uAssign

Abstract

We describe uAssign, an assignment system for teaching and assessing command line terminal skills. uAssign allows instructors to create auto-graded terminal assignments that require students to perform a high-level action that can be completed in many ways. Assignments can be randomized so that students can't re-use old solutions. uAssign is implemented via an in-browser terminal emulator that uses WebSockets to connect to a Docker container. Performance testing and its use in a large-enrollment lecture course show that it is efficient enough to handle a large number of concurrent users. A survey of students shows significant improvement in terminal skill confidence after using uAssign and that students have a high level of satisfaction with uAssign assignments.