Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 7. Hours worked in Java course as a function of prior experience
10
9
8
7
little
somewhat
ve ry
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Hour s per W eek
CONCLUSION
There are several factors that led to the successful implementation of this Java course.
Students particularly liked the frequent programming assignments, which reinforced their
understanding of course material. Earlier assignments covering the fundamentals of program-
ming boosted confidence in their ability to write functioning code. Those successes helped
students maintain a positive attitude when the level of complexity increased due to the
introduction of more advanced object-oriented concepts. The incremental dependence upon
Java's class libraries also helped students learn to navigate the extensive documentation
without becoming overwhelmed.
Holding off on introducing applets until after covering object-oriented concepts
enhanced the students' ability to understand the code. In addition, they were able to
differentiate between logical errors and environmentally caused ones, which would have
stymied them earlier in the course. Students enjoyed working with event-driven, visual
interfaces, ending the course on an upbeat note.
The support structure for the students definitely had a positive impact on their
impression of the course, with lab assistants being a key component from students' and
instructors' perspectives. While they were not allowed to give solutions, their help in
debugging code and deciphering error messages was greatly valued. JBuilder's debugging
environment was also useful for the students, and the IDE as a whole was well received.
Finally, access to lecture notes, code, and grades with comments from the course Web site
was most appreciated and contributed to the positive view of the course held by most of the
students.
One negative aspect to this course from the instructors' perspective was the tremen-
dous amount of grading. For this reason, we are currently working on an automated testing
system to which students will be able to submit their assignments. The benefits of frequent
