5 ms·
Does "boring technology" in a university context mean Sqlite and JS, which the students have never seen before and which the university doesn't use for teaching
by strken 3y ago
Does "boring technology" in a university context mean Sqlite and JS, which the students have never seen before and which the university doesn't use for teaching introductory courses? Or does it mean the existing education tool Snap which is already in use and familiar to students?
- mcpackieh 3y agoI bet more Freshmen already know basic SQL and JS than Snap. I know some primary/highschools teach Snap, but a lot more must be teaching JS. SQL as well, I know at least some highschools teach the basics and tbqh basic SQL queries are basically requests phrased in English. And it should be easier than ever now that LLMs are pretty good at taking requests actually phrased in English and turning them into valid queries. You don't need to learn relational algebra to learn 'select name from patients where age > 50;' Did you know in the 70s and 80s, common undergrads (not CS students) used to program Fortran on punchcards? My mother was an undergrad biology student, when she learned I was interested in programming she pulled a dusty box of punchcards out of the attic to show me programs she had written. If colleges are using Snap instead of asking students to write some basic SQL queries, I think they're damning those students with faint expectations.
- vcg3rd 3y agoNot only that, but the history professor is gearing the goals towards particular professional goals and using the students to further them. I.e: "What do you want your humanities students to know about computers? How to help me professionally." If any of those students in humanities need to do data science later for their own careers how does building websites with Snap help them?
- detourdog 3y agoWhy not use the lingua franca tools of the university website.