Lion.py: tutorial educativo para el aprendizaje de programacion en Python con base en las etapas del pensamiento computacional

Abstract

Nowadays, technology has become known as the central axis of the great changes in the labor field and the main responsible for the various industrial revolutions, since these types of revolutions are driven by different technological innovations [1]; for this reason it is undeniable that the basic mastery of technologies has become indispensable in almost all known labor fields, such as education, medicine, entertainment, engineering, architecture, and many more which have resorted to the technological field and this has become a fundamental element for their development. However, there is the idea that such knowledge presents a very high difficulty to learn, which causes a general rejection by the young population and even the resignation that they are not capable of achieving it. The automation of processes has driven the need to hire professionals with extensive knowledge in programming, which highlights the need to create educational tools that support and encourage the learning of it, in order to solve this problem, digital educational tools arise to facilitate understanding and accelerate the learning of programming. Although there are various programming languages ​​with very complete tools and functions, Python has managed to stand out as one of the most important languages ​​because, although it is a simple language, it can contain a wide variety of functions, tools, and controllers that make it one of the best options to start learning programming at any age. Taking into account the above, it can be understood that although programming is fashionable and is necessary in many fields, not only in work, but in everyday life, it presents various problems in the learning process, since it is difficult to find accessible tools and a good teaching method. Some universities do not have an updated methodology guided by theory and practice, which makes the process tedious and by focusing on the development of very complex programs, academic desertion ends up being evident because from the beginning there were no clear bases. Although theoretical knowledge is very important and marks the parameters that must be followed in the area of ​​programming, practice is vital, because from the correction of errors the student strengthens his skills and knowledge to be able to develop programs with different levels of complexity. In search of a technological solution to the problems that initially appear, Lion.PY emerges as an educational tutorial focused on teaching and learning the Python programming language, initially aimed at people who do not have extensive knowledge of programming and for this reason a theoretical-practical teaching methodology is used where priority is given to the four stages of computational thinking that will be implicit in each lesson of the tutorial, as they contain theory, video, examples and certain activities all with the objective of acquiring knowledge progressively starting from What is Python?, how it can handle the development environment, basic syntax and other thematic content up to the creation of object-oriented functions. For the development of this tutorial, WordPress will be used as the main platform, taking advantage of its great versatility and variety in the plugins available to implement specific functions that facilitate the development of a user-friendly tutorial environment, allowing the viewing and navigation of the different modules that contain a learning structure, level map, frequently asked questions, validation surveys and profile modification in the information that is managed in the database with the aim of providing a personalized experience from the editing of name or nickname and avatar. Regarding the construction of theoretical lessons, an exhaustive search is carried out in different bibliographic managers and certified information bases with the aim of ensuring the quality and relevance of the content to be taught; from the search carried out, the differences and the state of the art in the field of programming are also highlighted from a broader view of the tutorials that are already in operation. In addition, for each lesson, explanatory videos are created where the theory is broken down and with clear examples a guide is given on how to solve different situations based on computational thinking that allows a deep understanding of the topics covered, complementing everything with practical activities that allow reinforcing what has been learned. Below, this document shows in detail all the aspects included in the different stages of planning, development and validation of the educational tutorial. First, the problem, technological solution, justification, background, state of the art and different methodologies used throughout the construction process are presented. Likewise, the development of the tutorial is broken down from the creation of a schedule, evaluation of economic, technological or technical feasibility, accompanied by the different Sprints or deliverables of the progress based on the SCRUM methodology and how the validation process was carried out. This broken down information will allow obtaining a complete view of the project at each of the stages until achieving the successful implementation of Lion.PY educational tutorial in Python programming.