CIC: Semester 2, Week 5: Assessing Programming
We continue the theme of assessing learning about computer science this week by focussing on an automatic method of evaluating Scratch code through static analysis. This approach has the advantage of providing instant feedback for programs written in an entry level language used by hundreds of thousands of learners. It’s not perfect, of course, but it is interesting. As you learn more about Dr Scratch, think about whether it would be possible to do something similar for the first programming language you learned. What would Dr Haskell be like? <shudder>
First of all, try to see if https://drscratch.org/ is working. If so, do the following:
- Download the sample games which were kindly collected by a former CiC student from CodeCadets. Pick three of your favourite games and upload them to Dr Scratch for assessment. For each game, look at the feedback from Dr Scratch 2.0 and then look at the source code. Do you think the feedback is fair? Is it helpful?
If Dr Scratch 2.0 is not working, we'll apply the marking scheme it uses on a sample game in the class. (If you are really keen to make it work, here's the github repository. Let me know if you manage to get it running!)
- Download this paper about Dr Scratch 2.0. (You can get free access through UoE) . If you're busy, I recommend that you focus on these sections: 1, 3.3, 4, 6.1, 6.4. (Or ask ELM for help with summarising it).
Make notes on the following questions and post them to the discussion board:
- What are the main features of Dr Scratch 2.0?
- Critique the interface screenshots in figures 4 and figure 5 - how do you think a 12 year old child would react to them?
- If you have developed Dr Scratch 2.0, would you be happy with the teachers' feedback? Why?
- Do you think Dr Scratch 2.0 is successful? Why?