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Topic: where to start? (Read 2735 times) |
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Koenie
  
 
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where to start?
« on: Oct 29th, 2003, 4:39pm » |
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I want to create a course/workshop for people at my school, but I don't have a clue where to start. The people I'll be teaching don't have any programming skills and ages are between 14-18. Where should I start and how can I make it attractive for highschool students?
Koenie
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http://koeniedesign.com
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barikan
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Re: where to start?
« Reply #1 on: Oct 30th, 2003, 3:20pm » |
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in that ages all my days were passing with playing video games. putting the name a "game workshop" may be interesting for them.
assuming that they are interested in visual design, i think you can start with designing a workshop poster.
preparing simple templates may be efficent though. modifying the movements, colors, shapes, etc. can attract students.
burak
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| « Last Edit: Oct 30th, 2003, 8:40pm by barikan » |
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Koenie
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Re: where to start?
« Reply #2 on: Oct 30th, 2003, 8:32pm » |
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I was already thinking about games and templates, so it all looks cool from the beginning. I'm working on a poster and flyers as well.
But the main question still remains: where to start? What should I tell the students first about programming? I know I can use the courseware, but there still needs to be some teaching before they can actually get their hands dirty.
Koenie
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http://koeniedesign.com
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toxi
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Re: where to start?
« Reply #3 on: Oct 31st, 2003, 4:28pm » |
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i'd say for people in order to understand programming in its most abstract form, you should also first mention and explain how a computer actually works in principle:
what is all that hardware stuff and what is the difference to software?
what is memory (what does 256MB actually mean?)
what is the CPU, what does it, how does it do it?
all those things will provide a context in which you can then go and
explain programming. for most people new to programming it's very hard to comprehend the "distance" you have as user to the machine you're using. this distance has been growing over years, because software is increasing in complexity over time and these days we all are standing on the shoulder of giants. as much luxury we have now, as much level of control over the machine has been taking away from us at the same time. programming is the only way to re-gain that individual control and freedom of expression, but at its raw and most generic definition, a programm is just a solution to a problem.
but this "problem" (or "idea") has to be understood as dynamic process. as programmer you'll have to abstract it to such a level that it's readable by the machine. in order to write a programm you have to understand the problem/process into its very detail. this abstraction and step-by-step process of breaking down the "problem" into smaller parts, is the core concept of programming. at this point it has nothing to do with any programming languages as these are just means to an end. as human, you first need to acquire the basic skill of communicating before you start learning a language. as with human languages, programming languages mostly differ in terms of syntax, but not so much in overall concepts.
this all might sound terribly boring, but that is pretty much how i was told things when i was 13 (like your target group) and i was thrilled  to easen up things for the kids, you could start by "disassembling" a very basic thing like the classic Pong game and examine the various parts of how the game functions. you could also talk about the steps involved displaying an image on screen. if i remember right, john maeda did some course with different people emulating various parts of a computer with one person having the role of a programmer and telling the others what to do in what order. that doesn't need to be unfunny!
anyway, just some thoughts for you to consider!
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http://toxi.co.uk/
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arielm
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Re: where to start?
« Reply #4 on: Oct 31st, 2003, 5:31pm » |
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on Oct 31st, 2003, 4:28pm, toxi wrote:| for most people new to programming it's very hard to comprehend the "distance" you have as user to the machine you're using. this distance has been growing over years, because software is increasing in complexity over time and these days we all are standing on the shoulder of giants. as much luxury we have now, as much level of control over the machine has been taking away from us at the same time. programming is the only way to re-gain that individual control and freedom of expression, but at its raw and most generic definition, a programm is just a solution to a problem. |
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i think this is an excellent way to sell a programming workshop to, say, artists and designers that are already deeply involved in a process of creation with computers and that are aware of the current limits imposed by the use of mainstream software...
if koenie plans to target teens at his school, it's likely that most of them are not exactly answering to the "profile", and that this discourse will not speak to them directly.
i don't have any magical receipe, but what i can suggest to koenie is to first, make a kind of "mission statement" for his workshop, where he would define what goals he wants to achieve:
is the main goal to actually teach people how to program (it could be something else too...)
one thing that can help to define goals is to relate them directly to the needs of the "audience": what do these teens need / want, what can solve problems for them, etc...
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| « Last Edit: Nov 2nd, 2003, 2:18pm by arielm » |
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Ariel Malka | www.chronotext.org
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