Columbia University

Requirements 

With over 3000 students now using Codio, we needed a solution that could be implemented easily, improving how instructors teach and how student code. There are myriad components, integrations, and issues that would need to be managed if we weren't using an integrated platform such as Codio. These include:

• Configuring and distributing virtualized or containerized environments
• Each student connecting their IDE to the container
• Faculty managing considerable tech support issues relating to the installation and configuration of a range of IDEs, resulting in time spent and high student attrition
• Submitting student code to a grading server
• Passing the resulting grades back to a gradebook or LMS

Codio takes care of all of these features such that every aspect of the course work can be delivered using only a browser and without students needing to install a thing.

• Integrated Platform: The integrated and automated nature of the platform avoids many individual technical issues.
• Automated Grading: Auto-graded questions and auto-graded code assessments
• Easy LMS Integration: LMS & Gradebook Integration
• Prioritizing Instruction: Faculty don't have to act as support staff for students due to the platform being web-based
• VM Customization: Each assignment is a full-powered VM that can be configured with any programming language, database, component, etc., even providing sudo level privileges
• Level the Student Experience: Ensure all students would start each assignment with the exact same configuration, no matter how complex

02

Background

03

Teaching with Codio

• Introduction to Computer Science
• Data Structures
• Bioinformatics

What we love about Codio is the ease of configuration for any programming scenario and the fact that we can configure it entirely ourselves. Its integrated nature, flexibility, and the fact that all students need is a browser are fantastic. 

Codio provides the framework for each student’s work to be automatically graded. In this case, a specialized Python grading script was custom-written by our faculty. The grading results are then fed back to the Canvas LMS platform.

The integrated nature of the Codio platform is also very important. Without a fully automated and integrated approach, the department would have had to solve many individual technical problems and then integrate them.

04

Working with Codio

We've worked with technical teams from many companies in the past and Codio really stands out from the crowd. Not only have we enjoyed working with Codio's technical team, but we're also extremely impressed with their responsiveness and attention to detail.