Abstract:

STEM learners often find benefit from interactive resources that provide a tutorial-like environment that facilitate guided practice. However, such resources are frequently expensive, and learners are not permitted to retain permanent copies. Online interactive resources are often not completely aligned with the learning outcomes for a class. Instructors may adopt more than one resource to provide a complete set of materials for students, which can increase both the financial burden and the cognitive load for students who must then pay for access to multiple resources and remember which resource to use in each context. Additionally, most interactive resources require the learner to maintain a high-speed network connection to the resource. For learners in rural or remote areas, a high-speed internet requirement might be impossible to meet.

To address some of these issues, we created a Self-Contained Interactive Open Educational Resource (SCIOER) for a university object-oriented programming class. A SCIOER resource is installed on a personal computer, is operating system independent, and does not need an internet connection after install. The resource contains multiple different types of learning activities including interactive tutorials, video lectures, practice problems with solutions, and wiki pages with written content and diagrams. The resource also includes all the necessary programming tools, including compilers, build tools and testing frameworks to support student learning and minimize the amount of software learners were required to install on their personal computers. Learners install the resource once on their personal computer and then they have everything they need to complete the course.

In this paper we report on a study in which the resource was used as the primary textbook for a section of 255 students in an Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming course. Study participants(n=113) were asked to complete surveys about their user experience with the SCIOER resource at the beginning and end of the course and smaller focus groups(n=17) were conducted mid semester to obtain more in-depth perspectives on how the SCIOER resource was used. Overall, participants appreciated the resource being free and accessible without internet. They liked that it contained all necessary components to support their success, and commented on the convenience of customizing their learning experience by using the components that best supported their learning. Participants also shared feedback about which parts of the resource they would alter, such as changing the robotic voice in the video lectures to a human voice to make the videos more engaging.

The findings from this study provide useful insights into how a SCIOER resource can be used to support a personalized learning experience. Based on this study, we have implemented modifications to the SCIOER semi-automated development process to ensure the continued development of open and accessible resources that support success and achievement for all learners.

Keywords:

SCIOER, Open Educational Resources, Docker, Interactive Learning, STEM Education.