WebVM - an innovative approach to teaching OS concepts

June 14, 2024·
Dr Sean Longyu Ma
Dr Sean Longyu Ma
· 0 min read
Abstract

Elliott Wen (the major contributor) and I have developed a home-grown teaching tool, WebVM, for operating system courses. WebVM provides students instant access to an Ubuntu Linux operating system in their browser. Students have full admin access to the OS, allowing them to develop system kernel modules. Other related products such as Flexit or Coderunner won’t allow this. For SOFTENG 370 in 2024 Sem 1, we received overwhelmingly positive feedback (4.43) from the students. Many praised the effectiveness of WebVM in helping them learn important operating system concepts and practical system development skills. Students particularly enjoyed one assignment, which involved creating a Linux kernel module to control a virtual LED panel and draw a picture they like.

TLACS_2024

Date
June 14, 2024
Event
WebVM - an innovative approach to teaching OS concepts
Location

Auckland, NZ

events
Workshop
Dr Sean Longyu Ma
Authors
Dr Sean Longyu Ma (he/him)
Lecturer in Computer Science
Sean Longyu Ma is a Lecturer in the School of Computer Science at the University of Auckland. His research focuses on FPGA-based computing, RISC-V customisation, high-level synthesis, and heterogeneous computing.