Conservatively radical Java in CS1

Abstract

Java is fast becoming the language of choice in CS 1, but we have yet to figure out how to take full advantage of it's special features. The conservatives teach the old course in Java syntax. The radicals restructure the course to include Graphical User Interfaces (GUIse and concurrency. I prefer a "conservatively radical" middle ground where I use modem GUI programs to teach the old course concepts. I write GUI/concurrent code and ask my students to complete the program by supplying a particular class or two. Thus, they work on interesting problems without having to understand the details of how my code works. And in the process, they get a practical introduction to the modem programming experience of writing a small piece of a much larger program, allowing me to emphasize abstraction early.

Persistence of elementary programming skills

“…Even within introductory object-oriented programming, many different approaches exist: objects early (Alphonce & Ventura, 2002), interfaces early (Schmolitzky, 2004), GUIs early (Wolz & Koffman, 2000), concurrency early (Reges, 2000), events early (Stein, 1998), components early (Howe, Thornton, & Weide, 2004), etc.…”

Enhancing apprentice-based learning of Java

“…Within the Java community, the easy availability of GUI-based examples was seen as one of the main means to motivate students [10]. Unfortunately, while these may well have motivational potential, there remains the question of whether -of itself -this is enough to deliver the broader educational and software engineering requirements of an introductory programming course.…”

Using BlueJ to Introduce Programming

“…Over time, we have used a number of different projects for this stage. They include a calculator program similar to that described Reges (Reges, 2000), an image manipulation example, a simplified Tetris game, an Eliza-like dialogue system, an encryption/decryption system and an electronic auction system.…”