UML tools: what is their role in undergraduate computer science courses?
There is strong disagreement among many computer science educators as to whether UML tools can be effectively used in undergraduate computer science courses. Two of the main points of disagreement are whether the tools that exist are appropriate for undergraduate education and whether the learning curve for these tools is too steep for the benefits that they bring. We will discuss both tools for developing class diagrams, appropriate for CS1/CS2 courses as well as tools for developing use-case models, sequence diagrams, etc. – tools appropriate for advanced courses on such topics as object-oriented analysis and design, software engineering, etc.