By Samuel Williams
Moderator’s Note: This blog post was written by a university student in New Zealand who is very interested in teacher feedback on a new programming teaching tool he has created. If you are interested in trying something new, give it a try and post a comment to let him know what you think.
At its core, Computer Science is the study of programming languages, algorithms and data structures. Learning a programming language allows one to grapple with these ideas and bring them to life. However, it can be a barrier too: a difficult language can be discouraging and hinder progress. Choosing a suitable language for students is important, and there are many factors to consider.
In addition to learning a single programming language, exposure to a variety of different programming languages increases awareness of not only what is available, but also the different approaches one can take to solve various kinds of problems.
To this end, I have produced an online resource called the Programming Dojo.
This website has been designed with both teachers and students in mind and includes informative summaries on a wide variety of popular programming languages. Each summary includes a brief description, example source code, and links to highly relevant external resources for learning about the language.
I have also included several resources primarily for teachers: a set of posters and a programming language comparison. The programming language posters are designed to be used in the classroom and each feature a particular programming language. There are several suggested methods for using posters discussed on the site. The programming language comparison, while inevitably a little subjective, tries to provide a balanced assessment of programming languages in an educational context. The comparison has been reviewed and incorporates fairly extensive critical feedback.
The Programming Dojo is still under development and feedback from Teachers would be highly appreciated: Is this a useful resource? Are there areas which could be improved? Are there other other resources you would like to see included?
The word Dojo is actually pronounced Dou-Jyou, and is a Japanese word that can most easily be translated as: “Dou” meaning pathway, and “Jyou” meaning place, so Programming Dojo is the place where one can start on the pathway of programming.
Samuel Williams
Samuel Williams is a master’s candidate in Computer Science at Canterbury University, New Zealand. The “Programming Dojo” was developed as project work for a course on Computer Science Education run by Tim Bell and Lynn Lambert. Samuel Williams is an enthusiastic free software advocate and computer programmer, and enjoys hiking in the mountains.