsory Secondary Education with Students with High Degree of Apathy and Demotivation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-21, September.

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