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Stepwise Source, a Supporting Tool for Source Code Demonstration

Authors João Santos , Alvaro Costa Neto , Pedro Rangel Henriques

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Subject Classification

ACM Subject Classification
  • Applied computing → Interactive learning environments
Keywords
  • Computer Programming Education
  • Source Code Demonstration
  • Education Technology

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Abstract

The difficulties in teaching and learning computer programming remain a pressing issue to this day. Several studies and tools have been developed over the years to tackle this challenge from many different points-of-view. One of the biggest tools an educator has to support him in a classroom is the progressive explanation of how a source code is constructed and what effects each of its parts has on the overall result. Attempts to translate this live-directed tool to an on-line experience is usually time-consuming and lacking in features. In order to tackle this concern, a tool to create piecewise source code writing demonstrations was developed - Stepwise Source. The main idea behind this application is to allow step-by-step explanation of a source code construction, along with any relevant annotations and automatically assessed challenges that an educator may add. By providing a dynamic platform for both students and lecturers, this software aims to improve the teaching and learning of computer programming, while trying to imitate the information flow of a live lecture, with the added benefit of student-directed pace of explanation. Through interactive guidance and automated assessment, this tool has the potential to foster a deeper understanding of computational principles and promote proficiency in programming skills.

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João Santos, Alvaro Costa Neto, and Pedro Rangel Henriques. Stepwise Source, a Supporting Tool for Source Code Demonstration. In 14th Symposium on Languages, Applications and Technologies (SLATE 2025). Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs), Volume 135, pp. 10:1-10:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025) https://doi.org/10.4230/OASIcs.SLATE.2025.10

Author Details

João Santos
  • ALGORITMI Research Centre/LASI - DI, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
Alvaro Costa Neto
  • ALGORITMI Research Centre/LASI - DI, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
  • Research Centre in Digitalization and Intelligent Robotics (CeDRI), Laboratório Associado para a Sustentabilidade e Tecnologia em Regiões de Montanha (SusTEC), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Portugal
  • Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de São Paulo, Barretos, Brazil
Pedro Rangel Henriques
  • ALGORITMI Research Centre/LASI - DI, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

Funding

This work has been supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UID/00319/2023. The work of Alvaro was supported by national funds: UID/05757 - Research Centre in Digitalization and Intelligent Robotics (CeDRI); and SusTEC, LA/P/0007/2020 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.54499/LA/P/0007/2020)

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