A Powerful Tool for Programming Instruction

CodeLab is the web-based interactive programming exercise system for intro programming classes in Python, Java, C++, C, and C#. It is a proven system that has been used in over 400 institutions in 20 countries and analyzed over 300,000,000 (three hundred million) exercise submissions from more than 700,000 students.

CodeLab has 800+ short exercises, each focused on a particular programming idea or language construct. The student types in code and the system immediately judges its correctness, offering hints when the submission is incorrect. Through this process, the student gains mastery over the semantics, syntax and common usage of the language elements.

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Faculty Benefits

instant Automatic feedback

Because of its helpful feedback and hints, Students don't hit "brick walls" when working in CodeLabs. So, students who do choose to come to faculty office hours will be seeking guidance at a higher level. As one instructor put it: "I am getting more questions about concepts, software engineering and problem-solving and fewer questions about basics."

GRADING RELIEF / AUTOMATIC CLASS ROSTERING

CodeLab automatically checks student work for correctness. A dynamic roster tracks student performance and maintains a record of submissions, freeing you to focus on the less banal and more satisfying tasks of teaching.

DECREASE ATTRITION

Your students are less likely to become overwhelmed by the course material because they are able to master the fundamental programming concepts in the CodeLabs. CodeLabs give your students manageable practice opportunities in a self-paced and supportive learning environment.

WORKS WITH YOUR CONTENT

The Codelab service is content agnostic—the system can be used with any content and course organization you choose. We have pre-made courses for all popular textbooks. With Codelab, there’s no need to toss your existing course syllabus, textbook and/or class notes! In addition, competitive pricing keeps both you and your students happy.

CANVAS & LMS INTEGRATION

Codelab offers seamless integration with Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, D2L, Schoology, Sakai, and other Learning Management Systems. Students never visit the Codelab website—exercises reside in the LMS course and results feed directly to the LMS gradebook. Course set up is straightforward and follows standard protocols.

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Put your class emphasis where you want it

Focus on problem solving strategies, design and analysis, abstraction, algorithms, and style. You can do this because CodeLab helps the students master the syntax, semantics and basic usage of the programming language.

“I highly recommend the use of CodeLab to all other instructors. It provides the evaluation support that I have been seeking for an introductory course.”

— Michael Schultz, Instructor, University of Wisconsin

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Student Benefits

Higher test scores

There is no better way to retain the material you have learned than to use it and get feedback. By completing the CodeLab exercises, you internalize and reinforce your knowledge of the concept and better retention means better scores on the exams.

No brick wall

If you've ever been completely stuck on a homework problem, you know what the "brick wall" is. In CodeLabs there are no brick walls. Every exercise comes with feedback, hints and other explanatory material that will help you overcome any learning obstacle.

More efficient studying

By doing the CodeLab exercises you will spend less time finding out what you do and don't know. Within seconds of your submission, you will know if you need to study a concept. This translates to less time spent figuring out what to study and more time learning by doing.

Better grades on projects

CodeLabs will prepare you for the large programming projects. By mastering the individual concepts and language constructs in the CodeLabs, you will be able to tackle larger programs with greater speed and precision. You will spend less time wrestling with basics and more time fine-tuning your project to get the best grade possible.

“CodeLab has proven to be invaluable in giving students additional hands-on experience and hence a better understanding of programming. The students have also given it favorable reviews. I will certainly be recommending it for next semester’s introductory programming class.”

— Glenn Jones, Professor, Medgar Evers College

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CS Departments Benefits

Retention

From its beginning as an academic NSF project, one of the development goals of CodeLab was reduced attrition. CodeLab achieves this by flattening the CS1 learning curve by providing a setting where students can master the syntax and semantics of a programming language. This is clearly having benefits. For example, one instructor reported that six weeks into the term, instead of the usual 30 student withdrawals (out of 150), only 2 had dropped out.

Language Switching

Many departments have a sequence of programming courses in which the language for the introductory course is different from what is used in the Data Structures or Object Oriented Programming course. CodeLab makes it much easier to switch languages without having to devote class time to teaching the fundamentals. Students who have programming experience in one language can quickly get up to speed on a new language by using CodeLab. This allows the instructor to focus on the concepts of Data Structures or Object Oriented Programming, rather than language details..

Confidence of Achievement Level

CodeLab certifies that the student has correctly written code that solves a stated problem. This provides an additional measure of confidence that students coming out of an introductory class have obtained mastery of the topics covered by CodeLab. Instructors in succeeding courses can assume this competence and spend less time reviewing basic concepts and more time teaching the more complicated programming ideas that depend on this base level of mastery.

“We’ve received outstanding support from Turing’s Craft. I’m a satisfied customer and anticipate using CodeLab in my introductory programming classes in the future.”

— Deborah Trytten, Professor, University of Oklahoma