LEAD project

LEAD is an abbreviation for Learning Environment for Algorithms and Data structures.

This project concentrates on developing new Web-based learning material and tools for teaching data structures and algorithms. The project was started in October 1997 and it is financed by TIERA.

Background

This project is carried out in Helsinki University of Technology which is the leading technical university in Finland, with over 10000 undergraduate and graduate students and over 2000 postgraduate students.

The course of data structures and algorithms (3 credits) is currently given to about 600 undergraduate students each year, who have passed their first introductory programming course (5 credits). The course gives an overview of basic data structures and algorithms in the fields of sorting, searching, graph theory and some miscellaneous special topics.

Through the 90's we have used an email-based system, called TRAKLA, for delivering and grading assignments of the students. The system sends assignments to each student and checks their answers. The non-trivial assignments deal with simulating various algorithms with given data. For example, "Store the items in a given string to a binary search tree and report the final tree". Each student has personally tailored data for the assignment.

In spring 97, a WWW interface, called TRAKLA-EDIT, was added to the system. This interface shows the assignments in a graphical form and the students can solve the problems using graphical interaction.

Goals

In the project LEAD we aim to develop on-line course material which greatly extends the capabilities of our current web-based system. First, the new learning environment will include course material, like text, algorithm code and algorithm animation. Second, the student can train whether he/she understands the working of an algorithm by doing assignments in which he/she manually simulates algorithms and the system checks the answers and provides feedback for possible errors. Third, the student can test algorithms with various data to analyze their performance in different cases.

Most of this material will be available through the world wide web.

The project has started in October 1997 and lasts to the end of year 1999. Currently, three part-time researchers are included under the supervision of lecturer, PhD Lauri Malmi.

Members

The project has currently the following members:

Lauri Malmi, project leader
Ari Korhonen, maintainance and development of WWW-TRAKLA
Veikko Siivola, maintainance of Hyperwave
Markus Kolsi, development of the WWW user interface for current TRAKLA
A group of students (Peter Hällström, Jussi Kettunen, Kari-Matti Kokko, Jari Otranen) is developing a more advanced user interface for TRAKLA in a student project called TRAKLA-EDIT.

In addition, Lasse Sundström worked in the project in the fall 1997 helping to set up the project computing environment.

Reports and documents

Reports of the project (currently in finnish only):

Projektisuunnitelma

Tarkennettu projektisuunnitelma (WWW-TRAKLA)

Edistymisraportti 1/98

Edistymisraportti 2/98

In 1999 most of the work has been carried out by Ari Korhonen in his research for his licentiate's thesis. This will be completed in June 2000.

Reports concerning the development of the course of data structures and algorithms (in finnish only)

Final report for the Konnevesi workshop of pedagogy of technical sciences. This report summarizes the plans, implementation and experiences of the course of data structures and algorithms in spring 1998.

Article version of the previous text (draft).