tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post7022901324170325817..comments2024-03-27T15:13:24.764-04:00Comments on Computer Science Teacher: Thinking About CS TextbooksAlfred Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575057876858763822noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post-62721499964868460632018-01-31T15:55:47.798-05:002018-01-31T15:55:47.798-05:00Since you don't want a soup-to-nuts textbook, ...Since you don't want a soup-to-nuts textbook, you could consider a "cookbook" approach. Like sample algorithms/flowcharts/code samples, FAQs like "how do I add an image to my UI", quick references to language features (cheat sheets), etc. Trying to organize it too much might lead to the thick book you're trying to avoid. A hodge-podge of helpful hints and examples would probably bring more value to your students, and if it's in electronic form, you can always add more or remove obsolete ones. <br /><br />It's always fun to read about your classroom adventures and your quest for the ultimate teaching tool and processes. Don Brueyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00786239905109401570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post-35137839912786223322018-01-31T12:36:53.081-05:002018-01-31T12:36:53.081-05:00Using textbooks makes life easier for students - i...Using textbooks makes life easier for students - in some some cases I just skipped classes and learned the subject from the book. When there is no book nor any handouts, all you have to rely on is your own notes. Some subjects require more exercising than studying to master.<br /><br />The good teachers presumably teach what they see as the important points of their topic and leave the students to read the background from the textbook.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11279997360376501233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post-84346930819877065072018-01-27T16:20:36.556-05:002018-01-27T16:20:36.556-05:00This is a textbook example of a CS Ed blog post.
...This is a textbook example of a CS Ed blog post.<br /><br />Or is that an example of a Textbook CS Ed blog post?<br /><br />In either case, my thoughts: http://cestlaz.github.io/posts/textbooks<br /><br />Also, Dan -- really great stuff!!!!!!<br />Mike Zamanskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15069276938781711576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post-56779894358434026722018-01-27T10:43:24.793-05:002018-01-27T10:43:24.793-05:00Looks great Dan. Thanks for sharing!Looks great Dan. Thanks for sharing!Alfred Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05575057876858763822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post-72387112114993571172018-01-25T23:02:58.268-05:002018-01-25T23:02:58.268-05:00I have been going through the process of creating ...I have been going through the process of creating a textbook too. In my situation, however, my school division is giving me a bit of time each day to work on it. In my neck of the woods (Saskatoon, SK, Canada), there are recently a bunch more people being asked to teach Computer Science, even if they don't have a CS background. The textbook project I'm working on is intended to give these people a reasonable plan for a high school intro to CS course. I'm using the Runestone Interactive toolset, which allows for running Python in the browser, and in the later parts of the course, using some built in unit testing (a la Coding Bat). <br /><br />It is certainly still just in draft form, but you can find it here, if you'd like to take a look:<br /><a href="https://sk-opentexts.github.io/computerscience20/" rel="nofollow">https://sk-opentexts.github.io/computerscience20/</a>danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698732706503206033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post-14539683268183265302018-01-25T15:56:19.613-05:002018-01-25T15:56:19.613-05:00I always want a textbook. But like you I use it a...I always want a textbook. But like you I use it almost exclusively as a reference or guide. I have never been the kind of teacher that teaches the chapter then does the assignments at the end. (I do follow this in some math classes I teach but I do not like it.) I prefer to give a problem then suggest a place to look for solutions. Programming is the perfect platform for that strategy. "Here is what we want to do, now let's figure out how to do it." The students and I learn so much more in the search for solutions than in the solution itself. Having a good textbook is such an excellent aid. Staggering around the internet can be a pain and some of the solutions are nonsense.<br /><br />I am not a big fan of videos. I use them as a last resort (sometimes they are the only thing available) but videos are difficult to use as a reference. I am working through a Unity video series right now (learntocreategames.com). If I forget what I did yesterday there is no good way of looking up small bits I missed other than fishing through the video. A textbook is much faster. I would love to have transcriptions of these videos. A couple of years ago I actually had a student transcribe a video to text, screen shots and all. So much easier to use.<br /><br />Getting the students to read the textbook is almost impossible. The stats class I teach has a great textbook. It is simple and explains well. They will not look in it. It happened today. A student asked how to do a particular problem. "Did you look for an example in the book?" "Nope. Can't you just tell me?" College is going to be a revelation.Garthnoreply@blogger.com