A Supporting System of Informatics Education for University Freshmen

Informatics Education for high schools started in 2003 in Japan. Although it is compulsory, university freshmen in 2006 are expected to have large differences in their computer literacy competency. One of the reasons for this is that many teachers have no technical knowledge of Informatics because they were licensed by taking only ninety hours of training during their summer vacation. It is necessary for universities in Japan to classify their freshmen with respect to their computer literacy to be able to provide appropriate education. We have developed a testing system for this but further improvement is required due to quality variations of the test. Appropriate classification of the problems is also required for giving good advice for the student to learn properly. We are developing a Learning Management System (LMS), which supports not only students but also the collaborative works of teachers as well.