Informatica

Teaching of computer programming by electronic mail has been held in Lithuanian schools since 1992. School students of upper grades (8–12) took part in the experiments. The experiments showed that students cope better with first stages of programming (specifying the problem, etc.) than with the last ones (programming, debugging). The analysis of programming products (made by their peers) by students themselves may be expected to be an important component of learning and teaching.

The results of investigation of computer programs written by school students during the 6th International Olympiad in Informatics are presented. Pascal program texts are analyzed on the lexical level. A certain relationship is indicated between program correctness and usage of some programming constructs as well as readability of the program text. The results are discussed from the standpoint of programming teaching.

A development of algorithms and writing of programs are considered as closely related but not identical parts of computer programming. Some differences between them are important for learning of computer programming, in particular, in distance learning. These differences are identified and discussed from the pedagogical point of view. The arguments for the selection of pedagogical based and cost-effective delivery modes in the case of distance learning are investigated. Practical examples supporting theoretical arguments are given on the activities of Lithuanian schools.

The existing decomposition technology of cooperative developments of multidiscipline technical complexes (MTC) don't provide global optimality die to the imposiolity of solving the problem of developing principles of local project solutions made by a dreat number of specialists of different branches of science. This problem is supposed to be solved by means of controlling of real-time of MTC space structural-parametric synthesis in terms of hierarchically organized variety of assumed scheme-structural and technological solutions. The basis algorithm: 1) realization method for a variety of possible structural organizations of a complex technical system in the form of a network analyzer; 2) method combining synthesis combinatorial operations and parametric operations in search for short routes of the developed network analyzer.

An algorithm testing methodology used in the programming teaching process is presented. Turbo Pascal system is used. Due to systematic use of some features of this system a pseudo-direct execution of algorithms expressed by Pascal procedures and functions may be ensured. The need to use data read and write statements is excluded. This enables a novice learner to concentrate himself on the main actions of an algorithm.