eToys to teach programming 1


I have used Squeak for teaching introductory programming to university students in a open course in the Science Faculty in the Javeriana University. In this course we work with students of different semesters and disciplines and Squeak was a nice solution to the problems that we face in the transition for a close course for only Informatics ("computer science") students to an open one. Previously we have tried Scheme and Python with good results, but in a more open environment like this one, squeak works better for us.

 

This was the route we following (most of the students has no prior programming experience or vocabulary).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because this was a preliminary experience, finding the path takes time and that's where we come this time, in the next semester I hope to see some active essays also and more syntax.

 

As you see, we're working at the same time with concepts and programming, correlated one with other, in a progressive way and squeak is a so rich environment that you can choose the path you like, even with no prior knowledge or vocabulary. Finding your way could take you time, but the nice thing about community is that we're here to share experience, making, maybe, things easier for you.

 

Some documentation about the experience, including readings and activities can be found here (is in spanish, but hey, we, the spanish speakers, are reading english centered documentation almost all the time, so is time to produce local language docs):

 

http://www.eduwiki.info/IntroduccionInformatica/Squeak/Actividades

http://www.eduwiki.info/IntroduccionInformatica/Squeak