[Edu-sig] CP4E in a third world country

[Winston Wolff]

Variables especially are such a central concept to programmers that I  
found it difficult to teach.  It seemed obvious to me but students had  
a lot of trouble with them.

Loops and if-then statements are easy to see what they do, but the  
uses of variables are much more abstract.  For example using variables  
to determine state takes a while to understand.

But beyond just programming, I find that the process of programming is  
a great place to teach many other general skills--learning to solve  
problems, to break down problems into pieces, working in teams,  
communication, attention to detail.

-Winston


On Oct 7, 2008, at 12:03 PM, Vern Ceder wrote:

> Good luck Miguel, we're all pulling for you.
>
> My advice teaching-wise would be to go slow with the initial  
> concepts. To someone who has never coded at all variables, lists,  
> loops, etc are somewhat alien concepts, while once you know how to  
> program, the same concepts seem trivial. So be patient and attentive  
> to whether or not they're getting it, and be ready to explain (and  
> illustrate and have them practice) the same thing several different  
> ways.
>
> Cheers,
> Vern Ceder
>
> Miguel Turner wrote:
>> Hello to all,
>> I'm posting here because I am planning on teaching a programming  
>> class to kids in a small town in Honduras. I am a Peace Corps  
>> volunteer currently living in a town of about 2,500 people. I  
>> studied CS in college and originally joined the Peace Corps when I  
>> learned that they have been seeking volunteers with technical  
>> backgrounds for some years now in order to develop the use of  
>> technology in third world countries. Needless to say, I am facing a  
>> number of challenges and I thought it would be helpful to seek out  
>> some advice, and maybe see if there was anyone who has been or is  
>> in a similar situation.
>> I've been a huge fan of Python since I taught it to myself over 3  
>> years ago, and I've used it often, since. I enjoy working in C and  
>> Assembly, but Python was like a breath of fresh air. So, I'm  
>> already sold on the idea of Python as a first language and  
>> basically everything about CP4E. I recently read John Miller's  
>> excellent dissertation on computer literacy, which is what  
>> motivated me to post here.
>> The colegio (middle/high school) in my town has maybe 150 students,  
>> and 8 working, donated computers. There is currently a computer  
>> teacher who gives very basic lessons in Windows and Microsoft  
>> Office to the 20 or so high schoolers. The town has 1 public  
>> internet connection at an internet cafe with 3 computers and a  
>> satellite dish. Very few families have personal computers and far  
>> fewer can afford to connect to the internet via mobile phone, which  
>> is the cheapest option available. In short, there is very little  
>> exposure to computers here. It is not unusual to find kids who  
>> struggle with using a mouse. But there are also some kids who like  
>> to spend their time at the internet cafe chatting and downloading  
>> music to their cellphones (plenty of those here).
>> The lack of computers and internet is the first challenge, though  
>> not one I can do much about. Another is language. I speak Spanish  
>> well enough, though I do anticipate difficulties when trying to  
>> explain programming concepts in ways that make sense in this  
>> culture. There is also the fact that most documentation, code, and  
>> the language itself, are all in English. I'm aware of some books  
>> that have been translated, but I'm mainly concerned with how  
>> frustrating it will be for the students to debug their programs  
>> when all of the error messages are in English.
>> Another major challenge is the educational system, and indeed, the  
>> educational culture here. It's a bit complicated, so I will just  
>> say that only about 8% of kids make it through high school and most  
>> of those will graduate without ever seeing algebra. The worst of it  
>> is that it's hard to find people who actually want to learn, or  
>> even think. When I showed the computer teacher here Guido van Robot  
>> she said, "doesn't all that thinking make your head hurt?" This is  
>> reflected in the lack of self-confidence a lot of the kids have  
>> that they're smart enough to learn difficult things. It's very  
>> frustrating, but it makes me think that a programming course would  
>> be all the more worthwhile, assuming I can get past enough of that  
>> sort of thinking to get started.
>> Practicality is also very important here. Given that, and the  
>> generally low level of education, I am interested in integrating  
>> other subjects into the class, such as algebra, reading material,  
>> and whatever I can include that might be more directly related to  
>> local life. I don't intend programming to be an end, so much as the  
>> means to an end.
>> I have considered, in some depth, using another method for teaching  
>> programming, such as Alice or Guido van Robot. Perhaps in another  
>> post I can give my reasons for deciding against those and going  
>> with Python. I've looked at the OLPC project too, but,  
>> unfortunately, it doesn't look like that will be making it to  
>> Honduras for a while.
>> My biggest concern, it must be said, is that I have no real  
>> teaching experience - I'm a programmer. I'm sure I can muddle  
>> through until I can get the hang of it, but given all the other  
>> challenges I have to face, I'm not sure the kids (or the teachers)  
>> will have the patience to stick with me until I do. So, I'd  
>> appreciate recommendations for good teaching resources, as well.
>> I could say much more, but I only wanted to introduce myself.  
>> Hopefully someone can give me some idea how far up the creek I am,  
>> though I'd be happy to hear comments on anything that I've brought  
>> up. I'm open to criticism as well, if anyone has any compelling  
>> reasons for why this might not be a good idea. I know most, or all,  
>> of these kids will never become programmers, but that's not the  
>> point, is it?
>> Thanks for reading,
>> Miguel Turner
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>
> -- 
> This time for sure!
>   -Bullwinkle J. Moose
> -----------------------------
> Vern Ceder, Director of Technology
> Canterbury School, 3210 Smith Road, Ft Wayne, IN 46804
> vceder at canterburyschool.org; 260-436-0746; FAX: 260-436-5137
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Winston Wolff
Stratolab - Computer Courses for Teens and Kids
(646) 827-2242 - http://stratolab.com