An Approach to Annotation of Learning Texts on Programming within a Web-Based Educational System

Many approaches have been developed to simplify user navigation and information search in large information spaces. Annotations, i.e. notes, comments, explanations or other types of remarks bring to these activities new dimension. Annotations enrich the content and also support collaboration. This paper presents a method for annotation learning materials on programming. Learning materials in domain of programming consist of text mixed with programming exercises and code samples. The main idea of the annotation is an extension of learning materials by additional information helping students to understand learning subject easier and faster together with minimizing a need of finding supplemental information in external sources such as reference guides. Additionally, user annotations provide a context based communication space for students and their teacher: students add annotations into the learning text to ask, suggest or comment and the teacher evaluates the annotations and responds. To verify value of this approach we tested proposed method for annotation learning texts within an existing learning system in domain of functional and logic programming.