A Framework for Generating AV Content on-the-fly

Many computer science educators agree that the visualization or animation of dynamic systems, especially algorithms and data structures, should help students in learning about this central aspect of computer science. However, most educators do not use algorithm visualization and animation (AV) systems in their teaching. One central reason for this is the time needed to find or generate “appropriate” content [Naps, T. L., G. Rößling, V. Almstrum, W. Dann, R. Fleischer, C. Hundhausen, A. Korhonen, L. Malmi, M. McNally, S. Rodger and J. A. Velázquez-Iturbide, Exploring the Role of Visualization and Engagement in Computer Science Education, ACM SIGCSE Bulletin 35 (2003), pp. 131–152]. This paper tries to remedy this by illustrating an easy to use and yet flexible framework for generating content on-the-fly - but tailored to the end user's preferences.