An Online Tool to Give First-year Programming Students Pre-assessment Feedback

Abstract

Abstract A code analysis and feedback tool for use by first-year HND computing students is introduced. The aim is to help improve the students’ ability for self-directed learning, via the mechanism of evaluating the code they have written. As the tool is online, students can use it anytime, any number of times, without over-burdening the tutor. The tool works by extracting various metrics from the code and informing the student of the outcome with a detailed report. It is written in ASP.NET, supported by VB.NET and ADO.NET. Ease of use and functional flexibility are part of the design guidelines. The work is in progress but initial findings are encouraging.