Tracking Large Class Projects in Real-Time Using Fine-Grained Source Control

Abstract

Managing a class and identifying common problems becomes significantly more challenging as class sizes increase. Additionally, the increase of online learning requires better methods to track student progress remotely. In this paper, we describe a system that tracks student progress in real time. We propose a method for obtaining a fine-grained commit history by creating a Git repository for each student and automatically running commit/push commands every time a student compiles code. This approach makes a rich source of trace data that can track student progress in real-time, identify common problems students are having, alert faculty of students that are falling behind, and verify project authorship. However, analyzing individual repositories in a large class of students can be tedious and complex, so we have developed a system that provides quick access to all student repositories and summary information and statistics for their projects. This paper describes our approach for obtaining fine-grained source control commits in real-time, a method for tracking student and overall class progress using this data, and our experiences using this system.