4 ms·
I think I would do the following: - set up a web page with some minimal and familiar interactions. - with the adult student, visit that webpage and let them u
by kenshi 10y ago
I think I would do the following:
- set up a web page with some minimal and familiar interactions.
- with the adult student, visit that webpage and let them use it.
- then bring up the browser's web dev tools and show them some ways they can modify the content and behaviour.
- to wrap up maybe go to a website they use regularly, and bust out the web dev tools and do some minor modifications.
Why I think this approach would be good:
- people are familiar with web pages, so it provides them with some context of programming and how it effects the 'real world'. (Different to just programming something that would seem highly abstract, such a command line app)
- letting them see the web dev tools after having interacted with the page would hopefully enforce the idea that they are going behind the scenes/seeing the insides of something they use. The idea that code and programming 'powers' things they use.
- modifying the code, should give the student that they can manipulate and change what they are interacting with on the screen. Again, conveying the power of programming, and perhaps a taste of what its about.
- final thing is to modify something/peek behind the curtain of something they like and use often. Hopefully to convey the idea that fundamentals of programming apply to the big brand websites as much as the toy website they have been playing with.
I'd be interested in hearing feedback on the above approach!
- ipfreighly 10y agoI agree with doing something with javascript in the browser. I remember my first programming class in college. There was such a large disconnect between what I was being taught and what I was expecting. Normal people understand programming as building programs, the software that they use in their daily lives. If you start with a terminal and compiler teaching syntax they're not going to be able to relate to that.
- dorfuss 10y agoI absolutely agree - it has to be something in the browser, because it has to be familiar and visual. No theory. Open the source, show people how simle html 1.0 elements work. Bold, italics, paragraphs, some simple styles. Then people would be able to see the link between the code and how it translates to what is displayed. I am not sure if 2 hours are enough to introduce javascript, but that is definitely the way to go next - you put a little script, like: calculate something easy, and diplay the results. But it shouldn't be about math, it should be about colours, shapes etc. The third step would be about making them understand the difference between client and server side programming and between programs in the browser and standalone programs. But that's only if they get the first part. I would also stress, from the very beginning, that it's really simple, that there is no magic or super-powers involved. Open a popular news website, open the source and change the articles on the New York Times website. You want to achive the "aha!" effect within the first 2 minutes, so that they are encouraged and positive about the idea. It's a small lie, but an important one.