CFX

Abstract

Finding just the right example to answer a question can be difficult for CS1 students and teachers. For this to work well there must be an intuitive interface coupled to an appropriate set of focused examples. The examples then provide the scaffolding to enable students' discovery. CFX (C For eXample) provides the needed easy-to-use web based interface.A small pilot study showed that students using CFX could find answers to their programming questions in roughly half the time it took using a textbook. Freely distributed as open source software under the GNU General Public License [4], CFX can be used as a database authoring tool to capture a set of examples. Once the content is established, the interface as well as the data can be automatically exported to a standalone dynamic interface, using static, non-database content.The development of this system has been sponsored in part by NSF's CCLI program, with sample content developed in conjunction with McGraw-Hill.

Introductory programming: a systematic literature review

“…Not all of these tools were designed to assist with code-writing. Other ways that tools have supported learning of programming include code-tracing [29,126,468], code style [128], Parsons puzzles [199], program analysis, either by generating system dependence graphs [19] or by having students identify beacons in code [250,369], and authoring, either by capturing illustrative examples [543] or by generating sequences of program examples [74]. Some tools were developed to facilitate communication or collaboration, such as between the instructor and student [23] or between two or more students [86,232,243].…”