Amnesia: A learning object for memory hierarchy teaching

The teaching and learning process of memory hierarchy is a not simple task. Many topics studied in theory may discourage learning due to its complexity. Resources have been developed to improve learning experiences, and learning objects are resources worth taking into account. This paper presents a learning object called Amnesia, which aims to facilitate the knowledge construction by simulating the structure, functionality and performance of the memory hierarchy in von Neumann architecture, specifically considering the cache memory module. Experimental studies demonstrated an increase in student learning when this object was used. In addition, the students´ motivation to use learning objects also increased.