Evaluating Aspects of Usability in Video Game-Based Programming Learning Platforms

Abstract

Teaching computer programming is an important topic. Due to Science and Technology initiatives, these topics are considered in different training cycles. For higher education, students must cultivate fundamental concepts for the development of software applications, which not only contribute to the knowledge of programming languages but also to opening guidelines for computational thinking. However, selecting a proper tool can be complex. Especially for the diversity of alternatives on the web. Further, not all of them meet basic usability requirements. In this study, we present a set of platforms that seek to develop programming skills based on video games. The search consisted of 4 stages: (i) definition of the research questions, (ii) scope review, (iii) execution of search and (iv) platform selection. Finally, we employ a usability heuristic evaluation for a novice programming system to determine best practices.