Developing Software Engineering Skills using Real Tools for Automated Grading
Sarah Smith Heckman, Jason King · 2018
Situated learning theory supports engaging students with materials and resources that reflect professional standards and best practices. Starting with our introductory courses, we incorporate situated learning to support student engagement in software engineering practices and processes through the use of industrial strength open-source tools in several classes throughout the undergraduate computer science curriculum at NC State University. Additionally, these tools support several logistical and educational needs in computer science classrooms, including assignment submission systems and automated grading. In this tools paper, we present our Canary Framework for supporting software engineering practices through the use of Eclipse for development; GitHub for submission and collaboration; and Jenkins for continuous integration and automated grading. These tools are used in five of ten core courses by more than 3000 students over ten semesters. While the use of these tools in education is not unique, we want to share our model of using professional tools in a classroom setting and our experiences on how this framework can support multiple courses throughout the curriculum and at scale.