Multimedia Tools for the Development of Algorithmic Thinking

The area of software development has undergone a rapid expansion and this trend is so far continuing. Each developer has to learn constantly and master new technology. However, the foundation a developer gains at the beginning of his/her career playing a crucial role. An essential part of studies at faculties preparing students in the area of computer science is the development of student's ability to think algorithmically. There are many different theoretical researches which deal with the question of how to consequently develop algorithmic thinking of students. Their basic aim is to improve the quality of teaching and students' self-learning. The aim of this paper is to introduce our approach that has proven to be successful in the optimization of teaching and learning a subject developing algorithmic thinking of beginners. This is followed by a discussion of the benefits of multimedia applications, explaining and visualizing the subject matter, testing the knowledge of students, and the recent key patents that have emerged in this field. A brief description of further deepening of algorithmic thinking within combinatorial optimization using appropriate multimedia support is given at the end of the paper.