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Distributed computing, computer networking, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are all around us, yet only computer science and engineering majors learn the technologies that enable our modern lives. This paper introduces PhoneIoT, a mobile app that makes it possible to teach some of the basic concepts of distributed computation and networked sensing to novices. PhoneIoT turns mobile phones and tablets into IoT devices and makes it possible to create highly engaging projects through NetsBlox, an open-source block-based programming environment focused on teaching distributed computing at the high school level. PhoneIoT lets NetsBlox programs—running in the browser on the student’s computer—access available sensors. Since phones have touchscreens, PhoneIoT also allows building a Graphical User Interface (GUI) remotely from NetsBlox, which can be set to trigger custom code written by the student via NetsBlox’s message system. This approach enables students to create quite advanced distributed projects, such as turning their phone into a game controller or tracking their exercise on top of an interactive Google Maps background with just a few blocks of code.
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Block-based abstractions and expansive services to make advanced computing concepts accessible to novices
Many block-based programming environments have proven to be effective at engaging novices in learning programming. However, most offer only restricted access to the outside world, limiting learners to commands and computing resources built in to the environment. Some allow learners to drag and drop files, connect to sensors and robots locally or issue HTTP requests. But in a world where most of the applications in our daily lives are distributed (i.e., their functionality depends on communicating with other computers or accessing resources and data on the internet), the limited support for beginners to envision and create such distributed programs is a lost opportunity. We argue that it is feasible to create environments with simple yet powerful abstractions that open up distributed computing and other widely-used but advanced computing concepts including networking, the Internet of Things, and cybersecurity to novices. The paper presents the architecture of and design decisions behind NetsBlox, a programming environment that supports these ideas. We show how NetsBlox expands opportunities for learning considerably: NetsBlox projects can access a wealth of online data and web services, and they can communicate with other projects. Moreover, the tool infrastructure enables young learners to collaborate with each other during program construction, whether they share their physical location or study remotely. Importantly, providing access to the wider world will also help counter widespread student perceptions that block-based environments are mere toys, and show that they are capable of creating compelling applications. In this way, NetsBlox offers an illuminating example of how tools can be designed to democratize access to powerful ideas in computing.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2149356
- PAR ID:
- 10575480
- Publisher / Repository:
- Elsevier
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of computer languages
- ISSN:
- 2665-9182
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Block based programming NetsBlox Distributed computing Message passing Remote procedure calls
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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