Implementation of a Python Library to Evaluate the Use of Quipu in Programming Learning in Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71701/revistaii.v.18.2024.84Keywords:
Teaching programming, Quipu, Python, Python library, Programming languages, Inca numerical Quipu, PyPIAbstract
This study focuses on proposing an innovative approach to teaching programming through the creation of a library in Python that allows simulating an Inca numerical Quipu. The library can be used in desktop applications with Windows, Linux or macOS operating systems. The objective is to encourage secondary education students or students in the first years of digital career studies to learn a programming language such as Python and value the cultural legacy of an ancestral data storage tool such as the Quipu. The library developed for this study allows us to simulate an Inca numerical Quipu with the representation of 4-digit numbers and its sum verifier. This will facilitate tracking the learning progress of students, analyzing teaching patterns and evaluating understanding through interactive exercises complemented with real numerical Quipu. The library has been published in the official repository of the Python programming language (PyPI) under the name Quipudigital, with a GPL-3.0 license so that it can be used by the community of developers or those interested in learning Python programming. The research methodology involved deploying the Quipu library in an educational environment to collect empirical data on students' performance and perception of learning. The main findings revealed that students developed a strong interest in learning a new programming language after understanding the symbolism of knots and decimal notation used in the Inca numerical Quipu. Curiosity about how the symbolism of nodes and the decimal representation of a Quipu were simulated in a computing system sparked interest in learning the Python programming language.This study was carried out in two stages, the first stage was during the Project Week of the Alexander Von Humboldt School in Miraflores (May 2024) and the second stage during the 2024-1 semester of the Tecsup Higher Education Institute (Lima). It can be concluded that the use of programming languages complemented with ancestral data storage tools helps to effectively strengthen teaching in programming languages and revalue the use of the Quipu.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Jaime Gómez Marin (Autor/a)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
