2023 Gitner Award Winner

Renato Mancuso, of the Department of Computer Science

In a field as complex and rapidly evolving as computer science, Assistant Professor Renato Mancuso recognizes the importance of keeping students engaged in class and motivated toward continual improvement. So, as part of his Fundamentals of Computing Systemscourse, Professor Mancuso designed a novel new piece of technology, CodeBuddy, that allows students to see the success of their coding in real time, understand where they and their classmates have hit snags, and, in turn, create a sense of community.

Through CodeBuddy, Professor Mancuso’s students submit coding for programming assignments via a web-based interface and instantaneously receive feedback on any failed test cases and why they failed. Using anonymously assigned nicknames, the program beams results onto a leaderboard in front of class, enabling students to see how common the problem they are facing is and share insights they have gathered toward finding a solution – while also establishing healthy competition. The program has been a home run with students, who appreciate the camaraderie it helps create in a challenging field. “He made ‘the hardest [computer science] required course for majors’ the most enjoyable course,” one student shares. It has proven equally beneficial for Professor Mancuso, helping him adjust the pace of lectures and difficulty of assignments accordingly while freeing up teaching fellows from reviewing and grading code and allowing class sizes to increase to meet demand.

CodeBuddy’s potential isn’t limited to computer science, and Professor Mancuso has developed a roadmap outlining features that position it for integration into any class with large programming assignments. To support his colleagues, he co-authored a free online textbook that provides flexibility for instructors to tie class concepts to specific software applications. Writes one nominator: “It is not an overstatement to say that Renato’s creative design, implementation, and deployment of that system transformed the students’ experience and contributed significantly to their learning outcomes.”