The objective of this project is to develop a storyboard defining a detailed roadmap for an entire interactive eTextbook on data structures and algorithms, an end-to-end framework for the development process, and several complete prototype sections. The project improves the development of future eTextbooks by demonstrating ways to integrate text, interactivity, and assessment in a creative commons environment. The integration of online textbook content, interactive courseware, collaborative creation, open source, and online assessment benefits students, instructors, content authors, and algorithm visualization developers.

Interactive hypertextbooks are valuable beyond Computer Science since online instruction in many fields can be enhanced by student interaction with well-designed simulations. The project provides an exemplar of how collaborative, open-sourced workflows could be used to develop hypertextbooks for many disciplines. The goal is to allow instructors to modify existing eTextbooks by adopting major portions and then changing sections, or taking text and visualizations from different books and combining them.

Project Report

OpenDSA is an open source project in developing online interactive eTextbook learning modules for students in Computer Science courses. By combining textbook-quality content with interactive visualization and a rich collection of automatically assessed interactive exercises, we hope that OpenDSA can solve the following recurring problems with CS courses, especially in those courses focusing on data structures and algorithms (DSA). (1) Students often find this material difficult to comprehend because much of the content is about dynamic processes, such as the behavior of algorithms and their effects over time on data structures. Static media (textbooks) do a poor job of conveying dynamic process. (2) Algorithm visualizations (AVs) have been demonstrated to be pedagogically effective for presenting this material, but adoption has been lower than documented instructor support would indicate. OpenDSA’s complete units of instruction help to ease the adoption problems that have plagued previous standalone AV efforts. (3) The greatest difficulty that DSA students encounter is lack of practice and lack of feedback about whether they understand the material. A typical CS course offers only a small number of homework problems and test problems, whose results come only long after the student gives an answer. OpenDSA provides a steady stream of exercises and activities with automated grading and immediate feedback on performance. Students (and instructors) can better know that they are on track. During the course of the current project, we have enhanced the broad-based goals of the OpenDSA project in the following specific ways. (1) Working with undergraduate student researchers we have developed a series of learning modules for string search algorithms, a particular area of study within the area of DSA cited above. These modules were then field-tested in an Algorithms course at UW Oshkosh. The student researcher who did the bulk of developemnt on these modules presented these techniques at a regional confernce and consequently won an award for the quality of his work as an undergraduate researcher. (2) I co-chaired an international working group on "Requirements and Design Strategies for Open Source Interactive Computer Science eBooks". The report authored by that group represented the collective work of twelve international researchers on this topic. The interactions achieved by such broad-based collaboration by researchers with interests and goals similar to that of our OpenDSA project will serve to both further the dissemination of OpenDSA learning materials while at the same time exposing us to ways in which the development of current and future OpenDSA materials can be enhanced and improved. Active eTextbooks such as that represented by the OpenDSA project are valuable beyond Computer Science. Prior research indicates that online instruction in many fields can be enhanced by student interaction with well-designed exercises. Our efforts will provide an exemplar of how collaborative, open-sourced workflows could be used to develop active eTextbooks for many disciplines.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE)
Type
Standard Grant (Standard)
Application #
1139825
Program Officer
Victor Piotrowski
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2012-06-01
Budget End
2014-05-31
Support Year
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$49,934
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Oshkosh
State
WI
Country
United States
Zip Code
54901