The Blog of Lucien Stals

(This post is a trackback to Knowing and Doing )

The above link makes for some interesting reading.

We have been arguing the very same point around here for a while now. Is Java (more specificly, OOP) being taught in first year serving our pedagogical interests and our students need? Or is it failing us and them?

I have approached the problem by trying to figure out what our true goal is. Are we here to teach programming or teach..what?

If our directive is to teach OOP, then we must find an effective way to teach objects, and while I do have a fondness for Java because it was the first programming language I realy learned, I'm not convinced it's the best way to teach objects.

Is our directive to teach Java? No it isn't, but then !
why do we use it? Beacuse it's a language used in industry and provides employability. Is that enough to base a curiculum on?

At it's core, I think our need is simply to teach programming. And we don't need objects for that.

But what, and how?

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I made the bloody stupid mistake of deleting the old version, along with the rest of the contents of the directory it was in. I'll set up the new accounts on Monday.

I thought I was on a role, and wanted to install the latest version of Wordpress on my other blog, so I jumped onto the server and …. typed “rm” in the wrong bloody directory again.

This time I deleted my entire personal web site!

I've got backups, and the blog is already back online (Wordpress 1.5. Still can't see the difference!?), but I just can't believe I made the same mistake again.

Doh!

Doh!

Doh!]]>

I have also recieved 4 requests for accounts on Tyler in the last week or two. I've been holding off on setting them up untill we sort out the new system, but perhaps I should just go ahead an set up the accounts and worry about migration later.

BTW, Clinton found another CMS system (Xaraya ) that looks like it may be a better solution than Drupal, but we have yet to do much testing with it. Unfortunatly this delays the rolout of the new site, but I'd rather take a bit longer and get something we are realy happy with. I didn't think Drupal was bad, but Xaraya may be better. Stay tuned…]]>

This would be Survivor SD1.

We got through yesterdays lectures. I think I made an ass out of myself for the first 10 minutes, but by the end, I managed to get some smiles out of them. Those BIT's are a tough crowd

But the best bit was showing up to Clinton lecture to say hi, and finding NO AIRCONDITIONING!

With all the building work giong on, you think they might just be able to get the aircon working. And on the first day of the year, when the lecture rooms are bursting at the seams. Great impression to the new students

But asside from that, I'm looking forward to seeing how we go with the new content for the lectures. Volume 1 (the first 6 weeks of material) went to the printers yesterday. Vol 2 can wait a little bit. Gives us time to hammer out the labs and tutes.

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Teaching in 3 hours.

Up till midnight putting the finishing touches on volume 1 of the lecture notes. I really need to get Adobe Acrobat at home. Now I have to go in early enough that I can rip stuff to PDFs to upload onto Blackboard before the lecture.

I've done this before, so why do I feel so nervous this time?]]>

So much to do before then.

Struggling to keep…head…above….water…]]>

(BTW, this post is a trackback to some wednesday potluck )

Within the Faculty, much talk of change is being had. Regardless of who we are, or what our personal feelings about the suggested changes are, I think it could be safely said that we all quietly despair at the amount of work even the smallest changes will require. Nobody looks forward to that.

I have been enjoying watching all the students comming in for enrollmants. Perhaps is a bit a jealousy at the wide eyed enthusiasm. Perhaps I am starting to feel my age. Regardless of what they all think they are getting themselves into, they are about to enter one of the most turbulent periods of change that they have ever known!
.

And then there is the kind of change that I am always engaged in. There's always something else new that I want to learn, or something old that I want to learn how to do better. What happens when we are our own agent of change? Do we resent ourselves?]]>

A three day introductory course in CMMI.

My brain has almost completely stoped functioning and I can no longer think in real words, only TLA's.

I feel like Hansel and Grettyl (SP?), only I'm leaving a trail of teh aplphabet behind me instead of bread crumbs, as I'm being lead deeper and deeper into the woods of CMMI where I will be abandoned to fend for myself ]]>

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Amazing race is back on TV. I am even happier.

If I can just finish marking Summer semester exams, writing the *new* new SD1 lectures notes for semester 1, find some time to learn C and Pascal…

Oh, spend some more time with my family…

And I've got two weeks untill the semester starts.

No problem ]]>