GitIt: An Interactive Online Platform for Teaching Command Line Based Skills Through Visualizations

We developed Gitit, the infrastructure to teach command line and version control skills which are essential for academia and industry. The tool provides an accessible, engaging experience that supports learners in developing early practical computer skills. Gitit is a web-based interactive platform designed to teach command line and Git through interactive visualizations, scaffolded exercises, and real-time feedback. Gitit is influenced by other tools that emphasize low cognitive load, learning by exploration, and progressive learning. The development of Gitit was motivated by our prior work on a longitudinal study examining students' perception of early exposure to practical computing skills. This study revealed that students value learning early computing skills, but their long-term perception diminishes over time. Gitit enables exercise and classroom management for instructors and student progress metrics. The system was evaluated through an expert evaluation and a pilot comparative study between beginner and expert user. We found that our system achieved a System Usability Scale (SUS) score of 82.5, indicating excellent usability. Additionally, the pilot comparative study demonstrates the tool's ability to support customized learning and identify differences between students. Thus, Gitit offers a scalable and adaptable solution for practical computing education through a learning platform with the potential to improve instructional outcomes and better prepare students' practical computing skills.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Computer Science & Applications

Department dc:contributor.department

Computer Science and#38; Applications

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Buxton, Tyler Paul

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Hooshangi, Sara

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Seyam, Mohammed Saad Mohamed Elmahdy
• Ellis, Margaret O.'Neil

• Interactive Visualizations
• Practical Knowledge
• students' perception
• educational technology
• Computer Science Education

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:43589

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/135026