ClockIt: collecting quantitative data on how beginning software developers really work

ABSTRACT

The Information Technology sector is suffering from a dramatic reduction in the number of students studying the field and subsequently entering the IT market. The number of freshmen expressing "interest in CS" has dramatically decreased since 2000 [16] and CS attrition rates are very high (DUE 0633640). As part of an effort funded by the National Science Foundation (DUE 0633640), this paper introduces the ClockIt toolset that we believe can be used to help educators understand and reduce the high attrition rates of CS 1 and CS 2 students. Using ClockIt, we can unobtrusively monitor and log student software development activities allowing us to determine what practices make a student a successful software developer and what practices do not.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.3 COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION
      K.3.1 Computer Uses in Education
          Subjects: Computer-assisted instruction (CAI)

General Terms:
Human Factors, Measurement

Keywords:
assessment, cs1, cs2, programming practices