Design and Use of Static Scaffolding Techniques to Support Java Programming on a Mobile Phone

Most learners in resource-constrained environments own mobile phones that they could use to learn programming while outside the classroom. However, limitations of mobile phones, such as small screens and small keypads, impede their use as typical programming environments. This study proposed that programming environments on mobile phones could include scaffolding techniques specifically designed for mobile phones, and designed based on learners' needs. Scaffolding should be designed with some essential techniques that are mandatory for learners to use. Hence, one type of scaffolding technique that was designed to support programming on the mobile phone is static scaffolding that does not fade. Experiments were conducted with 64 learners of programming from three universities in Kenya and South Africa in order to investigate how they used the designed static scaffolding techniques to construct Java programs on a mobile phone. The results show that programming on mobile phones can be supported by providing scaffolding techniques that never fade, in order to address the limitations of mobile phones and to meet learners' needs