An interactive multimedia textbook for introductory computer science

Abstract

A multimedia implementation of an introductory computer science text based on the LISP dialect Scheme, is described. The text, Exploring Computer Science with Scheme [4], is designed for beginning students who may have no prior experience using computers. The goal is to create an environment that facilitates learning of the material and concepts in the text. The multimedia system includes hypertext abilities to jump through the text, search, and mark positions in the text. A personal notebook facility is provided that allows the user to enter notes while using the system or to copy sections of the text or Scheme environment directly into the notebook. The tool provides an animation feature that illustrates how various list and applicative functions work by modeling their internal actions. A Scheme listener is built into the tool to foster testing ideas and experimentation. Since the intended audience of the text includes people with no prior computing experience, the user interface is intuitive and full help features are provided.