Interactive Computer Tutors as a Programming Educator: Improving Learners’ Experiences

With the large demand for technology workers in the world, more people are learning to code. Due to the the high cost and inaccessibility of in-person courses, many programming learners turn to Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which often use an interactive computer tutoring (ICT), such as Codecademy and Treehouse. However, little is known about who these users are and what their needs are for these systems. I addressed this gap in knowledge in a past study, learning more about who uses these systems, and finding that programming learners have different level of autonomy, which in turn affects what is needed from an ICT. The next phase of my work is to build a system prototype addressing these needs to examine their efficacy on programming learners’ needs. Results from this work can be used to inform the (re)design of ICTs for programming learners, and help generate discussion in improving ICTs in other educational contexts.