| To motivate students in computer science education, the educational tools must be receptive to the student's needs and interactive during implementation. The objective of this research was to demonstrate how a web-based integrated development environment (IDE) for Java programming, JavelinaCode, will provide students with those necessary features. Comparative evaluations were conducted between JavelinaCode and other educational tools, including BlueJ, Jeliot 3, AguiaJ, JIVE, and jGRASP. These tools were compared in terms of time and complexity constraints, including download and installation time, the usability of the tool, and whether static and dynamic visualizations are provided. The usability of each tool was based on the following design principles: clear and effective metaphor, multiple levels of granularity, integration of views, synchronization of views, agency over views, and immediacy of feedback mechanisms. Experiments related to the dual-task paradigm were performed to determine if the extraneous cognitive load of students was reduced, allowing for improvement in students' germane cognitive load. While the results of these experiments did not provide significant conclusions, combined with the comparative evaluations, these at least serve as an avenue to explore further research in implementing this tool into computer science education. |
