Research Survey

[Undergrad]

Hi,
I am a student at Rice University. I am currently working on research that looks at teaching Java without the aid of the classroom. Would you please help me by posting what you may have found difficult when you start to teach yourself Java and how it might be improved. (Examples: Understanding what Java is? Getting the Development Kit Installed? Customizing the JDK? Learning fundamentals? Difficult to find information?)

-Richard

[Eku]

for me, i found it difficult at first to understand Object Oriented Programming.
I used to be a C++ and assembly programmer in my college years.

[xcallmejudasx]

I find it difficult to know where to start in looking for answers. I know what I want a program to do but I don't know the classes that could accomplish it so it's more of a type questions into google until I find something similar to what I want and then research the classes being used.

Also on more advanced topics and logic type stuff(I understood the idea of recursion when I first learned it but I still don't really have a firm grasp on when I should use it as opposed to iterative loops.) Abstraction I felt was just a waste of time. I have yet to write a program that uses an abstract interface that I couldn't achieve the same thing without it. Generics in general and Autoboxing(learned it a while back but never used it to my knowledge.)

Forums help a lot, especially active ones like this. Interaction between people(whether in the classroom or online) helps breakdown problems I had when just reading source code with explanations.

P.S. Good luck on your research. Rice is a really good school, I'm sure you'll be successful with your research.

[ianjedi]

Hi,
I am a student at Rice University. I am currently working on research that looks at teaching Java without the aid of the classroom. Would you please help me by posting what you may have found difficult when you start to teach yourself Java and how it might be improved. (Examples: Understanding what Java is? Getting the Development Kit Installed? Customizing the JDK? Learning fundamentals? Difficult to find information?)

-Richard

Your asking about teaching yourself Java and not remote learning i.e. as in the Open University?

cheers

ian J

[xcallmejudasx]

Your asking about teaching yourself Java and not remote learning i.e. as in the Open University?

cheers

ian J

No I believe he's researching ways to teach other people without him having to actually be there. Like he may be creating his own remote learning lesson plan to implement and send to students, post on a website, teach through an online classroom, whatever it may be.

[Undergrad]

P.S. Good luck on your research. Rice is a really good school, I'm sure you'll be successful with your research

Thank you.

In response to xcallmejudasx recent message, you are correct. I am interested in remote open learning. I am trying to check into what problems occur when learning without a teacher. I am looking into using videos to fulfill the role played by a teacher. Perhaps these active forums can be substitutes for TAs and other students.
In another perspective, all of you seem to possess at medium to advanced knowledge programming of Java.
What do you think may be the major road blocks for someone learning the BASIC fundamentals of Java?
I understand one problem is easily finding organized information concerning what Java is.

[emceenugget]

I agree with what xcallmejudasx said about specific classes, APIs, and such that are pretty standard for performing specific tasks. There are so many tools out there that it's difficult to randomly run across what you need, and searches usually lead to forums. So, I back up the notion of providing a list of classes that are frequently used and in what situations. You don't have to say what methods and how, though.

I believe one important thing you should cover are common error messages. Most of the help I try to give here are on common error messages. It can take months to recognize common compile time errors, and I think it would be helpful to list the most common ones and how they are caused.

[presh4u]

UNIX is hard. JAVA, C, C++ are easy

[serjant]

UNIX is hard. JAVA, C, C++ are easy

Oh man,you killed everybody here with such silly answers :D

[Nicholas Jordan]

...I am trying to check into what problems occur when learning without a teacher. I am looking into using videos to fulfill the role played by a teacher.

Staring at the monitor all night, wondering about some really simple basics that are covered routinely but not addressed in an effective manner by books and websites. There have been notable and needed improvements. What comes to mind first is that one has to describe a class, then declare an instance of one of them, then call new or in some way actually generate the data that populates the class. Another issue is disentangling the operation of the machine from the code that one writes in the editor. This second issue would be good doctoral thesis material, no end of nuance and no end of material on this one.

Perhaps these active forums can be substitutes for TAs and other students.

Good substitue, not a replacement. Possibly useful as an adjunct.

In another perspective, all of you seem to possess at medium to advanced knowledge programming of Java.

For the most part, this is true but it is my considered opinion that the underlying issue is the perspective brought about by student intrinsics. Seth Lloyd discusses a significant aspect of the issue in his book "Programming the Universe" and as well I am in discussions with a Ph.D. ( Mathematics ) who wishes to broaden the scope of his work by examining Philosophy as an area of endeavor. I am seeking, with noteworthy success, to direct this toward examining what I call "The Glass Eyed Monster" - a metaphor for the display / screen as an avenue of political control by reduction of insight and grasp of fundamentals.

This may seem to range away from your stated direction, but even here in your proposal you state: "...all of you seem to possess at medium to advanced knowledge programming of Java." which is telling of exactly what it is I seek to place in view.

What do you think may be the major road blocks for someone learning the BASIC fundamentals of Java?

BASIC is what I call computer science for art students, a'la the original GE design of the BASIC language. Contradistinctive is that most Master's level cs students get hammered on "Data Stuctures" to the point that they too are mentally numbed and mildly resentful of the area generally.

I understand one problem is easily finding organized information concerning what Java is.

There is no lack of organized information, it is a simple matter of rote.

[Undergrad]

Thank you everybody for the great feedback! It has been very helpful!