Publication Type

Conference Proceeding Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

3-2020

Abstract

Posts on on-line forums where programmers look for information often include links to Wikipedia when it can be assumed the reader will not be familiar with the linked terms. A Wikipedia article will thus often be the first exposure to a new computing concept for a novice programmer. We conducted an exploratory study with 18 novice programmers by asking them to read a Wikipedia article on a common computing concept that was new to them, while using the think-aloud protocol. We performed a qualitative analysis of the session transcripts to better understand the experience of the novice programmer learning a new computing concept using Wikipedia. We elicited five themes that capture this experience: Concept Confusion, Need for Examples, New Terminology, Trivia Clutter, and Unfamiliar Notation. We conclude that Wikipedia is not well suited as a resource for the opportunistic learning of new computing concepts, and we recommend adapting information sharing practices in on-line programmer communities to better account for the learning needs of the users.

Keywords

Computing concepts, Self-regulated learning, Wikipedia

Discipline

Software Engineering

Research Areas

Software and Cyber-Physical Systems

Publication

Proceedings of the 51st Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, Portland, 2020 March 11-14

First Page

72

Last Page

78

ISBN

9781450367936

Identifier

10.1145/3328778.3366832

Publisher

ACM

City or Country

New York

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1145/3328778.3366832

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