Snapclass: An Ai-Enhanced Classroom Management System For Block-Based Programming

Bahare Riahi, North Carolina State University

Xiaoyi Tian, North Carolina State University

Ally Limke, North Carolina State University

Viktoriia Storozhevykh, North Carolina State University

Veronica Catete, North Carolina State University

Tiffany Barnes, North Carolina State University

Nicholas Lytle, Georgia Institute of Technology

Khushbu Singh, University of Virginia

Date

12/2025

AI Overview

Why it matters

K–12 teachers often struggle to manage block-based programming classrooms, grade open-ended code consistently, and meet diverse student needs, while existing automated grading tools typically neglect K–12 requirements.

Study at a glance

Question: How can an AI-enhanced classroom management system support instruction, grading, and student help in block-based programming?
Setting and data: Snap! programming environment, informed by co-design workshops and feedback sessions with three K–12 teachers.
Method: System development and participatory design (co-design workshops and feedback sessions).
AI tools: SnapClass, SnapBot, Llama 3.1 (70B)

Key findings

SnapClass integrates course management, differentiated starter code by skill level, code history, and live tracking of student idle time and help requests into Snap!.
The integrated SnapBot chatbot uses Llama 3.1 70B with retrieval-augmented generation on the Snap reference manual to deliver real-time, context-specific coding help to students.
SnapClass provides an AI-based rubric generator that produces customizable evaluation criteria from assignment prompts, descriptions, learning objectives, or example solutions.

Summary drafted with AI from the full paper and may contain errors. See the full paper for details.

Block-Based Programming (BBP) platforms, such as Snap!, have become increasingly prominent in K-12 computer science education due to their ability to simplify programming concepts and foster computational thinking from an early age. While these platforms engage students through visual and gamified interfaces, teachers often face challenges in using them effectively and finding all the necessary features for classroom management. To address these challenges, we introduce SnapClass, a classroom management system integrated within the Snap! programming environment. SnapClass was iteratively developed drawing on established research about the pedagogical and logistical challenges teachers encounter in computing classrooms. Specifically, SnapClass allows educators to create and customize block-based coding assignments based on student skill levels, implement rubric-based auto-grading, and access student code history and recovery features. It also supports monitoring student engagement and idle time, and includes a help dashboard with a raise hand feature to assist students in real time. This paper describes the design and key features of SnapClass those are developed and those are under progress.