Student perspective on an online asynchronous introduction to linux based on user-first pedagogy

Abstract

An introduction to Linux is used to survey students' perception of required effort levels, suitability of tools, pedagogies of contents / instruction. Their perception of the relevance of various cognitive skills taught, along with their evaluation of how well the teaching material supports their acquisition, supplements previous findings on the educational nature of an introduction to Linux. Survey results are interpreted in terms of the impact on student's motivation of the misalignment of their perceptions about the relevance of specific cognitive skills with both academic and industry perspectives. We also review what results teach us about the appropriateness of both pedagogies of contents and instruction. We then discuss observations regarding potential issues and how we might address them in the future.