Abstract
Since pair programming appeared in the literature as an effective method of teaching computer programming, many systems were developed to cover the application of pair program- ming over distance. Today's systems serve personal, professional and educational purposes al- lowing distributed teams to work together on the same programming project. The current research focuses in distributed pair programming systems which are suitable for supporting students in learning computer programming. Systematic review of publicly available systems revealed that there is an absence of effective collaboration support for the students. The main drawbacks of pair programming, such as uneven workload distribution and infrequent role switches, cannot be addressed with available systems. While building an enhanced version of a distributed pair programming system, successful instructional strategies in similar collaborative learning sys- tems were explored, in order to improve students' interactions when applying pair programming over distance. As a result, the new system allows students to practice distributed pair program- ming in the form of collaboration scripts. This paper presents the features and the underlying concepts of the system, and the results of its first evaluation. The study showed that distributed pair programming attracted positive feedback from students, and that scripted collaboration af- fected students' engagement in programming, and resulted in an evenly distribution of learning objectives among pairs.
Highlights
Distributed Pair Programming (DPP) systems allow two programmers to collaborate remotely in order to apply the Pair Programming (PP) technique from separate locations
The evaluation study of SCEPPSys showed that when DPP teams are guided by collaboration scripts students achieve contribution rates within satisfactory limits
When collaboration is coordinated by the system, more balanced knowledge distribution is gained, and role alternations occur more often during DPP sessions
Summary
Distributed Pair Programming (DPP) systems allow two programmers to collaborate remotely in order to apply the Pair Programming (PP) technique from separate locations. The model of PP originated from the software industry as a part of Extreme Programming (XP). It involves two programmers working on the same workstation and sharing one computer in order to develop software. The team members adopt two specific roles: one programmer acts as the “driver” and the other one as the “navigator” ( called “observer”). The driver has possession of keyboard and mouse and types the programming code. Τhe navigator reviews the inserted code and gives guidelines to the driver. Driver and navigator are in constant collaboration in order to design and develop the program code in common, while they should frequently alternate roles
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