Quote:
Originally Posted by rich2202
As my summer project, I am going to create a power point presentation to train new programmers. Note: I am not trying to teach them Java or C++.
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May I suggest a slightly differnet approach in order to avoid information overload? Start with a simple code exercise that gives an immediate result, such as making a tank drive train move forward. Let the new students create the project, write/copy the code, and deploy it themselves to see it run. Let the students make simple modifications to the code, such time or distance constants.
As you walk through this simple exercise, you can use additional power point slides to discuss some of the basics like init vs periodic and what the various modes mean. You can also use it to intro tools like the debugger. Having students engaged in a concrete example gives much richer context to what you're saying than having it in power point by itself. This is definitely a time to keep it simple.
Once you've covered what you can through that exercise, decide what you want to illustrate next and design another interactive exercise. The important parts are keep it focused and keep it interactive.
The outline you have strikes me as being great for a reference. A reference provides great value in case someone wants to do some more in-depth reading on a particular topic.
It's tempting to try to ground new students thoroughly in How It All Works. But it's so much more important to not make new students drink from the firehose of information. They will learn through guided doing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rich2202
Sitting around watching the experienced programmers is no fun if you have no idea what they are doing.
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Sitting around watching the experienced programmers is never fun. Listening to lectures is not fun. Writing code and watching it work is fun.