Question Using VB in a classroom environment

[jwilhite]

I am teaching an "Intro to Programming" course at a university this fall using VB 2008. I taught the same course last year, and it was very helpful to be able to use Popfly Explorer to submit and share programming projects.

Unfortunately, Popfly Explorer is going away in a couple of days, so I am going to need to do something differently. I'll tell you how we were using Popfly, and maybe you can let me know if there is something similar out there we could use instead.

For instance, the students could work on their in-class programming exercises and at the end of the class period they could click "Save to Popfly". This allowed me (as their Popfly friend) to easily view their finished work on my own machine. It also provided a convenient way for them to work on their assignment at home or in class or on whatever machine they happened to be using.

Popfly also allowed me to easily share programming examples with the class. I could write a Tetris program in VB and the entire class (as my Popfly friends) could view my source and tinker with their own local copy of it.

Does anyone know if there is there an official MS replacement for this very valuable code-sharing functionality now that Popfly is going away?

And if not, does anyone have any tips for submitting and sharing VB programs in a classroom setting?

Thanks,

Jeff Wilhite
Abilene Christian University

 

[Solitaire]

I've been teaching Intro to Programming on the college level for years, ever since VB5. I create my own demo programs and print out handouts for the students, as I project the code on the wall screen. The students can follow the code on screen and they have a copy on paper which they can duplicate. I could also share a full or partial copy of the program on disk for students to edit and complete, or revise as per assignment instructions.

I also prepare lab problems based on the concepts learned in that class session. I practically wrote my own textbook, using original demo code and lab problems of my creation. Each class session includes multiple-page handouts with the code samples and lab assignments. I reveal the solutions the next day after first checking the students' work.

 

[sponge bob]

Help for class

I am a high school Chemistry teacher who also happens to teach an Intro CS course as well as AP CS. Our district upgraded to Visual Studio 2008 this fall & I have been teaching VB6 previously. Would you share your info as I have nothing & am creating from the ground up?

 

[Solitaire]

The audience you are addressing is a lot different from mine. I teach at a 2-year college where most of the students are adults of all ages, many of them immigrants hoping to gain new skills and find employment. The course is divided into 30 2-hour sessions. Each session includes a lecture where new concepts are introduced, followed by a lab where the students are given a programming problem to solve, based on the concepts learned.

The introduction to programming course is mostly about problem solving using logic and structured design. Flowcharts and pseudocode are introduced early on. I basically created the course from scratch and have written dozens of descriptive handouts and hundreds of original demo programs. The textbook I assigned is used mainly as reference material since I have my own syllabus and practically wrote my own textbook. I've been teaching this course for about 12 years, and each semester I make necessary revisions to my syllabus to address the needs of the changing student population.

My course relies mainly on Console applications in order to teach the logic and structure without the distraction of the GUI. For a high-school class, you will want to use Windows applications and make it more fun for the young students. Suggest you browse the computer section of a bookstore or check out textbooks at a college bookstore to give you some ideas.