alice-teacher Help! Alice being replaced by Python in my intro classes

[Mohammad Saleem Yusuf]

>>> I'm actually much better at argument than programming, so this is my kind of question
I am much better at programming than argument.
I teach at a community college and I am on Advisory Board for 2 local high schools.

This my opinion.

I am not a big fan of JavaScript or Python, but I am amazed at the popularity of these 2 languages in high school. They both have their place in software development, but I can do a lot better with C# than Python in anything Python, except free IDE, smaller amount of code. It started with people who wanted to write quick script and not create projects.

Alice is great for younger kids, 8-10 (IMHO), kids can make nice videos, put them on Facebook, etc. I use it during Girls Technology Day.

I would use Java in high school. Easy to get college credit for it and may help get an internship etc., Plenty of resources, but it is not great with doing GUI (I am aware of Java FX).

If I have to use a programming language as professional software developer, I will use C#. Far better than other languages. There is a lot of free material for learning too.

I teach C#, Java, Android programming and SQL Design at NHTI.

Saleem

Mohammad “Saleem” Yusuf
Professor - IT Software Development
Sweeney 301
 [NHTI Logo]

Phone: (603) 230-4000 x 4344
Email: myusuf at ccsnh.edu<mailto:myusuf at ccsnh.edu>





From: alice-teachers <alice-teachers-bounces+saleem_yusuf=hotmail.com at lists.andrew.cmu.edu> On Behalf Of Barnum, William via alice-teachers
Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2021 12:40 PM
To: Alice educators <alice-teachers at lists.andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: alice-teacher Help! Alice being replaced by Python in my intro classes

Carlos,

I'm actually much better at argument than programming, so this is my kind of question. 😃

My guess is your administrator, like most administrators probably doesn't know much about programming.Probably someone convinced him/her that Python is more "real-world."

I would encourage you to ask probing questions to understand his/her thought process and engage him/her in a problem-solving exercise.

1. Why Python as opposed to many other languages? What other languages should we consider, and how should we evaluate them?
2. In our introductory class, do you think the language-specific syntax is more important, or would you like us to focus on underlying programming concepts?
3. How important is student engagement in the introductory course?
4. How important are accessibility of curriculum and student diversity in the introductory course?
5. What disadvantages might there be in switching to a Python curriculum for Intro?
6. Are there other places in our course progression where Python might fit fell?

I'd recommend doing mainly listening during the first meeting and schedule a follow-up appointment after you've learned his/her preferences and had a chance to do some research.

If you'd like to talk off-list, feel free to send me an e-mail.

Bill Barnum
Computer Science Teacher
York Community High School

On Wed, Mar 10, 2021 at 9:07 AM Carlos Bovell <cbovell at nburlington.com<mailto:cbovell at nburlington.com>> wrote:
Hi,

Somebody has convinced my administrator that we should really be using Python in our intro courses. I could use some reasons why Alice makes a great alternative. Any and all arguments would be welcome!

Carlos Bovell
_______________________________________________
alice-teachers mailing list
alice-teachers at lists.andrew.cmu.edu<mailto:alice-teachers at lists.andrew.cmu.edu>
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
https://lists.andrew.cmu.edu/mailman/listinfo/alice-teachers
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.andrew.cmu.edu/pipermail/alice-teachers/attachments/20210310/66250ca6/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 14027 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://lists.andrew.cmu.edu/pipermail/alice-teachers/attachments/20210310/66250ca6/attachment-0001.png>