Tools and techniques for large scale grading using Web-based commercial off-the-shelf software

Abstract

Courseware/Course Management Systems (CMS) such as WebCT or Blackboard are an increasingly popular way to provide a web presence for a course. However, their current web-browser reliance makes it difficult for them to provide functionality that could be useful to computer science instructors. This paper describes our augmentation of a CMS in a large introductory computer science class. It further describes our enhancement of the CMS by clientside software (i.e. residing on the graders computer), written for use by the instructors and graders. Finally, it indicates how conventional CMS architecture can be extended to provide additional functionality that would be desirable for computer science instruction.

The back end of a grading system

“…Each module or piece of the system had to have internal documentation as well. 4. As much as possible, the system was to be decoupled from the delivery and assessment phases.…”

“…Unanticipated physical impairments imposed the added requirement that a system could not be merely an electronic version of the manual system [4]. This ruled out systems such as a tablet PC, which permits handwritten comments on documents that are ultimately converted to PDF.…”