A strategy for managing content complexity in algorithm animation

Abstract

Computer animation is an excellent medium for capturing the dynamic nature of data structure manipulations, and can be used to advantage in the teaching of algorithms and data structures. A major educational issue is the necessity of providing a means for the student to manage the complexity of the material. We have addressed this issue in a multimedia teaching tool called "Algorithms in Action" by allowing students to view an algorithm at varying levels of detail. Starting with a high level pseudocode description of the algorithm, with accompanying high level animation and textual explanation, students can expand sections of the pseudocode to expose more detail. Animation and explanation are controlled in a coordinated fashion, becoming correspondingly more detailed as the pseudocode is expanded. The tool also supports dofferem , pdes. corresponding to different stages in the learning process. Student feedback suggests that the availability of multiple levels detail and the facility for the user to control the level of detail being viewed is an effective way to manage content complexity.