Is StackOverflow an Effective Complement to Gaining Practical Knowledge Compared to Traditional Computer Science Learning?

In this paper, a method is proposed to assist computer science lecturers in including StackOverflow content in their teaching practice. StackOverflow is a very popular Q&A website about computer programming accessed by approximately 21 million professional developers and university-level students. The primary purpose reported in this paper is to assess the impact of using the StackOverflow Q&A resource as an add-in supplement to enhance students' learning achievements. The study sample consisted of 38 undergraduate students who enrolled in a database module. Students were divided in control and experimental group. Pre-tests and post-tests were conducted with both groups in the chosen subject. A comparison was made between the treatment group, which used StackOverflow Q&A as a tutorial tool, and the control group, which studied the same topic using a traditional learning format (set of printed exercises as well as text book examples). Our results show how both the experimental group and the control group significantly improved their performance in the post-test. While the experimental group improved their performance more than the control group, the gap was not significant. The results enable it to conclude that StackOverflow material was at least as effective as the traditional material. The finding may be useful in offering new perspectives towards computer science pedagogy that will provide students with more authentic practice to prepare them for their future careers.