Learning on the job: Characterizing the programming knowledge and learning strategies of web designers

Brian Dorn, Mark Guzdial

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

62 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper reports on a study of professional web designers and developers. We provide a detailed characterization of their knowledge of fundamental programming concepts elicited through card sorting. Additionally, we present qualitative findings regarding their motivation to learn new concepts and the learning strategies they employ. We find a high level of recognition of basic concepts, but we identify a number of concepts that they do not fully understand, consider difficult to learn, and use infrequently. We also note that their learning process is motivated by work projects and often follows a pattern of trial and error. We conclude with implications for end-user programming researchers.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationCHI 2010 - The 28th Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Conference Proceedings
Pages703-712
Number of pages10
DOIs
StatePublished - 2010
Externally publishedYes
Event28th Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2010 - Atlanta, GA, United States
Duration: Apr 10 2010Apr 15 2010

Publication series

NameConference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings
Volume2

Conference

Conference28th Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2010
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityAtlanta, GA
Period4/10/104/15/10

Keywords

  • informal learning
  • web development

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design

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