Ready for Prime Time, - Yes, Industrial-Grade Modelling Tools can be Used in Education

Abstract

It has been stated that industrial-grade modelling tools are unsuit- able for teaching modelling. In this paper, we present our experience with a university course on software modelling. In the first year of the course, we used a commercial modelling tool, in the second year the open- source alternative Papyrus. Both tools are considered to be of industrial grade and used in industry. Our quantitative analysis shows that the industrial-grade modelling tools with all their complexity did not have a negative impact on the students’ experience of modelling. This shows that industrial-grade modelling tools can be used in the classroom. We analyse why our experience differs from published accounts and conclude that the availability of a tool champion and tailored instruction mate- rial is key. From this, we derive recommendations for teacher support from tool-providers (vendors and open source), research directions for researchers and teachers, and for training efforts in the industry.