How They Teach Comp Sci the @ss-backwards way

[Chez 0]

I don't know if this is a problem for anyone else, anywhere else, but what really grinds my gears is when a university tries to 'teach' computer science using books and powerpoint slides. Bloody hell! Most programmers don't learn by reading a book of keywords and tiny "hello world" problems. And we certainly don't learn how the delicate interactions of code segments... uh.. interact... from powerpoint slides summerizing what we just read in the friggen book!I learn from example! I want to be in a classroom with a computer terminal in front of me so that I can work along with what the instructor is saying! I don't want to see HIM code, and then two hours later, download the finalized version from the web. NO! I want to code along with so that if I run into a problem I can see it here and now. not later when I try homework assignments and everything is turning into Russian on me. I also want to 'feel' how to code. I want to be coding while someone is explaining what the heck I'm doing. Not what the heck I did wrong after I turn in my half-completed homework assignment because I couldn't get past a stupid error message! So why do the 'universities' insist on teaching the course like we already know how to code and they're just there ot take your money and leave you at your lesiure? Or better yet, why are they teaching CODING like HISTORY! I don't know about you other coders, but I can't pick up how to code a binary search tree simply from reading a book with a few segmented examples and highlighted keywords + definitions. I LEARN BY EXAMPLES AND IN REALTIME! NOT FROM SOME GODDAMN BOOK AND LINKS TO OTHER UNIVERSITIES'S CS DEPARTMENTS WHO ACTUALLY TEACH THE SUBJECT WELL!!!!!!Oh, and why is it that I'm spending $5000 per CS class when 5/6 of my CS classes (span of two years) were taught by grad students?! I'm sure they don't get paid the percentage a professor does, so where the f*ck is my money going?! It definately isn't going towards putting a terminal in front of my face. Even though the empty room across the hall is MADE FOR THAT KIND OF LEARNING... no... I get dry erase board, overhead projector, and a powerpoint presentation. Lovely....And they wonder why people are dropping out of CS majors left and right here. pathetic

[Madkat-Z 0]

I totally agree. That's how most of my CS classes have been taught with one small exception. We are actually given programs which are of some interests for homework, not just the "Hello World" problems in the book. We have done anything from games to doing programs that simulate objects (Such as Radios). I would be bored out of my mind if I had to do programs like that all the time.I do agree most programmers don't learn by reading a book. I haven't even cracked my programming books, unless it was for reference. The way I learned was threw doing the programs and seeing example code. Aka: If you put this in the computer will do this.Anyway, I go to a University with computer terminals in front of us so if the prof does some programing we can join him. My last prof, however, wouldn't even us touch the computers well he was lecturing, but he didn't do any coding, he just showed us examples of code. However, I do see the point on why they send you home with the program instead of just going over it in class step by step. CS classes are ment to teach you how to program and part of the process is solving problems on your own. Trust me I've spend over 10 hours trying to figure out why I was getting one error message.Being a CS major myself, I can see why most people are dropping out and I don't think its because of the program courses are taught. Its just the programming concepts you have to learn. It also doesn't help that you have to take a boat load of math on top of it as well.

[Togi 0]

Huh.. weird. I went to a small technical college for two years, and it was nice. The degree probably wont look as good as one I'd get from a 4-year University.. but it was pretty different. At the time I thought it was almost too hands-on.. in our COBOL class, the professer showed us how to use AS/400, and then gave us the description of a fully-functioning COBOL program that was complex and useful.. and then told us to just do it. It took forever of us looking things up in our books, Googling things online, and every so often calling him over for troubleshooting.. everyone ended up with something different, finishing at different times. And then as soon as we finished that first program.. he gave us a new program to make.In the semester, I got all 8 programs done.. but a couple people only managed 2 or 3 o.oIt was a real hands-on, learn-at-your-own-pace type of class... the whole place like was like that.. ^^

[ibsu 0]

Especially when you're dishing out big bucks for the class, I definetly see why people are so frusterated. To most people, reading books teach EVERYTHING.

[xaetos 0]

The closest I've come to a computer science course would computer technology.. being in high school and all. We did a lot of coding, but it was taught in a way that you actually learned stuff. I had no idea about most of the types of code we did going in, and I finished the course with the highest mark in the class..The way my teacher did it was to hand out sheets with example code, which is not really possible for a large university class, but worked for the 30 people in my class. He also put the code in word documents for a lot of the things we did, instead of printing them out. We had to put the example code into whatever we were coding (mostly quickbasic and visualbasic..), and then make modifications to it. Once we got used to that, we had to make our own code from scratch for assignments.. It worked surprisingly well :/I can't imagine doing that course if the teacher taught through powerpoints and books o.O I never would have understood the stuff. The fact that you're paying so much to not be taught well makes it even worse..

[ghostrider 0]

That sounds really weird that they would teach CS that way, I don't see why anyone would want to teach that way. I don't have a major in CS or anything, but the way I learned all of what I know was by experimentation. Looking at powerpoints and code examples and reading will only teach you how to do those things that they show you ... but how are you supposed to build off of that? I am sure the programming world expects that you be able to build off of things and be creative and be able to solve problems. I completely agree with you Chez.