tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post2276089493684516543..comments2024-03-27T15:13:24.764-04:00Comments on Computer Science Teacher: Does Anyone Read the Error Messages?Alfred Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575057876858763822noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post-40115787089398496122018-02-06T17:48:19.830-05:002018-02-06T17:48:19.830-05:00See our papers, e.g.:
http://cs.brown.edu/~sk/Publ...See our papers, e.g.:<br />http://cs.brown.edu/~sk/Publications/Papers/Published/mfk-measur-effect-error-msg-novice-sigcse/Shriram Krishnamurthihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02956763366608000839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post-77393041189263315602018-02-06T12:00:44.274-05:002018-02-06T12:00:44.274-05:00I have kids working in Visual Studio C# that canno...I have kids working in Visual Studio C# that cannot figure out the red squiggle under a line means there is something wrong. As teachers we hate to admit it but sometimes someone is just not smart enough to read and understand what they read. There are also those that are just to lazy to read. If I have a student that has been programming a while I simply say "Google it." Understanding error messages is part of learning to program but we cannot teach them the absolute meaning of every error message. They have to read. Then of course there are the error messages that give not a clue. Then you tell them to just start digging and start throwing in Print statements.Garthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post-72969362195218720242018-02-05T10:34:10.678-05:002018-02-05T10:34:10.678-05:00On the other hand, there are another whole set of ...On the other hand, there are another whole set of error messages that are worthy of banding your head against the wall.<br /><br />Windows Errors - Exemption occurred in module XXX at address XXXX:XXXX<br />Mac Errors - Uh oh. Something bad happened<br /><br />How do you ever solve those other than the standard reboot the computer and try again!Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14018245170305441423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post-9504496158211410572018-02-05T10:32:28.452-05:002018-02-05T10:32:28.452-05:00I recall an assignment that I gave once to try and...I recall an assignment that I gave once to try and head off this issue (and my frustrations). Each group of students were given an error message from the language that we were using. They then had to create a bulletin board display showing the message, three possible ways that the error could be generated, and then at least three suggestions for how to fix or avoid the error. It was actually a fun activity since some students were kings/queens of errors and others claimed to never have seen one! Today, an alternative would be to have students create a slide or two in a collaborative slide deck and make it a constant reference for students. Before they're allowed to ask you for help, they need to check out the collective wisdom of the class. And, hey, if they do solve it, why not add their solution.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14018245170305441423noreply@blogger.com