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Show HN: ClassroomIO – an in-browser programming environment for education (classroomio.site)

51 points by sgorawski ↗ HN
Hey Hacker News,

I’m excited to introduce ClassroomIO – a project that I’ve been working on for the past few months. It’s an educational platform that provides an in-browser code editor and execution environment. The idea is to make teaching programming easier by eliminating the technical barriers that educators and students often face.

Feature highlights: * In-Browser coding: Write, run, and debug code directly in your browser. No more downloading software, configuring environments, and resolving compatibility issues. * Course management: Manage classes, assignments, and student interactions in one place. * Many languages supported: Python, Java, JavaScript, C/C++, C#, Go, PHP – more incoming.

Open beta access: I’d love it if interested people could join my open beta, explore the platform's capabilities, and provide some feedback to help me make it a better tool.

Thank you for your time!

Contact: support@classroomio.app

24 comments

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cmpit
Nice one, congrats! Is this something like CodeSandbox or more like a LeetCode platform where you solve problems, get feedback and so on?

P.S: I just created an account today on classromio.com, which has a different purpose, but it's weird that I came across 2 different apps with the same name in the same day.

sgorawski
Thanks! It's more like CodeSandbox, but tailored specifically for educational purposes.

As for the other project, yeah, thanks for letting me know about it. Didn't know about that one, it must have launched recently as well.

bkyan
I would guess that you're using Wasm for this. If it's not a secret, can I ask which Wasm libs you're using?
sgorawski
Hey, I'm not, the code is sent to the server for execution.

I'm afraid can't help with the libs then ;)

I'd like to have more functionality in-browser, though, like an LSP running as a worker in the background. Do you have any materials that I could read about it or something like that?

speps
You need to sort the domain/TLD confusion. Your brand name ends with "io" (.io being popular in programming websites) and highlighted in yellow in your logo. Your website is .site and your email is .app. I also think just reading the name that it's a classroom CMS, and not programming related.

PS: it's a shame because the idea is excellent and the presentation looks good but yeah naming is hard...

sgorawski
Thanks for the feedback! (And the kind words :). Yeah, I'll rename it soon, trying to get a better domain now.
makeitshine
As a former CS teacher the real barrier is finding qualified teachers. Most schools, even international schools which pay significantly better, seem to have math or science teachers with little or no coding experience filling the role.
cutler
I sent 30 applications to London schools offering to teach programming and didn't get a single reply. I have experience teaching in adult education and over 20 years as a professional programmer.
makeitshine
I wonder if it all gets lost in HR who looks at their hiring listing and sees there is no opening and disregards it.
camdenreslink
Looks incredibly cool. I'm building a similar project, and I know how much work it is to put something like this together.
tonyoconnell
Is this related to classroom.io ?
sgorawski
There's nothing under that address right now, what do you mean? (Unfortunately I don't own it, if you ask.)
srinsriv
Seems very similar to the leetcode playground developers play with www.leetcode.com
yu3zhou4
Hey Sławomir, great work! Do you think it can be somehow adjusted to the youngest kids that are not ready for Python, but would like to code anyway?

Powodzenia, trzymam kciuki za Ciebie i Twoją platformę!

sgorawski
Thanks! And nice touch :)

As for the questions – I haven't thought much about that, but maybe it would be nice to have. Do you have some ideas on what that simpler than Python could should be? Like e.g. Scratch, or something else?

RecycledEle
What does this do that http://REPL.IT or Jupyter Notebooks do not do?
sgorawski
Replit is similar, this product is like it but tailored specifically for educational purposes.

As for Jupyter Notebooks – ClassroomIO allows you to create an assignment and have a group of students work on it simultaneously without interfering with one another. (Maybe you can do this somehow in Jupyter, but I don't know how.) Also, it supports more languages and the flow is more like a regular console app.

8mobile
I really like the idea and the site too. Do you plan to increase the price in the future?
sgorawski
Thanks! Yeah, currently it's an open beta, but in the future I plan to have paid plans, mostly institutional ones I think