ALEX: an aid to teaching algorithms

Abstract

A problem with teaching Computer Science to first-year students in a South African context is that many students come from disadvantaged backgrounds and have not been exposed to computer technology. To address this issue, a new curriculum has been adopted for first-year students, the first topic of which covers the design and specification of algorithms. One of the problems encountered in this course is that if the students cannot execute their algorithms they do not know whether the algorithms are correct. One approach to this problem is to require that students be familiar with a programming language. This paper investigates an alternative way of executing algorithms, the ALEX system, and discusses how the system can be used to assist in the teaching of algorithms.ALEX allows students to specify algorithms in an English-like manner and translates these algorithms into an equivalent executable high-level language code, which is then executed. Based on the evaluation of individual students, the use of ALEX is beneficial. However, further experimentation has to occur before the effectiveness of using ALEX can be properly assessed.