Variables especially are such a central concept to programmers that I
found it difficult to teach. It seemed obvious to me but students had
a lot of trouble with them.
Loops and if-then statements are easy to see what they do, but the
uses of variables are much more abstract. For example using variables
to determine state takes a while to understand.
But beyond just programming, I find that the process of programming is
a great place to teach many other general skills--learning to solve
problems, to break down problems into pieces, working in teams,
communication, attention to detail.
-Winston
On Oct 7, 2008, at 12:03 PM, Vern Ceder wrote:
Good luck Miguel, we're all pulling for you.
My advice teaching-wise would be to go slow with the initial
concepts. To someone who has never coded at all variables, lists,
loops, etc are somewhat alien concepts, while once you know how to
program, the same concepts seem trivial. So be patient and attentive
to whether or not they're getting it, and be ready to explain (and
illustrate and have them practice) the same thing several different
ways.
Cheers,
Vern Ceder
Miguel Turner wrote:
Hello to all,
I'm posting here because I am planning on teaching a programming
class to kids in a small town in Honduras. I am a Peace Corps
volunteer currently living in a town of about 2,500 people. I
studied CS in college and originally joined the Peace Corps when I
learned that they have been seeking volunteers with technical
backgrounds for some years now in order to develop the use of
technology in third world countries. Needless to say, I am facing a
number of challenges and I thought it would be helpful to seek out
some advice, and maybe see if there was anyone who has been or is
in a similar situation.
I've been a huge fan of Python since I taught it to myself over 3
years ago, and I've used it often, since. I enjoy working in C and
Assembly, but Python was like a breath of fresh air. So, I'm
already sold on the idea of Python as a first language and
basically everything about CP4E. I recently read John Miller's
excellent dissertation on computer literacy, which is what
motivated me to post here.
The colegio (middle/high school) in my town has maybe 150 students,
and 8 working, donated computers. There is currently a computer
teacher who gives very basic lessons in Windows and Microsoft
Office to the 20 or so high schoolers. The town has 1 public
internet connection at an internet cafe with 3 computers and a
satellite dish. Very few families have personal computers and far
fewer can afford to connect to the internet via mobile phone, which
is the cheapest option available. In short, there is very little
exposure to computers here. It is not unusual to find kids who
struggle with using a mouse. But there are also some kids who like
to spend their time at the internet cafe chatting and downloading
music to their cellphones (plenty of those here).
The lack of computers and internet is the first challenge, though
not one I can do much about. Another is language. I speak Spanish
well enough, though I do anticipate difficulties when trying to
explain programming concepts in ways that make sense in this
culture. There is also the fact that most documentation, code, and
the language itself, are all in English. I'm aware of some books
that have been translated, but I'm mainly concerned with how
frustrating it will be for the students to debug their programs
when all of the error messages are in English.
Another major challenge is the educational system, and indeed, the
educational culture here. It's a bit complicated, so I will just
say that only about 8% of kids make it through high school and most
of those will graduate without ever seeing algebra. The worst of it
is that it's hard to find people who actually want to learn, or
even think. When I showed the computer teacher here Guido van Robot
she said, "doesn't all that thinking make your head hurt?" This is
reflected in the lack of self-confidence a lot of the kids have
that they're smart enough to learn difficult things. It's very
frustrating, but it makes me think that a programming course would
be all the more worthwhile, assuming I can get past enough of that
sort of thinking to get started.
Practicality is also very important here. Given that, and the
generally low level of education, I am interested in integrating
other subjects into the class, such as algebra, reading material,
and whatever I can include that might be more directly related to
local life. I don't intend programming to be an end, so much as the
means to an end.
I have considered, in some depth, using another method for teaching
programming, such as Alice or Guido van Robot. Perhaps in another
post I can give my reasons for deciding against those and going
with Python. I've looked at the OLPC project too, but,
unfortunately, it doesn't look like that will be making it to
Honduras for a while.
My biggest concern, it must be said, is that I have no real
teaching experience - I'm a programmer. I'm sure I can muddle
through until I can get the hang of it, but given all the other
challenges I have to face, I'm not sure the kids (or the teachers)
will have the patience to stick with me until I do. So, I'd
appreciate recommendations for good teaching resources, as well.
I could say much more, but I only wanted to introduce myself.
Hopefully someone can give me some idea how far up the creek I am,
though I'd be happy to hear comments on anything that I've brought
up. I'm open to criticism as well, if anyone has any compelling
reasons for why this might not be a good idea. I know most, or all,
of these kids will never become programmers, but that's not the
point, is it?
Thanks for reading,
Miguel Turner
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--
This time for sure!
-Bullwinkle J. Moose
-----------------------------
Vern Ceder, Director of Technology
Canterbury School, 3210 Smith Road, Ft Wayne, IN 46804
[EMAIL PROTECTED]; 260-436-0746; FAX: 260-436-5137
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Winston Wolff
Stratolab - Computer Courses for Teens and Kids
(646) 827-2242 - http://stratolab.com
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