Re: Teaching OO

[sparre@meyer.fys.ku.dk (Jacob Sparre Andersen)]

Eyal Alaluf (eyala@applicom.co.il) wrote:
|^^^^^^^^^^
| It is about teaching OO, right?
 ^^^^^^^^^^
:-)

|^^^^^^^^^^
| I believe that one of the difficulties of teaching OOD/OOA is that it is hard
| to demonstrate. People have to have some programming experience in order to
| appreciate the benefits of OOA and OOD.
 ^^^^^^^^^^
Hard to demonstrate? I don't agree!
Is it nessessary to appreciate the benefits? I don't think so? How many has 
tried to do math in 1700-style? I certainly appreciate modern math notation, 
but I would be just as good at math, without knowing how hard it once was to 
write it.

[...]
|^^^^^^^^^^
| The problem is that when you give a programming exercise, the problem is to
| solve it, and usually it is quite simple, i.e. some hash table, and the
| top/down structural design seems natural and will yield a reasonable result.
| So what I have in mind is to give an exercise which is closer to reality.
| Give the students some (not too complicated) exercise and let them work on 
| it, and after they have just finished, change some of the requirements!
| The better the student designed his application and put an effort to create 
| some infrastructure and such, the better chance the student has of changing 
| the application in time.
 ^^^^^^^^^^
I think this is a good idea. Some extensions:
  - Let the students taking a project management course manage the exercise.
  - Make some 'real' software.
(please don't take these last lines too seriously)

|^^^^^^^^^^
| I don't study computers anymore, so I feel quite free to suggest such ideas...
 ^^^^^^^^^^
Haven't taken any CS courses :-) - I do have an opinion of the subject though.

Greetings,
                Jacob Sparre Andersen
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