A web-based lab manual for CS 1: An experiment

No one can deny the impact the web is having on education. Computer Science education is no exception. Computer literacy classes now include units on web surfing and personal web page creation [6]. Data structures students have web tools for viewing algorithms and dynamic data structures [2, 4-5]. Computer graphics students have 2D and 3D visualization tools [7], and database students learn to access remote databases using ODBC or JDBC over the web [1]. Special courses in web technologies are being added to the curriculum in many departments [3]. It is only natural for a laboratory manual for Computer Science I to be presented as an interactive web document. Pedagogically, how does such a laboratory manual compare with the traditional hard-copy manual? What are its strengths and weaknesses? Which approach do students prefer? We sought to answer these and other questions from our empirical study of Computer Science I students. The results of the study and the lessons learned will be described in this article.