CodeToon: A New Visual Programming Environment Using Comics for Teaching and Learning Programming

Abstract

Visual programming environments such as Scratch and Alice contributed to lowering the barrier to computer programming. They use virtual characters that users can manipulate with code, enabling creative activities, such as creating animations and interactive games and stories. We introduce CodeToon, a new visual programming environment that uses comics to visualize code. In the environment, users can generate stories from code and produce comics. We showcase the environment, the authoring process, how teachers and students can use it to teach and learn programming, and the benefits of using comics as the visual representation. Expected Audience: Instructors at various levels (K-12 to undergraduate) interested in improving their programming courses with comics; researchers interested in the coding strip research.