CODECHUM: A SMART IDE FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING PROGRAMMING

Abstract

Teaching an introductory programming course to an average of 40 students while monitoring their performance can be a challenge for instructors. Preparing coding exercises with test cases and checking students’ programs can prove to be time consuming at times. Moreover, programming has been known to be quite difficult for students to learn. To address these concerns, a web-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for C Programming called CodeChum was developed. CodeChum provides instructors with an easier way of creating programming exercises and automating the checking student codes. CodeChum allows students to apply their skills using problem stories attached to learning outcomes, test their solutions, get instant feedback and monitor their current status through a student dashboard. CodeChum was tested within a span of two months on 120 undergraduate students taking up introductory programming courses and 6 programming instructors from Cebu Institute of TechnologyUniversity, and another study, for the implementation of the student dashboard, was conducted on 35 students using a system usability scale (SUS) test. A usability and feedback survey for students and instructors was conducted getting inputs of their experience while using the IDE. Results of the survey show that the system was well received both by students and instructors. As for the student Dashboard, results show good initial feedback from the students in terms of its usability and the overall user experience provided by the newly integrated module.