Objeto de aprendizagem para o ensino de algoritmos solucionadores de problemas de otimização em redes

Abstract

The network optimization problems (NOP) are common to several areas such as engineering, transport and telecommunications, and have been objects of intense research and studies. Among the classical NOP are the problems of Shortest Path (SPP), Max Flow (MFP) and Traveling Salesman (TSP), which are usually studied in undergraduate and graduate courses such as Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems and Logistics, with the use of resources such as chalk and blackboard that hinder the teacher's work, in the sense of showing the functioning of algorithms that solve these problems while maintaining students' motivation for learning. In this context, it is proposed in this research, a computational tool, characterized as a Learning Object (OA) and called TASNOP - Teaching Algorithms for Solving Network Optimization Problems, whose purpose is to contribute to students' understanding about concepts from NOP and, mainly, the functioning of algorithms A*, Greedy Search and Dijkstra used for resolution of SPP, Ford-Fulkerson employed in the resolution of MFP and the Nearest Neighbor to solve the TSP. It is important to highlight that the proposed OA can be accessed through web and also employed in distance learning environments (DLE). Experiments conducted in 2014 with 129 students of Computer Science, from which 51 performed an exercise using the TASNOP and 78 without this tool, confirm that students who used the TASNOP performed better in solving the proposed exercise, corroborating the idea that the OA helped to improve their understanding about the algorithms discussed in this research. In addition, the 51 students who employed the TASNOP answered a questionnaire about it use and, the answers indicated that the TASNOP shows a potential to be used as a learning support tool.