The XInteract project, funded by the Buhl Foundation, aims to enhance the effectiveness of student learning in computer science courses by employing an interactive, technologically facilitated, principles-to-practice, immediate feedback pedagogy, whereby students gain immediate experience following an explanation of a particular principle. The software is not a "stand alone" tutorial. It is unique in that it is intended to be used in the classroom with an instructor. Our goal is to maximize the benefits of the classroom environment and software interactivity.

To achieve this goal, teams of student programmers, working under the direction of the project's principal investigator Robert D. Cupper, have implemented a portfolio of in-class Java programming exercises for our introductory Computer Science course, CMPSC 111, together with C++ code to enable students to view problems, compose solutions, and submit them to a grading progam. In addition, they have developed a database that records each student's attempts at in-class exercises. With records available to both the student and the instructor, this database enables the student to review and repeat exercises as necessary outside the class and enables the instructor to monitor each student's progress throughout the course. Finally, the programming teams have implemented software that enables student desktop screens containing proposed solutions to be projected using smart classroom technology so that the members of the class may discuss one anothers' solutions.

The following students have contributed to the XInteract project.

Kristen Walcott, class of 2005 (Initial prototype, 2003-2004)

Lenny Puciata, class of 2004

Christopher Lauderdale, class of 2005 (Team leader; chief programmer, 2004-05)

Gavin Checque, class of 2005

Michael Folk, class of 2007 (Team leader; chief programmer, 2005-07)

Justin Carulli, class of 2007

In addition, significant contributions were made by Matthew Engel (class of 2002), our current Systems Administrator.

The XInteract project is still under development.