Usability evaluation of block programming tools in IoT contexts for initial engineering courses

Scratch has been shown as one of the main tools for teaching Computational Thinking through the concept of(block-based) programming. In the present research, two platforms based on/inspired by Scratch were considered for the analysis of their usability characteristics through the Cognitive Walkthrough method, for later use by engineering students at the beginning of their university courses for the development of their competences of logical thinking and abstraction of complex concepts: Snap4Arduino (used in the development of solutions for Internet of Things), and; App Inventor (used in the development of Android applications). The results show a positive evaluation of these tools, generating motivation for their use by new engineering students in their teaching-learning processes.