Algoritharium: Facilitating an Early Focus on Algorithms in an Objects-Early CS1 Course

Introducing large-scale problems early in the CS1 course has been shown to be an effective way to teach algorithmic concepts. Adopting this approach in a CS1 course taught in Java, however, presents some significant challenges. This paper describes a tool, the Algoritharium, that facilitates the process. The Algoritharium allows CS1 students to explore image processing algorithms by developing plug-ins for an image viewer. This approach allows students to circumvent many of the language-specific constraints, while enabling a focus on algorithmic issues and encouraging experimentation. A short series of exercises demonstrate that this approach can be adopted as early as the first day of the course and thus supports an early focus on algorithms in an objects-early CS1 course. Keywords CS1, Java, image processing, algorithm, plug-in

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: FECS
• Authors: Sridhar Narayan, Jack Tompkins, Gene A. Tagliarini
• Keywords: Algorithm, CS1 Course, Education, FECS 2010, Objects-early Cs1 Course