Block.ino: Remote Lab for Programming Teaching and Learning

Abstract

This article introduced the remote lab Block.Ino to support the teaching and learning of computer programming. In a remote lab user work with equipment or devices and observe activities through a web camera. The validation was performed in order to understand the acceptance of the services and resources available. It was performed in two scenarios where Block.Ino was employed to perform practical online activities. Questionnaires were applied that sought the perception of the respondents about their experience using the remote laboratory. The questionnaires included items related to usability, learning perception, usefulness and satisfaction, by the two focus groups of the research (presential higher education and basic education). 144 students participated in the research (103 high school and 41 higher education). The average scores for the 24 items, arranged on a Likert scale of 5 (-2 to 2) points, were 1.58 for high school and 1.43 for higher education. The results showed that Block.Ino can bring benefits to practical activities in introductory computer programming disciplines, especially outside the classroom environment, by taking advantage of existing connectivity, and by using mobile devices to perform practical activities.