How to: Teach java?

[Aero]

Originally Posted by David Lame

The languages are practically identical at the beginning level.

If you teach them one language for a few weeks than switch over, the differences are just going to confuse them more.

If you're teaching them Java, teach it from the beginning.
If Eclipse being complicated is a worry, I'd recommend IntelliJ IDEA as an IDE - they'll be happy to give your FRC team a free copy of the Ultimate edition if you email them.

For people with absolutely no programming experience, it's going to be hard to teach them pure Java and expect them to pick up on WPIlib easily. You can teach WPIlib from the start, but don't expect them to grasp the language's syntax quickly.
I taught a group of rookies Python over a few months. What I found worked best was getting them through basic syntax, then giving them challenges that required independent research to solve. I find teaching programming works better the more self-directed you can make your class.