What did students need to do In order for them to succeed in this class?

What were the problems they were facing and what did they need in order to solve them?

Is the trend of moving toward more graphical user interfaces and less "command line" programs a good thing? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages for the user? How are students different than other software users?

Can software alone fix these types of problems? What else may be an important part of an effective solution?

How might you distinguish usable and useful in from this story. i.e. "...a program that was not only functional (usable) but helped them learn the course material (useful) instead of presenting roadblocks to their understanding and knowledge."