Evaluation of a 3-D visual programming environment in an introductory course of object-oriented programming

A newly developed visual programming environment has been evaluated. It allows students to visualize and manipulate programs in 3D representation. That visual programming environment is expected to enhance motivation to programming, understanding of programs, and efficiency of programming education. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the newly developed programming environment. The experiment included lectures, exercises of programming, achievement tests, video recordings, monitoring of keyboard and mouse activities and questionnaires.