Conference Session

Emerging Computing and Information Technologies I

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Justin L. Hess, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Lorraine G. Kisselburgh, Purdue University; Carla B. Zoltowski, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Andrew O. Brightman, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

mental processing coupled with dialogicinteraction with other learners, where the learner reflects on novel insights and perspectives. Wehave integrated these considerations into our course design. In the next section, we describe thepurpose of this investigation, followed by the course structure.Research PurposeThis paper presents findings from a comparative analysis of the learning outcomes ofengineering students who participated either completely online mode or in a hybrid-mode, whichincluded both online and in-class components. For both learning groups, we utilized the samepedagogy designed to enhance ethical reasoning (the SIRA framework).20 We implemented thispedagogical framework at the graduate-level and assessed student learning and

Conference Session

Information and Network Security

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Maurice F. Aburdene, Bucknell University; Kundan Nepal, Bucknell University

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

results in written and oral reports.The satellite communications project provides excellent applications of important concepts ofsignals: time shift, amplitude scaling, delay, echoes, and fading. We introduced students to asatellite communication system where a signal is transmitted from a ground transmitter, receivedby the satellite after some delay, and reflected back to the ground receiver. Students analyzed thesignal received by the ground station as the sum of the signal sent from the station and the signalreflected back from the satellite. This interesting project helped students to review sinusoidalsignals, phasors, power, and to understand the effect of delays, echoes and fading. In addition,the students simulated the system using

Conference Session

Communication Across the Divisions III: Writing as Social–Technical Integration

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tatiana Teslenko, University of British Columbia, Vancouver

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology, Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

American Society for Engineering Education, 2015 Focus on Social Learning in a First-Year Technical Writing Class: a Canadian Case-Study The University of British Columbia, CanadaAbstract: Incorporation of writing assignments into the first-year curriculum is a keyopportunity for engineering educators. The topics of sustainable consumption and design,environmental issues and global engineering were introduced into a first-year engineeringcommunication course in the Faculty of Applied Science at the University of British Columbia,Vancouver. This successful initiative was further expanded to include writing reflection papers,proposals and research reports on community service learning

Conference Session

Communication Across the Divisions III: Writing as Social–Technical Integration

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bryan A. Jones, Mississippi State University; M. Jean Mohammadi-Aragh, Mississippi State University; Amy K. Barton, Mississippi State University; Donna Reese, Mississippi State University; Hejia Pan, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology, Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

-analysis and reflection. Emig describes the simple act ofreading one’s own writing as a valuable learning moment in which “information from the pro-cess is immediately and visibly available as that portion of the product already written.” Review-ing a set of writings collected over time, then, creates an opportunity to extend the learning pro-cess. Both instructors and students benefit from the act of collecting artifacts because they repre-sent the changes and growth that accompany learning. When integrated in a purposeful way ap-propriate to a given discipline, WTL deepens student understanding, improves student engage-ment, increases retention, and makes students active participants in the learning process10,11.1.2 WTL and computational

Conference Session

Information and Network Security

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Usman Ghani, DeVry University; Ahmed S. Khan, DeVry University, DuPage

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

Page 24.1203.4is guided in terms of what to consider, how to create associations between ideas, and how theseassociations form a supportive scaffolding structure. 21, 22 According to Cagiltay23 supportivescaffolding can be accomplished by several methods and mechanisms, such as coachingcomments, providing feedback, and provoking reflection. Packet-Tracer provides scaffolding inthe form of corrective feedback. According to Jaehnig and Miller the types of correctivefeedbacks commonly used are:24 1. Knowledge-of-Response (KOR), which simply indicates that the learner’s response is correct or incorrect. 2. Answer-Until-Correct (AUC), it requires learner’s to remain on the same test item until the correct answer is selected. 3

Conference Session

Topics in Computing and Information Technologies I

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joseph Benin, U.S. Coast Guard Academy; Scott Thomas Howie, United States Coast Guard Academy; Benjamin B Hannon, USCGA; Nicholas Williamson, United States Coast Guard Academy

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

tasks for the upcoming week. This is furthersolidified by weekly status reports that provide additional reflection on the project progress,outline problems, and highlight effort expended. In addition, students are required to draft aProblem Statement, Requirements Specification, Functional Design, Project Plan, and Test Plan.The nature of the projects varies widely from continuing a previous project with well-definedexpectations to venturing into uncharted waters with only a vague sense of a reasonabledestination. Thus all of these documents are flexible in their nature. For example, the test plancould be for the final product or for a milestone. Either way it will contain similar complexityand comprehensiveness. Assessment for this semester

Conference Session

New Trends in Computing and Information Technology Education

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tanya Stanko P.E., Innopolis University; Oksana Zhirosh, Unium

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

inmultiple languages and codes that information employs (textual, iconic, hypertextual,audiovisual, multimedia, etc.), should be a recurring, continuing goal throughout theeducation system as a whole, from primary education to higher education2.In addition, international organizations have focused their attention both on thedevelopment of advanced curricula and instruction in general. This has been reflected inseveral projects supported by UNESCO and OECD. One such project, called “DeSeCo”(Determination and Selection of Competencies), had published a number of researchpapers in the 2000s which lay a theoretical foundation for the new understanding of theconcept of competencies in education and in the IT industry5,12,13.In the 1960s, when modern

Conference Session

Curricular Issues in Computing

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sreyoshi Bhaduri, Virginia Tech; Tamoghna Roy, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

byorganizations and often reflect the college’s unique vision which sets it apart from peerinstitutions. Analytical techniques which rely on word usage, semantic information, andmetadata information can be used to generate powerful descriptive models with allow us toobtain relevant information from text-based data. This study presents a Natural LanguageProcessing (NLP) based textual data analytical approach using Term Frequency-InverseDocument Frequency (tf-idf) to study the mission statements of engineering colleges/schools. Atotal of 59 engineering colleges/schools: 29 public, and 30 private, across the United States wereanalyzed in this study. Results of this study indicate that there is indeed a difference in tf-idfscores for public versus private

Conference Session

Curricular Issues in Computing and Information Technology Programs II

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yujian Fu P.E., Alabama A&M University; Peter J. Clarke, Florida International University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

student learning outcomes using WReSTT-CyLE and gamification.Access to resources (funding and otherwise) is often cited as the primary barrier totechnology adoption and the integration of software testing and programming skills. Therole of negative disposition towards educational technology and digital games, has notbeen fully considered as a contributing factor in the relatively slow pace of technologyadoption in higher education. The example of such slow adoption of technology inhigher education can be exhibited in many programming courses. Moreover, thesenegative dispositions towards technology may hold also reflect more than several decadesof dominant values informed by the naturalist and romantic beliefs about programming,student learning

Conference Session

Curricular Issues in Computer-Oriented Programs

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Xiannong Meng, Bucknell University; Song Xing, California State University, Los Angeles

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

cultivate the attitudes, skills, and knowledge necessary for students to benefit maximally from a Bucknell University education and to negotiate the complexities of the modern world. The seminars stress the following: active, independent learning; collaborative learning; development of students’ capacity for analysis, reflection, judgment, and creativity; multiple perspectives; and development of skills students need in order to engage in intellectual endeavors at Bucknell and beyond. These courses address foundation skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking and also develop students’ ability to use the library effectively and to use computers (e.g. word processing, simulations, use of

Conference Session

Curricular Issues in Computing and Information Technolog Programs

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James P Cohoon, University of Virginia; J. McGrath Cohoon, University of Virginia; Luther A Tychonievich, University of Virginia; Catherine E. Brawner, Research Triangle Educational Consultants

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

. ○ Recruiting techniques for more and diverse computing majors. ○ Pedagogical best practices that result in more and diverse computing majors (e.g., pair programming). ○ Teacher success stories. ● Time every day to reflect, plan for action, and share thoughts and experiences. ● Physical movement, especially as the end of the day approaches. ● Both at-workshop and follow-up evaluation of workshop efficacy and follow-up evaluation of participant outcomes, ● Participant compensation out of respect for their interest in improving high school computer science education and recognition of the value of their time.Each of these principles is addressed in the following sections.Organizer recruitment, selection, and

Conference Session

Curricular Issues in Computing and Information Technology Programs II

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chaomin Luo, University of Detroit Mercy; Jiawen Wang, University of Detroit Mercy; Wenbing Zhao, Cleveland State University; Lei Wang, Anhui Polytechnic University

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

) in close relation to the content/robot programming (the C). The multi-lab-driven method(MLDM) was employed to construct the TCK of ROS of students in the context of designing anautonomous mobile robot system. A sequence of multiple labs were assigned to students to covervarious topics in the ROS. A variety of labs that reflect the ROS experiments and assist studentsin better understanding robotics programming were elaborately managed. Based on students’performance on various lab assignments, lab reports, presentations, the final robot project,students’ input to the official course evaluation administered by the university, and a comparisonto the instructor’s previous years of teaching experience, we propose that the MLDM is effectivein

Conference Session

Communication Across the Divisions III: Writing as Social–Technical Integration

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Vukica M. Jovanovic, Old Dominion University; Megan McKittrick, Old Dominion University; Pilar Pazos, Old Dominion University; Daniel Richards, Old Dominion University; Julia Romberger

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology, Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

and texts as resulting from typified behaviors, knowledge, and actions of agiven community of practice: “[T]o write, to engage in any communication is to participate in acommunity; to write well is to understand the conditions of one’s own participation with thatcommunity and determine the success or failure of communication”11. As such, genres reflect thevalue systems of individual organizations (e.g., a stand alone business) and also large scalecommunities (e.g., engineers). Being a proficient writer means becoming intimatelyknowledgeable of the conditions of participation in a given community of practice. According toJames Dubinsky, “our work [as professors] involves more than teaching our students strategies orforms; it also

Conference Session

Curricular Issues in Computing and Information Technolog Programs

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Camilo Vieira, Eafit; Alejandra J. Magana, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

practices, best practices best practices theory, research and best practicesReflection The reflection Reflection is The reflection is Reflection is is not realized done but it does complete and it complete and it or the answers not provide allows identify presents some are not explanatory most elements examples that coherent with elements that of experience demonstrate the responses allow uncover clearly the the experience

Conference Session

Curricular Issues in Computing and Information Technology Programs I

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Masoud Naghedolfeizi, Fort Valley State College; Sanjeev Arora, Fort Valley State University; Nabil A. Yousif, Fort Valley State University; Xiangyan Zeng, Fort Valley State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

Georgia, is presently undergoing a major revision to reflect the most current trends inthe job market and the ABET computer science curriculum requirements. Additionally, thecurriculum redesign is needed to increase the program's appeal to students and employers. Theunderlying principle for this redesign is to provide more flexibility for students to take major andfree elective courses and lessen the emphasis on traditional mathematics requirements (such asCalculus II).Currently, the major area in curriculum of computer science at FVSU includes 60 credit hours ofwhich 9 hours are major electives and 6 hours free electives. The revised program will include33 credit hours in core curriculum of computer science, 12 credit hours in major electives

Conference Session

Emerging Computing and Information Technologies II

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hassan Rajaei, Bowling Green State University; Ramin Khakzad

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

to develop models to reflect the reality. Clear examples can teachstudents how to collect data, develop base model, improve it to advanced models, analyze theobtained results, and think about usability of their simulation results. These learning outcomes canclearly demonstrate valuable educational objectives.This paper, presents an example where a group of students were assigned to develop a simulationmodel for the BGSU Students Union (BTSU) Cafeteria. Managing a university cafeteria oftenexhibits challenges for the food services located in the cafeteria. One challenge regards waitingtimes. This study was focused on reducing the average waiting time of the diners in the queues,while increasing overall efficiency of the food services.The

Conference Session

Topics in Computing and Information Technologies II

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Tamir; Ronald S Harichandran P.E., University of New Haven; Lueny Morell, InnovaHiEd

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

real-life constraints and customer needs — all of which are constructivist in nature. Page 26.1354.7 • Constructivism promotes hands-on learning. Thus, in addition to having traditional classrooms for lectures, GalvanizeU/UNH has multiple places (including labs and computer workstations) where students can experiment and work on their class and capstone projects, meet in teams to discuss their work, reflect on issues, meet with industry representatives, meet with faculty informally, etc. • All students work as part of a community from the beginning. Current industry and/or

Conference Session

Emerging Computing and Information Technologies

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bahareh Azarnoush, Arizona State University; Jennifer M Bekki, Arizona State University; Bianca L. Bernstein, Arizona State University; George C Runger, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

doctoral students in STEM programs from 27universities around the United States were given access to the website and asked to spend at leastfive hours exploring the site in an unconstrained manner during a two-week time period. Whileparticipants explored the site, their behavior was tracked using a tracking mechanism withDrupal, which is the content management system on which the CW intervention is built.Following the exploration of the website, participants were given access to a final post-assessment, which measured key learning measures that CW is designed to influence. Theassessment instrument includes different scales that reflect the social-psychological constructssuch as Problem-Solving Knowledge, Resilience, and Coping Efficacy

Conference Session

Emerging Information Technologies

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard G. Helps, Brigham Young University

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

course design for IT. The problem thus posed is to attempt to explore on anabstract level what is happening as IT curricula evolve. What happens to the instructional designas curricula are updated? What are instructors and designers doing and how are they doing it?This deeper understanding of what is happening will create a foundation upon which amethodology for evolving curricula in rapidly changing environments may be developed. Thisstudy is an exploration of the change process. The result is a theoretically based description ofthe change domains and structure.Research methodologyThe research was done as a collective case study, where the ‘case’ was a selection of coursechanges that reflected the process of change in IT. Seven faculty members

Conference Session

Curricular Issues in Computer-Oriented Programs

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joseph Idziorek, Iowa State University; Mark F. Tannian, Iowa State University; Douglas W. Jacobson, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

onthe Internet. Others have attempted to provide security education at the university level in theform of a three-hour training session8. While arguably better than a Website, a single session isnot a sufficient amount of time for students to comprehend, reflect and attempt to applyknowledge. From our experiences, students need repetition, time to reflect on course material,and the opportunity to write about and discuss presented material in order to assess and improvetheir own understanding. This type of learning simply cannot be achieved in a single three-hourtraining session. From the authors’ collective experiences, a broad demographic of students donot have access to practical information about computer security that would improve

Conference Session

Curricular Issues in Computing and Information Technology Programs II

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yung-Hsiang Lu, Purdue University; Thomas J. Hacker, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Carla B. Zoltowski, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Jan P. Allebach, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

Research and the Microsoft Azure for Research Program.This project is supported in part by NSF ACI-1535108, CNS-0958487, and CNS-0855098. Any opinions,findings, and conclusions or recommendations in this materials are those of the authors and do notnecessarily reflect the views of the sponsors.References 1. Nanette Brown, Yuanfang Cai, Yuepu Guo, Rick Kazman, Miryung Kim, Philippe Kruchten, Erin Lim, Alan MacCormack, Robert Nord, Ipek Ozkaya, Raghvinder Sangwan, Carolyn Seaman, Kevin Sullivan, and Nico Zazworka. 2010. Managing technical debt in software-reliant systems. In Proceedings of the FSE/SDP workshop on Future of software engineering research, 47-52. DOI=10.1145/1882362.1882373 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145

Conference Session

Potpourri

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Afsaneh Minaie, Utah Valley University; Reza Sanati-Mehrizy, Utah Valley University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

who have decided topursue a computer science and engineering education.Retention of computer science and engineering students is a major problem at many institutionsof higher education. Retention issues have a big impact on the colleges and universities in avariety of areas such as academic affairs, student services, and even recruitment of newengineering students. Nowadays, graduation rates are published and lower rates reflect poorlyon an institution of higher education. Because of these reasons and more, colleges anduniversities have turned their attentions to finding new ways to retain the students that do enrollin their computer science and engineering programs.In order to increase the retention rate of our Computer Science, Computer

Conference Session

Computing & Information Technology Division Technical Session

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mayari I. Serrano, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Alejandra J. Magana, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Baijian Yang, Purdue University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

engage students inlearning and allow translation from conceptual knowledge to practice. We propose to use Model-Eliciting Activities (MEAs) to develop students’ representational fluency in the cybersecuritydomain. MEAs are activities that intent to simulate real-word client-driven scenarios. And thesuccess of these MEA activities rely on teamwork and the students’ abilities to apply concepts.Properly constructed and implemented MEAs can increase the use of: (1) student reflection toolsin assessments, and (2) learning technologies. MEAs require students to iteratively build, test andrefine their knowledge by encouraging students to build different forms of representations andconnect and translate among them [3]. These activities focus on

Conference Session

POTPOURRI

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Duke Mejia Bulanon, Northwest Nazarene University; Stephen A. Parke P.E., Northwest Nazarene University

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

c American Society for Engineering Education, 2013 Crop Monitoring System: A Case of Teaching Machine Vision through Undergraduate Research AbstractNorthwest Nazarene University, which is located in the Treasure Valley of Idaho, is developing acrop monitoring platform (CMP). The CMP, which uses a machine vision system, estimates fruittree parameters such as tree canopy volume and canopy reflectance characteristics. This researchproject, conducted by undergraduate engineering students, is integrated with the teaching ofmachine vision in a Control Systems course. This paper presents a case for teaching machinevision through undergraduate research.1. IntroductionNorthwest

Conference Session

Potpourri

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Afsaneh Minaie, Utah Valley University; Reza Sanati-Mehrizy, Utah Valley University; Paymon Sanati-Mehrizy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Ali Sanati-Mehrizy

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

-oriented society, some researchers 4,5,6, haveargued that the development of autonomous learners is fundamental. Coto describes autonomyas: … the ability to take charge of one’s own learning. It means to have the responsibility for setting learning goals; identifying and developing learning strategies; developing study plans; reflecting on learning; identifying and selecting relevant resources and support; and assessing one’s own progress7.In a research study conducted at the National University of Costa Rica with the goal ofproducing a curriculum shift from a teacher-centered approach toward a student-centeredapproach, it was concluded that this shift is not going to be an easy one. They pointed out theimportance of

Conference Session

Curricular Issues in Computing and Information Technolog Programs

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hoda Baytiyeh, The American university of Beirut

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

one dataset toinvestigate the acceptance of Moodle.An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was employed to the data to determine which ofthe 30 items formed related subsets. EFA was applied with principal componentsextraction, eigenvalues greater than 1.00 and absolute value greater than .40 13, 14. Resultsof a Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling equal to .935 and Bartlett’s test (p< .0001) showed that using EFA was appropriate for this study 15. The EFA withprincipal components extraction yielded five factors that accounted for 63.93% of thetotal variance.Table 1 shows the rotated factor loadings, which are the correlations between the variableand the factor. The size of each loading reflects the extent of the relationship

Conference Session

Curricular Issues in Computing

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tony Andrew Lowe, Purdue University, West Lafayette (College of Engineering); Sean P. Brophy, Purdue University, West Lafayette (College of Engineering)

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

-coding Learning Prior coursework and grades in Math, Physics, Chemistry, as well as specialized topics like Statistics, Drafting, Manufacturing…Team experiences Whether the student has been asked to work in a team, of what size and nature and how they perceive that experience. Student outcomes include robust data set in the form of exams, in-class assignments andhomework. This study is focusing on Computational Thinking aspects of this class, thus allreported grades are filtered to assignments that reflect CT and/or CS topics, unless otherwisestated. An example of topics omitted include questions about the general engineering designprocess

Conference Session

Computing & Information Technology Division Technical Session

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joshua Levi Weese, Kansas State University; Russell Feldhausen, Kansas State University; Nathan H. Bean

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

(which is written using the Blocklylanguage) knew that they were using Blockly. From students who had previously attendedsome sort of STEM program before the institute, 70% of them had used Scratch. This showsthat most outreach programs in this geographic area highly favor the Scratch language. Withmore than 80% of students having used some programming language, it shows that all studentsare being exposed as much to computer programming at home or school as those whoparticipated in outreach programs. However, the low level of exposure is reflected in the self-efficacy in CT concepts. Students who had previously attended outreach programs improved more in CTconcepts such as algorithms, procedures, parallelization, data collection, and

Conference Session

POTPOURRI

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lifang Shih, Excelsior College; Jane A LeClair, Excelsior College

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

requirements.In addition to the Information Technology core requirements, students must complete a 3-credithour capstone course entitled, Integrated Technology Assessment (ITA), which involvesdevelopment and submission of E-portfolios. The Integrated Technology Assessment (ITA)process in Excelsior College’s BSIT Program provides students with an opportunity to create andmanage web-accessed electronic portfolios that document their knowledge, skills, andachievements from coursework, practical work experience, and other extracurricular activities.These portfolios support student reflection and provide a thoughtful accumulation of academicand non-academic work over a period of time.In order to continue to track the students’ progress after graduation

Conference Session

Curricular Issues in Computing and Information Technology Programs I

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alka R Harriger, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Mayari I. Serrano, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

construct elements of a program, and a built-insimulator.4 The simulator allows the user to observe and test the behavior of the programthroughout execution by watching memory elements change in response to the environmentand/or user input/actions. Once the program has been thoroughly tested with the simulator, theIDE is used to download the program to the actual controller.Figure 2 shows the eight key symbols that may be used in a flowchart. As with traditionalflowcharts, the shape of a particular block denotes its function. For example, the two diamond-shaped symbols, compare and decision, reflect branch points in the program logic from whichthere are two exits